"Good Rocking Tonight" was originally a jump blues song released in 1947 by its writer, Roy Brown and was covered by many 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.
Original song
Brown had first offered his song to Wynonie Harris, who turned it down. He then approached Cecil Gant later that night, but after hearing Brown sing, Gant made a 2:30 AM phone call to Jules Braun, the president of DeLuxe Records. After Brown sang his song over the phone, Braun asked Brown to sing it a second time. He then told Gant, "Give him fifty dollars and don't let him out of your sight." Five weeks later, Brown recorded the song for DeLuxe Records. Only after Brown's record had gained traction in New Orleans did Harris decide to cover it. Harris' 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. 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. The song has also been credited with being the most successful record to that point to use the word "rock" not as a euphemism for sex, but as a descriptive for the musical style, a connection which would become even clearer in 1954 when a version of "Good Rockin' Tonight" became Elvis Presley's second-ever single. 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.
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. 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!" Both sides of this second record featuring "Elvis Presley, Scotty and Bill" "stiffed". The song was used for the biopic Elvis, which starred Jonathan Rhys-Meyers as Presley; it was used for a montage sequence where he is performing at the Louisiana Hayride in 1954.
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. Springsteen performed the song for the first time in 27 years in 2008 on the Magic Tour.
Joe Ely recorded the song for his 1981 album Musta Notta Gotta Lotta.
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.
