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
Recorded	March 1960
Genre	Soul
Length	2:25
Label	Mercury Records: 671629
Songwriter(s)	Brook Benton, Clyde Otis Luchi de Jesus
Producer(s)	Clyde Otis
Dinah Washington and Brook Benton singles chronology
"Baby (You've Got What It Takes)" (1960) "A Rockin' Good Way (to Mess Around and Fall in Love)" (1960) "This Bitter Earth" (1960)
Official audio
"A Rockin' Good Way (To Mess Around And Fall In Love)" on YouTube

"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 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. ^[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. ^[5]

Weekly charts

Chart (1960)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report) [6]	28
Canada (CHUM) [7]	17
US Billboard Hot 100 [8]	7
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs ( Billboard ) [9]	1
US Cash Box Top 100 [10]	5

Year-end charts

Chart (1960)	Position
US Billboard Top 100 [11]	75
US Cash Box Top 100 [11]	44

Shakin' Stevens and Bonnie Tyler version

1. Cohodas, Nadine (18 December 2007). Queen: The Life and Music of Dinah Washington. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. p. 341. ISBN   978-0307427380.
2. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 54.
3. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 612.
4. "BMI entry for the song". Archive.today. Archived from the original on July 18, 2012. Retrieved June 26, 2025.
5. Warren, Stanley (2004). "Belford C. "Sinky" Hendricks: A Musician's Musician". Indiana Magazine of History . 100 (2): 193. JSTOR   27792542 . Retrieved Jun 26, 2025.
6. "Every AMR Top 100 Single in 1960". Top100singles.net.
7. "CHUM Hit Parade, week of June 13, 1960" (JPG). Chumtribute.com. 13 June 1960. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
8. "Dinah Washington Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
9. "Dinah Washington Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard.
10. "Cash Box Top 100 Singles – Week ending July 9, 1960". Cash Box magazine . Retrieved 2020-11-04.
11. "Song artist 615 - Dina Washington". Tsort.info. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
12. "Shakin Stevens: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
13. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – A Rockin' Good Way". Irish Singles Chart.
14. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
15. "Shakin' Stevens & Bonnie Tyler – A Rockin' Good Way" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
16. "Shakin' Stevens & Bonnie Tyler – A Rockin' Good Way" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
17. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Shakin' Stevens & Bonnie Tyler" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
18. "Shakin' Stevens & Bonnie Tyler – A Rockin' Good Way" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
19. "Shakin' Stevens & Bonnie Tyler – A Rockin' Good Way". Top 40 Singles.
20. "Shakin' Stevens & Bonnie Tyler – A Rockin' Good Way". VG-lista.
21. "Shakin' Stevens & Bonnie Tyler – A Rockin' Good Way". Singles Top 100.
22. "Shakin' Stevens & Bonnie Tyler – A Rockin' Good Way". Swiss Singles Chart.
23. "Offiziellecharts.de – Shakin' Stevens & Bonnie Tyler – A Rockin' Good Way" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
24. "Jaaroverzichten 1984". Ultratop. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
25. "Top Selling Singles of 1984". Official NZ Music Charts.com. Recorded Music New Zealand Limited. Retrieved 4 November 2020.

External links

• "A Rockin' Good Way (to Mess Around and Fall in Love)" at 45cat.com
• Shakin' Stevens, Bonnie Tyler "Rockin' Good Way (To Mess Around And Fall In Love)" on YouTube

"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	Rock and roll pop rock
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)

v t e 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	Greatest Hits The Collection Singled Out
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"
Related articles	Discography