A Rockin' Good Way (to Mess Around and Fall in Love)

"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). Bowman was given vocal backing by The Spaniels.

Dinah Washington and Brook Benton version

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.

The song was written by Benton, Clyde Otis and Luchi de Jesus. 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

Weekly charts

Chart (1960)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)	28
Canada (CHUM)	17
US Billboard Hot 100	7
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)	1
US Cash Box Top 100	5

Year-end charts

Chart (1960)	Position
US Billboard Top 100	75
US Cash Box Top 100	44

Shakin' Stevens and Bonnie Tyler version

"A Rockin' Good Way"

Single by Shakin' Stevens & Bonnie Tyler

from the album The Bop Won't Stop

B-side

"Why Do You Treat Me This Way?"

Released

30 December 1983 (1983-12-30)

Recorded

1983

Studio

Eden Studios, London

Genre

Length

2:55

Label

Epic

Songwriter(s)

Brook Benton
Clyde Otis
Luchi DeJesus

Producer(s)

Christopher Neil

Shakin' Stevens singles chronology

"Cry Just a Little Bit"
(1983)

"A Rockin' Good Way"
(1983)

"A Love Worth Waiting For"
(1984)

Bonnie Tyler singles chronology

"Take Me Back"
(1983)

"A Rockin' Good Way"
(1983)

"Holding Out for a Hero"
(1984)

Official video

"A Rockin' Good Way (To Mess Around And Fall In Love)" on YouTube

A duet by Welsh singers Shakin' Stevens and Bonnie Tyler was released on 30 December 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. The B-side was a live recording by Stevens' of "Why Do You Treat Me This Way?" at the Birmingham Odeon.

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for "A Rockin' Good Way"
Charts (1984)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)	21
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)	9
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)	5
Ireland (IRMA)	1
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)	8
Netherlands (Single Top 100)	8
Germany (GfK)	22
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)	8
Norway (VG-lista)	4
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)	11
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)	10
UK Singles (OCC)	5

Year-end charts

1984 year-end chart performance for "A Rockin' Good Way"
Chart (1984)	Position
Belgium (Ultratop Flanders)	60
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)	33

References

Cohodas, Nadine (18 December 2007). Queen: The Life and Music of Dinah Washington. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. p. 341. ISBN 978-0307427380.
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
"Every AMR Top 100 Single in 1960". www.top100singles.net.
"CHUM Hit Parade, week of June 13, 1960". 13 June 1960. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
"Dinah Washington Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
"Dinah Washington Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard.
"Cash Box Top 100 Singles – Week ending July 9, 1960". Cash Box magazine. Retrieved 2020-11-04.
^ "Song artist 615 - Dina Washington". Tsort.info. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
^ "Shakin Stevens: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – A Rockin' Good Way". Irish Singles Chart.
Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
"Shakin' Stevens & Bonnie Tyler – A Rockin' Good Way" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
"Shakin' Stevens & Bonnie Tyler – A Rockin' Good Way" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
"Nederlandse Top 40 – Shakin' Stevens & Bonnie Tyler" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
"Shakin' Stevens & Bonnie Tyler – A Rockin' Good Way" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
"Shakin' Stevens & Bonnie Tyler – A Rockin' Good Way" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
"Shakin' Stevens & Bonnie Tyler – A Rockin' Good Way". Top 40 Singles.
"Shakin' Stevens & Bonnie Tyler – A Rockin' Good Way". VG-lista.
"Shakin' Stevens & Bonnie Tyler – A Rockin' Good Way". Singles Top 100.
"Shakin' Stevens & Bonnie Tyler – A Rockin' Good Way". Swiss Singles Chart.
"Jaaroverzichten 1984". Ultratop. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
"Top Selling Singles of 1984". Official NZ Music Charts.com. Recorded Music New Zealand Limited. Retrieved 4 November 2020.

External links

Shakin' Stevens

Studio albums

Shakin' Stevens
Take One!
Marie, Marie
This Ole House
Shaky
Give Me Your Heart Tonight
The Bop Won't Stop
Lipstick Powder and Paint
Let's Boogie
A Whole Lotta Shaky
There Are Two Kinds of Music... Rock 'n' Roll

Extended plays

The Shakin' Stevens EP

Compilation albums

Video albums

The DVD Collection

Box sets

The Epic Masters

Singles

"Treat Her Right"
"Endless Sleep"
"Fire"
"Spooky"
"Hot Dog"
"Marie, Marie
"This Ole House"
"You Drive Me Crazy"
"Green Door"
"It's Raining"
"Mona Lisa"
"Oh Julie"
"Shirley"
"Give Me Your Heart Tonight"
"I'll Be Satisfied"
"Your Ma Said You Cried in Your Sleep Last Night"
"It's Late"
"Cry Just a Little Bit"
"A Rockin' Good Way"
"A Love Worth Waiting For"
"A Letter to You"
"Teardrops"
"Breaking Up My Heart"
"Lipstick, Powder and Paint"
"Merry Christmas Everyone"
"Turning Away"
"A Little Boogie Woogie (In the Back of My Mind)"
"Come See About Me"
"What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For"
"Feel the Need in Me"
"True Love"
"Jezebel"
"I Can Help"
"Trouble"
"Echoes of Merry Christmas Everyone"

