Good Rocking Tonight
Encyclopedia
"Good Rocking Tonight" was originally a jump blues
song released in 1947 by its writer, Roy Brown
and was covered by many other recording artists. The song includes the memorable refrain, "Well I heard the news, there's good rocking tonight!"
, who turned it down. Only after the Brown's record gained traction in New Orleans did Harris decide to cover it. Harris's version was even more energetic than Brown's original version, featuring black gospel style handclapping. This may have contributed to the composition's greater success on the national R&B chart. Brown's original recording hit number 13 of the Billboard
R&B chart, but Harris' record became a number one R&B hit and remained on the chart for half a year. Brown's single would re-enter the chart in 1949, peaking at #11.
Harris had a reputation for carousing, and sometimes forgot lyrics. His "Good Rockin'" recording session largely followed Brown's original lyrics, but by the end, he replaced the last section with a series of raucous "hoy hoy hoy!" interjections, a commonly used expression in jump blues tunes of the time, going back to 1945's "The Honeydripper
" by Joe Liggins
.
The song is a primer of sorts on the popular black music of the era, making lyrical reference to Sweet Lorraine
, Sioux City Sue
, Sweet Georgia Brown
, Caldonia
, Elder Brown, and Deacon Jones. All of these characters had figured prominently in previous hit songs.
While Brown missed out on the biggest hit version of his song, its success kicked off his own career, which included two #1 R&B hits. In 1949, he released "Rockin' at Midnight", a sequel to "Good Rockin' Tonight", which might be thought of as "Good Rockin' Tonight part II" because it included updates on the same characters as the original. It reached #2 on the R&B chart, where it remained for a month.
release by Elvis Presley
, along with "I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine" on the flip side. Presley and his bandmates hewed closer to the original Roy Brown version, but omitted the lyrics' by-then-dated roster of names in favor of a simpler, more energetic "We're gonna rock, rock, rock!" Described as "a flat-out rocker" country radio programmers blanched, and older audiences were somewhat mystified. A live show broadcast from Houston DJ Bill Collie's club documented that the crowd "barely responded" to the song. "Blue Moon of Kentucky
", the uptempo version of the Bill Monroe
classic, has "the fans go stark raving nuts with joy". Both sides of this second record featuring "Elvis Presley, Scotty
and Bill
" "stiffed".."
The song was used for the Elvis Presley biopic Elvis which starred Jonathan Rhys-Meyers
as Presley; it was used for a scene where he is performing at the Louisiana Hayride in 1956.
Jump blues
Jump blues is an up-tempo blues usually played by small groups and featuring horns. It was very popular in the 1940s, and the movement was a precursor to the arrival of rhythm and blues and rock and roll...
song released in 1947 by its writer, Roy Brown
Roy Brown (blues musician)
Roy James Brown was an American R&B singer, songwriter and musician, who had an influence on the early development of rock and roll music. His "Good Rocking Tonight" was covered by Wynonie Harris, Elvis Presley, Ricky Nelson, Jerry Lee Lewis, Pat Boone, and the rock group Montrose. In addition,...
and was covered by many other recording artists. The song includes the memorable refrain, "Well I heard the news, there's good rocking tonight!"
Original version
Brown had first offered his song to Wynonie HarrisWynonie Harris
Wynonie Harris , born in Omaha, Nebraska, was an American blues shouter and rhythm and blues singer of upbeat songs, featuring humorous, often ribald lyrics. With fifteen Top 10 hits between 1946 and 1952, Harris is generally considered one of rock and roll's forerunners, influencing Elvis Presley...
, who turned it down. Only after the Brown's record gained traction in New Orleans did Harris decide to cover it. Harris's version was even more energetic than Brown's original version, featuring black gospel style handclapping. This may have contributed to the composition's greater success on the national R&B chart. Brown's original recording hit number 13 of the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
R&B chart, but Harris' record became a number one R&B hit and remained on the chart for half a year. Brown's single would re-enter the chart in 1949, peaking at #11.
