A Rockin' Good Way (to Mess Around and Fall in Love)
| "A Rockin' Good Way (to Mess Around and Fall in Love)" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Dinah Washington and Brook Benton | ||||
| from the album The Two of Us | ||||
| B-side | "I Believe" | |||
| Released | May 1960 | |||
| Genre | Soul | |||
| Length | 2:25 | |||
| Label | Mercury Records: 671629 | |||
| Writer(s) |
Brook Benton, Clyde Otis Luchi de Jesus | |||
| Producer(s) | Clyde Otis | |||
| Dinah Washington and Brook Benton singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"A Rockin' Good Way (to Mess Around and Fall in Love)" is a song first recorded in 1958 by Priscilla Bowman, on the Abner Records label (ABNER DJ 1018).[1] Bowman was given vocal backing by The Spaniels.[2]
Dinah Washington and Brook Benton
In 1960, the song was recorded as a pop and R&B duet by Dinah Washington and Brook Benton. The single was the second pairing for the singers and, like their first single together, it went to number 1 on the R&B chart and was a top ten pop single as well.[3]
The song was written by Benton, Clyde Otis and Luchi de Jesus.[4] The single, with the song title styled "A ROCKIN' GOOD WAY (To Mess Around And Fall I Love)", included orchestra arranged and conducted by Belford Hendricks.
Charts
| Chart (1960) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Top Pop Songs | 7 |
| US Billboard Hot Rhythm&Blues Songs | 1 |
Shakin' Stevens and Bonnie Tyler
A cover version of the duet by the UK's Shakin' Stevens and Bonnie Tyler was released in 1983 and made number 5 in the UK singles chart and number 1 in Ireland. It was included on Stevens' 1984 album "The Bop Won't Stop".
Charts
| Charts (1983) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Irish singles charts | 1 |
| Norway singles charts | 4 |
| UK singles charts | 5 |
| Dutch singles charts | 8 |
| New Zealand singles charts | 8 |
| Austria singles charts | 9 |
| Swiss singles charts | 10 |
| Sweden singles charts | 11 |
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[5] | 21 |
| Germany singles charts | 22 |
Australia: Austria Sweden Ireland UK Switzerland New Zealand Holland Germany Norway
References
- ↑ Cohodas, Nadine. Queen: The Life and Music of Dinah Washington. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. p. 341. ISBN 0307427382.
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 54.
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 612.
- ↑ BMI entry for the song
- ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 316. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
| Preceded by "Cathy's Clown" by The Everly Brothers |
Billboard Hot R&B Sides number-one single June 20, 1960-July 4, 1960 (three weeks) (first run) |
Succeeded by "There's Something on Your Mind" (Part 2) by Bobby Marchan |
| Preceded by "There's Something on Your Mind" (Part 2) by Bobby Marchan |
Billboard Hot R&B Sides number-one single July 18, 1960 (second run) |
Succeeded by "This Bitter Earth" by Dinah Washington |