Roy Brown

Roy "Good Rocking" Brown (10 September 1925 - 25 May 1981) was a blues musician who brought a soul singing style (from gospel music) to the emerging genre of rock and roll. Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, Brown started as a gospel singer. His mother was an accomplished singer and organist in church. After a move to Los Angeles, California some time in the 1940s, and a brief period spent as a professional boxer in the welterweight category, he won a singing contest in 1945 at The Million Dollar Theater covering "There's No You" by Bing Crosby. In 1946 Brown moved to Galveston, Texas, where he sang in a club. His numbers included "Good rocking tonight". He returned to New Orleans in 1947. Brown failed to interest Wynonie Harris in "Good Rocking Tonight" (at first), but got an introduction to the president of Deluxe Records, who signed him. The song was released in 1947 and reached no. 13 on Billboard's R&B charts (but was eclipsed by Harris' cover of it). Brown's version was a jump blues with a swing beat, but Harris's cover version can be considered closer to rock and roll. Elvis Presley covered the song for Sun Records in 1954 ... later re-released on RCA Victor when his contract was sold to that record label in 1956. Brown and his band "The Mighty Men" were spectacular performers, with the kind of crowd-pleasing stage histrionics for which Little Richard would soon be famous. Unfortunately, tastes changed and Brown could not keep up. The decline of his fortunes coincided with his successfully winning a lawsuit against King Records for unpaid royalties in 1952, one of the few African-American musicians to do so in the 1950s. This has led some, such as author Nick Tosches (in his book Unsung Heroes of Rock 'n' Roll, which contains a chapter on Brown) to believe that Brown may have been blacklisted. His popularity was at its lowest at the end of the 1950s, but he sporadically managed to find work through the 1960s. In 1970 Roy closed The Johnny Otis Show at the Monterey Jazz Festival. As a result of the crowd reaction he recorded "Love For Sale", which became a hit for the Mercury Label. In the late 1970s a compilation LPs of his old work brought about a minor revival of interest. In 1978 he had a successful tour in Scandinavia following the release of Laughing but Crying and before the release of Good Rocking Tonight (Album). From 1980 until his death he enjoyed considerable popularity. Shortly before his death he was on a major upswing, performing at the Whisky A Go-Go in West Hollywood, California and headlining the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival during the spring of 1981.