Harvey G. Cohen in his 2010 book Duke Ellington's America writes that "Rocks in My Bed" "presents a more honest and adult impression of sexual loneliness than most Swing Era lyrics".
[1] The academic Walter van de Leur theorized in his analysis of several Ellington pieces of the early 1940s that "Rocks in My Bed" may have been partially written by Billy Strayhorn yet solely copyrighted to Ellington without additional attribution.
[3] It was introduced by Big Joe Turner in the 1941 musical revue Jump for Joy.
[4][5] Turner said in an interview that he assisted Ellington with the arrangement and composition of "Rocks in My Bed" whilst in preparation for Jump for Joy at the Dunbar Hotel.
Betty Roché's version has been praised for its "gloriously bluesy scatting" and Sarah Vaughan's for her "earthy styling".