Shakin' Stevens and the Sunsets

Singles	"Sea Cruise" "Honey Don't" "It Came Out of the Sky" "Lonesome Town" "No Other Baby" "Donna" "Two Hearts, Two Kisses" "Sweet Little Sixteen"

Discography

v t e Bonnie Tyler songs
Discography
The World Starts Tonight	"Lost in France" "More Than a Lover"
Natural Force	"It's a Heartache" "Living for the City" "Heaven" "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" "Here Am I"
Diamond Cut	"My Guns Are Loaded"
Goodbye to the Island	"Sometimes When We Touch" "A Whiter Shade of Pale" "I Believe in Your Sweet Love"
Faster Than the Speed of Night	"Have You Ever Seen the Rain?" "Faster Than the Speed of Night" "Total Eclipse of the Heart" "Straight from the Heart"
Secret Dreams and Forbidden Fire	"If You Were a Woman (And I Was a Man)" "Loving You's a Dirty Job but Somebody's Gotta Do It" "Band of Gold" "Holding Out for a Hero"
Hide Your Heart	"Hide Your Heart" "Don't Turn Around" "Save Up All Your Tears" "To Love Somebody" "The Best"
Bitterblue	"Against the Wind" "Bitterblue"
Angel Heart	"Fools Lullaby"
Silhouette in Red	"You Are So Beautiful"
Free Spirit	"You're the One" "Making Love Out of Nothing at All" "Bridge over Troubled Water" "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad"
All in One Voice	"Angel of the Morning" "I Put a Spell on You" "The Rose" "He's the King" "Silent Night"
Heart Strings	"Human Touch" "Everybody Hurts" "Amazed" "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" "Lean on Me" "In My Life" "Learning to Fly" "Right Here Waiting" "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" "I Can't Make You Love Me" "Need Your Love So Bad" "It's Over"
Simply Believe	"Si demain... (Turn Around)" "Si tout s'arrête (It's a Heartache) "Darlin'"
Rocks and Honey	"Believe in Me" "What You Need from Me" "Mom"
Collaborations	"A Rockin' Good Way (to Mess Around and Fall in Love)" "Sem Limites pra Sonhar (Reaching for the Infinite Heart)" "Islands" "Vergiß Es (Forget It)" "Amour Éternel (Eternal Flame)"
Other songs	"Married Men" "Here She Comes" "I Don't Know How to Love Him" from Over the Rainbow (2007 charity album)

v t e Dinah Washington
Studio albums	Blazing Ballads After Hours with Miss "D" For Those in Love Dinah! In the Land of Hi-Fi The Swingin' Miss "D" Dinah Washington Sings Fats Waller Music for a First Love Dinah Sings Bessie Smith What a Diff'rence a Day Makes! September in the Rain Unforgettable Drinking Again Back to the Blues Dinah '63 This Is My Story A Stranger on Earth
Live albums	Dinah Jams Newport '58
Associated albums	Jam Session
Tribute albums	Unforgettable: A Tribute to Dinah Washington
Singles	"I'll Never Be Free" "Ain't Misbehavin'" "It's Too Soon to Know" "Baby Get Lost" "I Wanna Be Loved" "Harbor Lights" "My Heart Cries for You" "Cold, Cold Heart" "Trouble in Mind" "I Don't Hurt Anymore" "Dream" "Teach Me Tonight" "I Concentrate on You" "That's All I Want from You" "What a Diff'rence a Day Makes" "Unforgettable" "Baby (You've Got What It Takes)" "A Rockin' Good Way (to Mess Around and Fall in Love)" "This Bitter Earth" "Love Walked In" "It Could Happen to You" "September in the Rain" "Where Are You?" "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You"
Associated acts	Lionel Hampton Clifford Brown Brook Benton
Associated people	Eddie Chamblee Dick Lane
Related topics	Discography Dinah Washington Park

v t e Brook Benton
Singles	"Endlessly" "It's Just a Matter of Time" "So Many Ways" "Thank You Pretty Baby" "Baby (You've Got What It Takes)" "Fools Rush In (Where Angels Fear to Tread)" "Kiddio" "A Rockin' Good Way (to Mess Around and Fall in Love)" "Think Twice" "Frankie and Johnny" "Boll Weevil" "Shadrack" "Walk on the Wild Side" "Hotel Happiness" "Laura (What's He Got That I Ain't Got)" "My Way" "Rainy Night in Georgia"
Other songs	"Goodnight My Love" "It's Been a Long, Long Time" "Looking Back" "Send for Me" "Valley of Tears"

Brook Benton

Singles

"Endlessly"
"It's Just a Matter of Time"
"So Many Ways"
"Thank You Pretty Baby"
"Baby (You've Got What It Takes)"
"Fools Rush In (Where Angels Fear to Tread)"
"Kiddio"
"A Rockin' Good Way (to Mess Around and Fall in Love)"
"Think Twice"
"Frankie and Johnny"
"Boll Weevil"
"Shadrack"
"Walk on the Wild Side"
"Hotel Happiness"
"Laura (What's He Got That I Ain't Got)"
"My Way"
"Rainy Night in Georgia"

Other songs

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