He began his adult life as a young preacher in Philadelphia, where he hosted a gospel radio show. In the 1960s, he signed with Atlantic Records and began moving towards more secular music. His first hit was Just Out Of Reach Of My Open Arms, a cover of a country song. Though well-received by both peers and critics, and attaining a few moderate pop and several major R&B hits, Burke never could quite break through into the mainstream as did his contemporaries like Sam Cooke, Otis Redding and Aretha Franklin.
Nevertheless, his emotive delivery, polished production, as well as the touches of country and pop sensibility in his music won him admirers and imitators. In 1964 he wrote and recorded Everybody Needs Somebody To Love his most prominent bid for an enduring soul standard. Covered by the Rolling Stones the same year, other well-known versions include one by Wilson Pickett and another a decade and a half later in the 1980 feature film by The Blues Brothers. Burke's biggest hit was a 1969 cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival's Proud Mary.
His career was to some degree revived in 2002, with the release of the album Don't Give Up On Me, produced by Joe Henry, where he sang songs written specifically for the album by a roster of top-rank artists, including Bob Dylan, Brian Wilson, Van Morrison, Elvis Costello, Tom Waits and Joe Henry himself.
He is featured in the 2004 movie Lightning in a Bottle singing Turn on Your Love Light and Down in the Valley.
As of October 2002 Burke was the father of 14 daughters and 7 sons with 64 grandchildren and 8 great grandchildren. Several of his children and grandchildren have had successful careers in various facets of the music industry, though none as much so as their patriarch.
Burke died, arriving at Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam where he was supposed to perform with Dutch band De Dijk with whom he recorded an album, entitled Hold on Tight.
Rock icon Mick Jagger performed a tribute to Burke at the 2011 Grammy Awards, laying down Burke's classic hit "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love".
A cover of Everybody Needs Somebody To Love received huge exposure as the music for Amazon's 2019 Christmas commercial.
Good Rockin' Tonight
Solomon Burke Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There's good rockin' tonight.
Gonna hold my baby tight as I can.
Tonight she'll know I'm a mighty man.
I heard the news,
There's good rockin' tonight.
Oh, lead me in the alley behind the barn.
Baby, bring my rockin' shoes
'Cause tonight I'm gonna rock away all my blues
Have you heard the news,
There's good rockin' tonight.
Well, elder Brown, deacon Jones,
They've even left their happy home.
They'll be there, just you wait and see,
A-jumpin' and a-stompin' at the jubilee.
Hey, man, there's good rockin' tonight.
Sweet Lorraine, Sioux City Sue,
Sweet Georgia Brown, Caledonia too,
They'll be there jumpin' like mad.
Hey, sister, ain't you glad.
We got the news,
There's good rockin' tonight
Solomon Burke's "Good Rockin' Tonight" is an upbeat song that celebrates rock and roll, which was a new and popular genre at the time. The song begins with the singer hearing the news about good rock and roll happening that night and deciding to hold his lover tight and show her what a mighty man he is. The chorus repeats the phrase "there's good rockin' tonight," establishing the theme of the song.
In the second verse, the singer invites his lover to follow him to the alley behind the barn where they can rock and roll together without worrying about anyone else. He even asks her to bring his "rockin' shoes" so he can dance away his blues. The bridge celebrates the different people who will be attending the rock and roll event, including Elder Brown and Deacon Jones, as well as Sweet Lorraine, Sioux City Sue, Sweet Georgia Brown, and Caledonia.
Overall, the song is a celebration of the power of rock and roll to bring people together and create joy.
Line by Line Meaning
I heard the news,
The singer has heard exciting news.
There's good rockin' tonight.
There is great music to be had tonight.
Gonna hold my baby tight as I can.
I will hold my loved one as tightly as possible.
Tonight she'll know I'm a mighty man.
Tonight, my partner will see me as a powerful individual.
Oh, lead me in the alley behind the barn.
Take me to a secluded place.
Don't be afraid, I'll do you no harm.
I promise not to hurt you.
Baby, bring my rockin' shoes
Bring me shoes suitable for dancing.
'Cause tonight I'm gonna rock away all my blues
I will dance my cares away this evening.
Have you heard the news,
The artist wants to share the exciting news.
There's good rockin' tonight.
There is great music to be had tonight.
Well, elder Brown, deacon Jones,
Elder Brown and Deacon Jones are joining in on the fun.
They've even left their happy home.
Elder Brown and Deacon Jones are so excited they have left their comfortable homes.
They'll be there, just you wait and see,
Elder Brown and Deacon Jones will be there, don't worry.
A-jumpin' and a-stompin' at the jubilee.
They will be dancing and celebrating at the party.
Hey, man, there's good rockin' tonight.
The singer is excited again about the music.
Sweet Lorraine, Sioux City Sue,
Several women are coming to dance.
Sweet Georgia Brown, Caledonia too,
They are named Georgia Brown and Caledonia.
They'll be there jumpin' like mad.
They will be dancing exuberantly.
Hey, sister, ain't you glad.
The singer is excited and wants to make sure others are too.
We got the news,
The artist is still excited.
There's good rockin' tonight.
The music is still going to be great.
Writer(s): Roy Brown
Contributed by Violet N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
windel12002
I love it. I have the album....A Great Tune for Swing Dancing.
13louisianaboy
Pure ryth'm blues !
Krysten55
Dude, I don't even know this song. I just switched to a different station, and this was playing. I just took a liking to it!
Krysten55
@MrDagwoodBumstead Why does Google keep saying "1993", when I look up the year of release for this song?
MrDagwoodBumstead
A lot of good stuff came from the 40s. Check out Jimmy Preston's "Rock This Joint" or Jimmy Liggins' "Cadillac Boogie". Great stuff.
Krysten55
Really? The 40's? I would've thought it was 50's.
MrDagwoodBumstead
The song comes from the 1940s and was originally cut by Roy Brown. Covers by Wynonie Harris and Elvis were better known.
Tom Kelly
I know I wll attract a lot of hatwrs but. Few years ago Solom9n opened for Van Morrison. Although I love Van I thought he was wooden that night and Solomon Burke all ~400lbs of him was on fire.
Alan Dery
great song