Museum of History & Industry, Sophie Frye Bass Library
5933 6th Avenue South
Seattle, WA 98108
Phone: 206-324-1126
URL: http://www.mohai.org
2013.13
Collection of
The Rocket newspapers
1980-2000
255 issues
10 boxes
Issues of
The Rocket , Seattle's free music newspaper, spanning the period from shortly
after the paper's inception in 1979 through its last issue in 2000
12a.4.3-4
12a.5.1-3 Collection materials are in
English.
Historical Note
The first issue of
The Rocket newspaper, reporting on the local music scene, was published as a
special edition of the free alternative weekly Seattle Sun on October 1979. Frustrated by
the lack of support among senior staffers at the Sun for covering the emerging music scene
in Seattle, arts editor Robert Ferrigno and art director Bob Newman raised money to found their own publication.
The Rocket ran initially as a free, monthly adjunct to the Seattle Sun, but was popular enough to become self-supporting within a year. Editor Ferrigno
stated the paper’s mission in its first issue: "We believe the local music scene to be vibrating with life,
multi-faceted and responsive to a wide range of audiences. We will cover national acts like The Cars, but remain
committed to supporting local music."
With its increasingly popularity,
The Rocket increased its distribution from monthly to bi-weekly in 1994. In 1991,
a Portland edition was launched, though it was essentially identical in content to the Seattle edition, except for its
club listings.
The Rocket was sold to BAM Media in San Francisco in 1995, and after BAM’s
decline, to David Roberts, publisher of the Illinois Entertainer, in 2000. In spite of Roberts’ pledge to revitalize
the paper, the last issue of
The Rocket was published on October 18, 2000.
The collection consists of 255 issues of
The Rocket, Seattle's free music newspaper. The collection spans most of the
paper's run, though does not include any issues from the first 6 months of publication; the first issue in the
collection is from April 1980. The years from April 1980 through September 1994 are well represented, with only a few
issues missing. Coverage from October 1994 through 1997 is sparse, with 15 issues from this period. The collection
contains all but one of the 1998 issues, a majority of the 1999 issues, and all of 2000 through
The Rocket's final issue on October 18, 2000.
The full run of The Rocket newspaper is
available for viewing in the Washington Digital Newspapers collection of the Washington State Library.
The Museum of History & Industry is the owner of the materials in the Sophie Frye Bass Library and makes
available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from MOHAI
before any reproduction use. The museum does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections.
In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.
The collection is open to the public by appointment.
Collection of
The Rocket newspapers, Museum of History & Industry, Seattle
Gift of Robert Murray; received in 2013.
Newspapers were boxed in chronological order.
The December 1982 issue of The Rocket was received in a separate donation (2018.90) in 2018 and boxed with the
collection.
Three additional issues of
The Rocket are available in the Kurt E. Armbruster Collection, accession number
2014.43. These are: No. 199, February 15-March 1, 1995; No. 200, March 1-March 15, 1995; and No. 300, April 21-May 12,
1999.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials
about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.
Seattle (Wash.)
Alternative rock music
Music
Publications--Washington (State)--Seattle
Rock music
Seattle
Music
Publishers and publishing
Journalism
Media and Communication
Performing Arts
Newspapers
1
The Rocket
1980
9 issues
All issues from April through December.
Issues are unnumbered.
1
The Rocket
1981
13 issues
Complete year of 12 issues plus one issue dedicated to Bumbershoot.
Issues are unnumbered.
1
The Rocket
1982
11 issues
Numbers 28-31; 33-39. Missing May issue.
2
The Rocket
1983
12 issues
Numbers 40-51. Complete year.
2
The Rocket
1984
10 issues
Numbers 52-57; 59-60; 62-63. Missing July and October issues.
2
The Rocket
1985
12 issues
Numbers 64-75. Complete year.
3
The Rocket
1986
12 issues
Numbers 76-86 (both the August and September issues are numbered 83). Complete year.
3
The Rocket
1987
12 issues
Numbers 87-98. Complete year.
3
The Rocket
1988
12 issues
Numbers 99-110. Complete year.
4
The Rocket
1989
12 issues
Numbers 111-122. Complete year.
4
The Rocket
1990
12 issues
Numbers 123-134. Complete year.
4
The Rocket
1991
11 issues
Numbers 135-143; 145-146. Missing October issue.
5
The Rocket
1992
12 issues
Numbers 147-158. Complete year.
5
The Rocket
1993 January-December 22
15 issues
Numbers 159-173. Biweekly publication begins with number 168, September 29-October 13. Complete year.
6
The Rocket
1993 December 22-1994 October 12
1994 December 7
18 issues
Numbers 174-190; 195. Missing numbers 191-194 between October and December, 1994.
7
The Rocket
1994 December 21-1995 November 22
6 issues
Numbers 196 (December 21,1994-January 18, 1995); 202 (April 5-19); 213 (September 13-27); 215 (October
11-25): 217-218 (November 8-December 6).
7
The Rocket
1996
5 issues
Numbers 227 (April 10-24); 229 (May 16-29); 232 (June 26-July10); 234-235 (July 24-August 28)
7
The Rocket
1997
4 issues
Numbers 250 (March 26-April 9); 253 (May 14-28); 255 (June 11-25); and 267 (December 3-17).
8
The Rocket
1998
21 issues
Numbers 270-272; 274-291. Missing number 272 (March 12-24)
9
The Rocket
1999
17 issues plus one cover
Numbers 292-296 (December 16, 1998-March 10, 1999); 297 (cover only); 298 (March 10-24); 305 (July 17-21);
307-316 (August 11-December 15)
10
The Rocket
2000
20 issues
Numbers 317-336. Complete through The Rocket's final issue on October 18,
2000.