Good Rocking Tonight
| "Good Rocking Tonight" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Roy Brown | |
| Released | 1947 |
| Recorded | June 1947 |
| Genre | Rock and roll, jump blues |
| Language | English |
| Writer | Roy Brown |
| Composer | Roy Brown |
"Good Rocking Tonight" was originally a jump blues song released in 1947 by its writer, Roy Brown[1] and was covered by many other recording artists. The song includes the memorable refrain, "Well I heard the news, there's good rocking tonight!" The song anticipated elements of rock and roll music.[2]
Original version
Brown had first offered his song to Wynonie Harris, 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 #13 of the Billboard R&B chart, but Harris' record became a #1 R&B hit and remained on the chart for half a year.[3] 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.[citation needed]
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." It reached #2 on the R&B chart, where it remained for a month.[4]
Covers
Elvis Presley
| "Good Rockin' Tonight" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||
| Single by Elvis Presley | ||||
| from the album A Date with Elvis | ||||
| B-side | "I Don't Care If the Sun Don't Shine" | |||
| Released | September 1954[5] | |||
| Format | Single | |||
| Recorded | September 10, 1954[5] | |||
| Genre | Rockabilly | |||
| Length | 2:14 | |||
| Label | Sun Records | |||
| Writer(s) | Roy Brown | |||
| Producer | Sam Phillips | |||
| Elvis Presley singles chronology | ||||
|
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| "Rockin' at Midnight" | |
|---|---|
| Single by The Honeydrippers | |
| from the album The Honeydrippers: Volume One | |
| Released | 1984 |
| Format | Single |
| Recorded | March 1984, Atlantic Studios, New York, NY |
| Genre | Rockabilly Revival |
| Length | 6:00 |
| Label |
Es Paranza/Atlantic Records 90265 |
| Writer(s) | Roy Brown |
| Producer | The Fabulous Brill Brothers: Nugetre Robert Plant Jimmy Page Nile Rodgers |
In 1954, "Good Rockin' Tonight" was the second Sun Records release by Elvis Presley, along with "I Don't Care if the Sun Don't Shine" on the flip side.[6][7] 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".."[8]
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.
Other artists
- The Honeydrippers with Robert Plant & Jeff Beck - Recorded the song under the name "Rockin at Midnight."
- Paul McCartney recorded the song for the Unplugged (The Official Bootleg) album.
- Bruce Springsteen performed the song during his 1978 Darkness Tour, usually as the opening number. He also occasionally performed the song on The River Tour in 1980-81.[9] Springsteen performed the song for the first time in 27 years in 2008 on the Magic Tour.
- A Gene Summers 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.
- Contraband, an all-star hard rock group recorded their version of the song for their debut self-titled album in 1991.
- Ricky Nelson recorded the song for his 1958 album Ricky Nelson.
- Lonnie Lee recorded the song for his 1993 album Don't Look Back; his version is a more guitar-based rock 'n' roll version.
- Wes Paul 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 Studio, Memphis, Tennessee in May 2010.
- American R&B and boogie-woogie pianist and singer Little Willie Littlefield recorded a version for his 1982 album Houseparty.
- Other cover versions of the song include The Treniers, Pat Boone, James Brown, Dread Zeppelin (on their Hot & Spicy Beanburger album), Montrose (whose version was covered by NWOBHM band Diamond Head), Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, Kevin DuBrow, and Jerry Lee Lewis.[10]
References
- ^ Nick Tosches, Country: The Twisted Roots of Rock 'n' Roll (Da Capo Press, 1996), 51.
- ^ "Morgan Wright's HoyHoy.com: The Dawn of Rock 'n Roll". Hoyhoy.com. 1954-05-02. Retrieved 2012-03-04.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 246.
- ^ Roy Brown's "Good Rockin' Tonight" Retrieved July 2, 2012.
- ^ a b Jorgensen, Ernst (July 1998). Elvis Presley: A Life in Music. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-18572-3. OCLC 38168234.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ Gary Dowell, Isaiah Evans, James L. Halperin, Kim Jones, and Ivy Press, Heritage Music and Entertainment Dallas Signature Auction Catalog #634 (Heritage Capital Corporation, 2006), 167.
- ^ The Blue Moon Boys - The Story of Elvis Presley's Band. Ken Burke and Dan Griffin. 2006. Chicago Review Press. pages 45,46. ISBN 1-55652-614-8
- ^ Barker, Derek (2009). Liner notes to Bruce Springsteen's Jukebox: The Songs that Inspired the Man [CD]. Chrome Dreams.
- ^ Jerry Lee Lewis, The 20 Most Requested Retrieved July 1, 2012.
| Preceded by "Tomorrow Night" by Lonnie Johnson |
Billboard Best Selling Retail Race Records number-one single (Wynonie Harris version) June 19, 1948 |
Succeeded by "Tomorrow Night" by Lonnie Johnson |
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