Harris had a reputation for carousing, and sometimes forgot lyrics. His "Good Rockin'" recording session largely followed Brown's original lyrics, but by the end, he replaced the last section with a series of raucous "hoy hoy hoy!" interjections, a commonly used expression in jump blues tunes of the time, going back to 1945's "The Honeydripper
The Honeydripper
"The Honeydripper " is an R&B song by Joe Liggins which topped the US Billboard R&B chart for 18 weeks, from September 1945 to January 1946....
" by Joe Liggins
Joe Liggins
Joe Liggins was an American R&B, jazz and blues pianist, who was the frontman in the 1940s and 1950s with the band, Joe Liggins and his Honeydrippers....
.
The song is a primer of sorts on the popular black music of the era, making lyrical reference to Sweet Lorraine
Sweet Lorraine
"Sweet Lorraine" is a song by the band Uriah Heep, first released on the album The Magician's Birthday. It was written by Mick Box, Gary Thain and David Byron. Sweet Lorraine reached #91 in the US. It is one of the better known songs by the band, famous, in part, for its Moog synthesizer solo,...
, Sioux City Sue
Sioux City Sue
"Sioux City Sue" is a 1945 song by Dick Thomas. The song was Thomas' first chart entry on the Juke Box Folk Records chart and was also his most successful release: "Sioux City Sue" spent four weeks at number one and a total of twenty-three weeks on the charts....
, Sweet Georgia Brown
Sweet Georgia Brown
"Sweet Georgia Brown" is a jazz standard and pop tune written in 1925 by Ben Bernie and Maceo Pinkard and Kenneth Casey .The tune was first recorded on March 19, 1925 by bandleader Ben Bernie, resulting in a five-week No. 1 for Ben Bernie and his Hotel Roosevelt Orchestra...
, Caldonia
Caldonia
"Caldonia" is a jump blues song, first recorded in 1945 by Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five. A version by Erskine Hawkins, also in 1945, was described by Billboard magazine as "rock and roll", the first time that phrase was used in print to describe any style of music.-Louis Jordan recording:In...
, Elder Brown, and Deacon Jones. All of these characters had figured prominently in previous hit songs.
While Brown missed out on the biggest hit version of his song, its success kicked off his own career, which included two #1 R&B hits. In 1949, he released "Rockin' at Midnight", a sequel to "Good Rockin' Tonight", which might be thought of as "Good Rockin' Tonight part II" because it included updates on the same characters as the original. It reached #2 on the R&B chart, where it remained for a month.
Elvis Presley
In 1954, "Good Rockin' Tonight" was the second Sun RecordsSun Records
Sun Records is a record label founded in Memphis, Tennessee, starting operations on March 27, 1952.Founded by Sam Phillips, Sun Records was known for giving notable musicians such as Elvis Presley , Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, and Johnny Cash...
release by Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
, along with "I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine" on the flip side. Presley and his bandmates hewed closer to the original Roy Brown version, but omitted the lyrics' by-then-dated roster of names in favor of a simpler, more energetic "We're gonna rock, rock, rock!" Described as "a flat-out rocker" country radio programmers blanched, and older audiences were somewhat mystified. A live show broadcast from Houston DJ Bill Collie's club documented that the crowd "barely responded" to the song. "Blue Moon of Kentucky
Blue Moon of Kentucky
"Blue Moon of Kentucky" is a waltz written in 1946 by bluegrass musician Bill Monroe and recorded by his band, The Blue Grass Boys. The song has since been recorded by many artists, including Elvis Presley....
", the uptempo version of the Bill Monroe
Bill Monroe
William Smith Monroe was an American musician who created the style of music known as bluegrass, which takes its name from his band, the "Blue Grass Boys," named for Monroe's home state of Kentucky. Monroe's performing career spanned 60 years as a singer, instrumentalist, composer and bandleader...
classic, has "the fans go stark raving nuts with joy". Both sides of this second record featuring "Elvis Presley, Scotty
Scotty Moore
Winfield Scott "Scotty" Moore III is an American guitarist. He is best known for his backing of Elvis Presley in the first part of his career, between 1954 and the beginning of Elvis' Hollywood years...
and Bill
Bill Black
William Patton "Bill" Black, Jr. was an American musician who is noted as one of the pioneers of rockabilly music. Black was the bassist in Elvis Presley's early trio and the leader of Bill Black's Combo....
