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Good Rocking Tonight was originally a jump blues song released in 1947 by its writer, Roy Brown. It was covered by Wynonie Harris in December that year, and released in February 1948. The song includes the memorable refrain, "Well I heard the news, there's good rocking tonight!" Harris's version was far more wild, featuring black gospel style handclapping. This was reflected in the composition's success on the national R&B chart. Harris' record was a 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. This arguably improved the song's energy, and several R&B songs subsequently picked up on the "hoy hoy" phrasing. 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, 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 In 1954, Good Rockin' Tonight was the second-ever Sun Records release by Elvis Presley. 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!" Other versions of the song include the Treniers', Pat Boone's, and James Brown's; Robert Plant and the Honeydrippers had a successful cover of Rockin' at Midnight.
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