[2] It originated as "Rockin' and Rollin'", a 1951 song by Lil' Son Jackson,[1] itself inspired by earlier blues.

King's recording of "Rock Me Baby" was released in 1964, it became his first single to reach the Top 40 in Billboard magazine's Hot 100 chart.

King's "Rock Me Baby" is based on the 1951 song "Rockin' and Rollin'" by Lil' Son Jackson.

Some of Jackson's lyrics were used, but Waters incorporated a couple of verses from his 1951 song "All Night Long" (that is also based on "Rockin' and Rollin'").

[2] Muddy Waters' version also uses Jackson's guitar figure and the starting of the vocal on the IV chord and he interpreted it as an unusual fifteen-bar blues (an uneven number of measures, rather than the traditional twelve bars or somewhat less common eight or sixteen bars).

"Roll Me Mama", a 1939 song by Curtis Jones[6] shares a couple of phrases ("like a wagon wheel", "ain't got no bone") with "Rockin' and Rollin'".

Kent part-owner Joe Bihari recalled the pianist as King's frequent collaborator Maxwell Davis, although others have been suggested, such as Lloyd Glenn and Jimmy McCracklin.