" "stiffed".."
The song was used for the Elvis Presley biopic Elvis which starred Jonathan Rhys-Meyers
Jonathan Rhys-Meyers
Jonathan Rhys Meyers is an Irish actor and model.He is best known for his roles in the films Velvet Goldmine, Mission Impossible III, Bend It Like Beckham, Match Point and his television roles as Elvis Presley in the biographical miniseries Elvis, which earned him a Golden Globe for Best Actor,...
as Presley; it was used for a scene where he is performing at the Louisiana Hayride in 1956.
Other artists
- MontroseMontrose (band)Montrose was a California-based hard rock band. The band originally featured Ronnie Montrose on guitar and future solo artist and former Van Halen frontman Sammy Hagar...
- Ronnie MontroseRonnie MontroseRonnie Montrose, is an Amercian rock guitarist who has headed his own bands as well as performing with a variety of musicians, including Sammy Hagar, Herbie Hancock, Van Morrison, The Beau Brummels, Boz Scaggs, Beaver & Krause, Gary Wright, Tony Williams, The Neville Brothers, Dan Hartman, Edgar...
recorded a hard rock cover of the song on his band's debut album with Sammy HagarSammy HagarSam Roy "Sammy" Hagar , also known as The Red Rocker, is an American rock singer, guitarist, and songwriter. Also sings Country Music....
on vocals.
- The HoneydrippersThe HoneydrippersThe Honeydrippers was a rock band of the 1980s. Former Led Zeppelin lead singer Robert Plant formed the group in 1981 to satisfy his long-time goal in having a rock band with a heavy R&B basis. Formed originally in Worcestershire, the band went on to record an EP in the US...
with Robert PlantRobert PlantRobert Anthony Plant, CBE is an English singer and songwriter best known as the vocalist and lyricist of the iconic rock band Led Zeppelin. He has also had a successful solo career...
& Jeff BeckJeff BeckGeoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...
- Recorded the song under the name "Rockin at Midnight".
- Paul McCartneyPaul McCartneySir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
recorded the song for the Unplugged (The Official Bootleg)Unplugged (The Official Bootleg)- Personnel :*Paul McCartney: Acoustic guitar, drums, vocals.*Linda McCartney: Piano, Indian harmonium, percussion, vocals.*Hamish Stuart: Acoustic bass guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals.*Robbie McIntosh: Acoustic guitars, piano, dobro, vocals....
album.
- Bruce SpringsteenBruce SpringsteenBruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
performed the song during his 1978 Darkness TourDarkness TourBruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's Darkness Tour was a concert tour of North America that ran from May 1978 through the rest of the year, in conjunction with the release of Springsteen's album Darkness on the Edge of Town...
, usually as the opening number. He also occasionally performed the song on The River TourThe River TourThe River Tour was a concert tour featuring Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band that took place in 1980 and 1981, beginning concurrently with the release of Springsteen's album The River.-Itinerary:...
in 1980-81.
- A Gene SummersGene SummersGene Summers is an American rock/rockabilly singer and entertainer. Some of his classic recordings include "School of Rock 'n Roll", "Straight Skirt", "Nervous", "Gotta Lotta That", "Twixteen", "Alabama Shake" and his biggest-selling single "Big Blue Diamonds"...
cover version of "Good Rocking Tonight" was included on a French compilation album The Big Beat Show issued by Big Beat Records (BBR1000) in 1981.
- ContrabandContraband (band)Contraband was a short-lived supergroup/side project that included members of several famous rock bands from the 1980s, such as The Michael Schenker Group, Ratt, Vixen, Shark Island and L.A. Guns....
, an all-star hard rock group recorded their version of the song for their debut self-titled album in 1991.
- Ricky NelsonRicky NelsonEric Hilliard Nelson , better known as Ricky Nelson or Rick Nelson, was an American singer-songwriter, instrumentalist, and actor...
recorded the song for his 1958 album Ricky NelsonRicky Nelson (album)Ricky Nelson is the second album by teen idol Ricky Nelson, released in 1958. The album charted in the Top 10 on the Billboard album charts, and has since been re-issued on iTunes.-Musical content:...
