His “no-holds-barred” style provided the template for generations of future rockers, but his  legacy is enshrined by “Good Rockin’ Tonight”, generally regarded as the first   Rock’ n’ Roll song.
   From 1948-1951, Roy Brown delivered 15 consecutive hits on Deluxe, including “Boogie At Midnight”, “Miss Fanny Brown”  “Letter From Home”, “Cadillac Baby”, and “Laughing But Crying”.  His wild, half-pleading/half-shouting style was Gospel-based and presaged a style adopted by upcoming greats B.B. King, Bobby Bland, and Little Richard.
   Early on, Brown patterned himself after his idol Bing Crosby. A 1946 appearance in Shreveport, Louisiana still featured Roy singing stuff like “Stardust” and “Blue Hawaii”.  “Good Rockin’ Tonight” was only written to be sung by his trumpeter Wilbur Brown (no relation). But that day Wilbur took ill, so Roy sung it. The locals went nuts!
   While Wynonie Harris’ version of “Good Rockin’ Tonight” became the bigger hit, Brown the Crooner would morph into a full-throated belter with that irresistible lowdown range and power.
  After his 3-year streak at Deluxe ended, King/Federal bought out Brown’s contract. Roy expected King to reimburse him for his rightful royalties.

Instead he got blackballed for his trouble. The hits evaporated--and likewise the big-money gigs.
In the 1970’s Brown was doing business as a successful door-to-door encyclopedia salesman, using the moniker           

“Good Rockin’ Brown” to break the ice.
   The nostalgic angle worked like a charm, and music was assigned backburner status. Felled by a heart attack in 1981 at age 56, Brown’s love of performing might have yielded a further run of popularity with the pending 1980’s Blues revival.