Each Friday I pick a song–new, old, borrowed, blue–that’s been on my mind and in my ears, and write a short post about it.

Here’s “Good Rockin’ Tonight” by Roy Brown, the guy who wrote it:

Here’s “Good Rockin’ Tonight” by Wynonie Harris, the guy who made it a hit:

Here’s “Good Rockin’ Tonight” by Elvis Presley, the guy who made it rock ‘n’ roll:

Something old, something borrowed, something new, and no longer (jump) blues.

Roy Brown’s jump ain’t bad, though for my money, he sounds like he’s trying a little too hard.  It really gets a kick in the pants by Wynonie Harris, whose version announces itself as something more sophisticated with that “When the Saints Go Marching In” quotation that kicks it off.  One thing Harris isn’t doing is trying to hard. He doesn’t even have much regard for Brown’s lyrics.  As my friend Michael has pointed out, “meet me in the alley / behind the barn” doesn’t make sense, but it doesn’t have to; the point is, this barn dance has moved its good rockin’ to the big city. Where Brown’s trying real hard to let you know he’s gonna have some good rockin’ with his baby, Harris is pretty offhand and louche about the whole thing.  Now Elvis–well, Elvis sounds like a teenage kid hoping he’ll get laid.  He moves the song back into the country, but he doesn’t lose the swagger that Harris brought to the song, and in turning that swagger into his own, and with the pared-down instrumentation, he’s inventing rock ‘n’ roll before your very ears.

But I mean, come on. Two guitar solos?