.
- Lonnie LeeLonnie LeeLonnie Lee is an Australian singer. He was raised on sheep property in Rowena, New South Wales and has been performing since the mid 1950s. At the peak of his career, Lee had eight national #1 hits and produced five Gold Records...
recorded the song for his 1993 album Don't Look BackDon't Look Back (Lonnie Lee album)Don't Look Back is an album by the Australian singer Lonnie Lee. It was recorded in Sydney, Australia, in 1993 and features 13 tracks, 11 of them written by Lee. In the '70s Lee wrote with and for Roy Orbison, and some of these songs were originally written for Orbison. The musical style of the...
; his version is a more guitar-based rock 'n' roll version.
- Other cover versions of the song include the Treniers', Pat BoonePat BooneCharles Eugene "Pat" Boone is an American singer, actor and writer who has been a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He covered black artists' songs and sold more copies than his black counterparts...
's, James BrownJames BrownJames Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...
's, Dread ZeppelinDread ZeppelinDread Zeppelin is an American band best known for performing the songs of Led Zeppelin in a reggae style as sung by a 300 pound Vegas Elvis impersonator. Over the years they would also perform songs originally by Elvis Presley, Bob Marley and The Yardbirds. The group toured extensively around the...
's (on their Hot & Spicy BeanburgerHot & Spicy BeanburgerHot and Spicy Beanburger, released in 1993, is the fourth studio album by Dread Zeppelin. This album marks the return of Tortelvis, the lead singer who left the band and was not on the previous album, It's Not Unusual, which was criticized by many fans due to its focus on disco songs.On Hot and...
album), MontroseMontrose (album)Montrose is the debut album by the band Montrose in 1973 which was produced by Ted Templeman.- History :After having done sessions work for various musicians including Van Morrison, Herbie Hancock and Edgar Winter, this was Ronnie Montrose's first record leading his own band. It featured then...
's (whose version was covered by NWOBHMNew Wave of British Heavy MetalThe New Wave of British Heavy Metal was a heavy metal movement that started in the late 1970s, in Britain, and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. The movement developed as a reaction in part to the decline of early heavy metal bands such as Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Black...
band Diamond HeadDiamond Head (band)Diamond Head are an English heavy metal band formed in 1976 in Stourbridge, England. The band is recognised as one of the leading members of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and is acknowledged by later bands like Metallica and Megadeth as an important early influence.-Early history:Formed by...
), Commander Cody and His Lost Planet AirmenCommander Cody and His Lost Planet AirmenCommander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen is an American country rock band founded in 1967. Core members included founder George Frayne, John Tichy, Billy C. Farlow, Bill Kirchen, Andy Stein, Paul "Buffalo" Bruce Barlow, Lance Dickerson, and Bobby Black....
and Kevin DuBrowKevin DuBrowKevin Mark DuBrow was an American rock singer best known as the lead vocalist of the Heavy Metal band Quiet Riot from 1975 until his death in 2007...
's. Robert PlantRobert PlantRobert Anthony Plant, CBE is an English singer and songwriter best known as the vocalist and lyricist of the iconic rock band Led Zeppelin. He has also had a successful solo career...
and the Honeydrippers had a successful cover of "Rockin' at Midnight". Early 60s Mexican band Los Teen Tops recorded a Spanish and successful version: "Buen rock esta noche"
- Wes PaulWes PaulWester Paul Gerrard is an English guitarist and singer.Wes Paul grew up in Lodge Lane, Liverpool. Between 13 November 2005 and 2 September 2007 he was the stage manager and compère of Sounds of the Sixties Cavern Showcase which ran every Sunday at The Cavern Club, Liverpool...
Gerrard features this song heavily in his live performances, often opening up with it in his second set. He will record the song in his new Manchester to Memphis album which he is recording at Sun StudioSun StudioSun Studio is a recording studio opened by rock pioneer Sam Phillips at 706 Union Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee, on January 3, 1950. It was originally called Memphis Recording Service, sharing the same building with the Sun Records label business...
, Memphis, TennesseeMemphis, TennesseeMemphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
in May 2010.