Talk:Jackie Brenston

Credit where it's due

• I've made a few wording changes aimed at getting the right balance between Ike Turner's contribution - obviously massive as bandleader and one which should not be downplayed - and Brenston's. The evidence seems to me to point to Brenston having a major contribution to "Rocket 88" - as singer, and as a lead in rewriting the earlier "Cadillac Boogie". To quote the Tosches book (which I have now cited as a source) : "It was Jackie Brenston's song, but he had derived it from .. "Cadillac Boogie"... Far from hiding this unoriginality, Brenston openly admitted it.. The band made four more recordings that day, with Ike Turner singing on two of them... Chess released two singles by the group .. The coupled sides that featured Turner's voice bore on their labels the credit Ike Turner and His Kings of Rhythm. That was how it should have been, and Ike was pleased. The other single, however, was credited to Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats. This, in the eyes of Ike Turner, known no more then than now for his magnanimity and humility, was not how it should have been, and he was displeased. His displeasure grew more pronounced as it became more apparent that the single that bore Brenston's name, rather than the one which bore his own, was going to be a hit.... As time went on, Turner stepped forward from piano to guitar, allowing there to be no mistaking who the leader of his band was." I accept that this is a POV quote, but equally I think that the view that Turner was solely responsible for the success of "Rocket 88" is disrespectful to Brenston, hence my attempt to balance the text (also at "Rocket 88") Ghmyrtle 10:12, 6 November 2006 (UTC)