Honeydrippers – Rockin’ At Midnight

Back in the ’80s, I remember seeing this band on SNL. Of course, the big thing at the time was that Page and Plant were working together again, although not with Zeppelin. I loved their sound, and I went out and bought the single Sea Of Love. 

You know what I liked most about these recordings by the Honeydrippers? Rather than modernizing the song, they kept the arrangement close to the spirit of the original. The horns, piano, and guitar all feel like a small-club sound. It doesn’t have a huge, polished studio production.

This song was first written and recorded by Roy Brown in 1949. Brown’s version had that jump-blues energy that helped bridge swing music into early rock and roll. Roy’s original version peaked at #13 on the US R&B charts. Little Richard has mentioned Roy Brown as a huge influence. 

I first really found out about Plant and his love of rockabilly through The Concert of Kampuchea. He sang the Elvis song Little Sister with Rockpile. Great performance of that song. So, when I heard the Honeydrippers, it sounded totally in place. Robert Plant had been talking for years about his love of early R&B and jump blues, the records he grew up with before Led Zeppelin. The Honeydrippers project gave him a way to step outside Zeppelin’s shadow and record the kind of songs that first got him interested in music.

The band’s floating members were incredible. Robbie Blunt was one, and he did a lot of great work on Plant’s solo music. To me, his guitar playing was just as identifiable as Plant’s voice; it was that important in Plant’s music. I would say the same thing about James Wisely, whose guitar playing was just as important to Chris Isaak.  Other members included Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Nile Rodgers, Brian Setzer, Paul Shaffer, and many more. Talent was not an issue for this band. 

Their album The Honeydrippers: Volume One peaked at #4 on the Billboard Album Charts, #40 in Canada, and #56 in the UK in 1984. The song peaked at #25 on the Billboard 100 and #18 in Canada. 

A concert by The Honeydrippers

Rockin’ At Midnight

Have you heard the news?
There’s good rockin’ at midnight
Oh, I’m gonna hold my baby
With all my might
What a wonderful time we had that night
Hey, hey, there’s good rockin’ at midnight

Have you heard the news?
There’s good rockin’ at midnight
Oh, I’m gonna hold my baby
With all my might
What a wonderful time we had that night
Hey, hey, there’s good rockin’ at midnight

Now, sweet Charlie Brown and sweet Lorraine
They got caught on Caledonia’s land
Sioux City Sue, she told it all
Those fellas got drunk and they had a ball
Crying hey, hey
Good rockin’ at midnight

Well, two times

Well, I tell y’all about now Deacon John
He got so high they had to take him home
Hear the news about Ella Brown
He stole a chicken and he ran out of town
Hey, hey, there’s good rockin’ at midnight

Caledonia got drunk and grinning like a pig
She fell down and she lost her wig
Charlie Brown she laughed and she got sick
Caledonia got mad and grabbed a brick
Crying hey, hey, there’s good rockin’ at midnight

Oh now let’s go two times

Oh yeah

Oh yeah, wanna tell you all about now Deacon John
He got so high they had to take him home
Here’s the news about Ella Brown
He stole a lot of chickens and he ran out of town
Crying hey, hey there’s good rockin’ at midnight

Now, now, now Caledonia got drunk and grinning like a pig
She fell down and lost her wig
Charlie Brown she laughed and she got sick
Caledonia got mad and grabbed a brick
Crying hey, hey there’s good rockin’ at midnight

Uh, mm, rock
Gonna rock
Gonna rock
Gonna rock
Gonna rock
Gonna rock
Gonna rock

Well yeah I’m gonna rock
Gonna rock
We gonna rock
Ooh-hoo yeah we’re gonna rock
We’re gonna rock
There’s still rockin’ at midnight, midnight, midnight, midnight, yeah oh

Let’s go out ah

Now sweet Charlie Brown and sweet Lorraine
They got caught on Caledonia’s land
Soon pretty soon they told it all
Those girls got drunk and they had a ball
Crying hey, hey there’s good rockin’ at midnight

We gonna rock
We gonna rock
Yeah-es we gonna rock
Now, now, now we gonna rock
We gonna rock
Ooh-ah-yeah
Ooh yeah
Ooh yeah

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

30 thoughts on “Honeydrippers – Rockin’ At Midnight”

      1. That live concert clip, (without Rockpile) is oddly near the Rockfield Studio in Wales were where Nick and Dave met. And of course Dave was on Swan Song Records, though he never recorded with Plant or the rest of Zep far as I know.

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  2. Pingback: Honeydrippers – Rockin’ At Midnight – MobsterTiger

  5. The Honeydrippers were really fun and I should listen to more of their music. I only recall “Sea of Love” and this song, “Good Rockin’ At Midnight.” I completely agree their charm largely resulted from the fact they kept their sound retro without trying to update. Fun pick!

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    1. I’ve seen it listed in different ways… Rockin’ At Midnight and “Good Rockin’ At Midnight.”… since I saw the – Good on the single I went witht the one I did.
      They kept the same spirit alive

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  6. I knew it was a cover but had no idea it dated back to the ’40s. Fun tune. I would have liked them to do a Volume 2, even if only another EP.

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  7. I am not sure of this but I wonder why they chose the name Honeydrippers for the band. I know when I think of Honeydrippers (as a musical entity I think of Joe Liggins. It would make sense that Plant borrowed the name.

    This gets a lot of airplay at my place. I love it.

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  11. The double-edged sword of musicians’ sensitivity is that it can have groups breaking up over it, but at the same time it makes possible stupendous collaborations like this. Plant can do no wrong, and neither can Page in my eyes. I loved watching the recent doc on Netflix about Led Zep, that carried through the first 3 albums. JPJ was liberally interviewed along with the other two in it. Well worth a watch for any Zep fans.

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      1. Not sure if you’ve heard JPJ in Them Crooked Vultures with Dave Grohl and Josh Homme, but OMG is that a good album. He’s a monster on the bass normally, but he’s a radioactive one on this album.

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