# Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats — Rocket 88

Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats’s Rocket 88 (1951) is No. 1 in our Rhythm and Blues ranking. The full verdict, and where to hear it.

- **Released:** 1951
- **Label:** Chess
- **On one list:** Rhythm and Blues
- **Updated:** 2026-08-30
- **Artist:** [Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats](https://waxonia.com/artist/jackie-brenston-and-his-delta-cats/)
- **Canonical page:** https://waxonia.com/track/jackie-brenston-and-his-delta-cats--rocket-88/

## What we say

### No. 1 in [Rhythm and Blues](https://waxonia.com/genre/rhythm-and-blues/)

Regularly called the first rock and roll record, which it is not — it is the best jump blues record, with a guitar amp that fell off a car roof and was recorded broken anyway.

## Analysis

4 sections, no single moment the energy jumps to.

- **Tempo:** 152 BPM — holds throughout
- **Key:** Eb minor
- **Dynamic range:** 3.1 dB — compressed hard — very little between the quiet and the loud
- **Length:** 2:51

- `0:00` A · **intro**, instrumental — opens the record below its own average energy — playing: other
- `0:20` B · **peak** (bar 13), sung — sits at the top of this record's range — playing: vocals, other
- `0:39` C · **peak** (bar 25), instrumental — sits at the top of this record's range — playing: drums, bass, other
- `0:57` C · **outro** (bar 36), instrumental — the closing fall — playing: bass, vocals, other

**What is playing.** Separated into parts by a source-separation model, so each lane is the instrument it names.

- **drums:** the drum kit, separated from the mix
- **bass:** the bass part, separated from the mix
- **vocals:** the voice, separated from the mix
- **other:** everything else — synths, guitars, keys, strings

Measured from the YouTube master on 2026-08-29. Section labels describe how the energy
moves, not musical form. Anything we were not confident enough to state is omitted
rather than hedged.

## Listen

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Jackie%20Brenston%20and%20his%20Delta%20Cats%20Rocket%2088) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=Gbfnh1oVTk0)

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Hand-curated by Waxonia. We host no audio; all links point to streaming platforms.