According to Miller, in a 1980 interview with Stuart Colman for BBC Radio, he took a business trip to the Southern United States in 1951, and obtained a copy of Rocket 88, a rhythm and blues record written by Ike Turner for his Kings of Rhythm and sung by the sax player of the band, Jackie Brenston. The track was recorded at Sam Phillips' Recording Service in Memphis and released on Chess Records of Chicago. Miller hit on the idea of a white singer recording a cover version of a black R&B song so that it could be sold in then-segregated record stores.
