The song includes the memorable refrain, "Well I heard the news, there's good rocking tonight!"

[3] Some reviewers state that Brown's version, or Wynonie Harris' (depending on the source),[4] is one of the contenders for the title of "first rock'n'roll record".

interjections, a commonly used expression in jump blues tunes of the time, going back to 1945's "The Honeydripper" by Joe Liggins.

[11] The song is a primer of sorts on the popular black music of the era, making lyrical reference to Sweet Lorraine, Sioux City Sue, Sweet Georgia Brown, Caldonia, Elder Brown, and Deacon Jones.

The song has also been credited with being the most successful record to that point to use the word "rock" not as a euphemism for sex, but as a descriptive for the musical style, a connection which would become even clearer in 1954 when a version of "Good Rockin' Tonight" became Elvis Presley's second-ever single.

[19] The song was used for the 2005 biographical miniseries Elvis, which starred Jonathan Rhys-Meyers as Presley; it was used for a montage sequence where he is performing at the Louisiana Hayride in 1954.