Midnight Rider
Encyclopedia
"Midnight Rider" is a popular and widely covered song by The Allman Brothers Band
, from their album Idlewild South
. Written by Gregg Allman
and Robert Kim Payne, the song has become a fixture of the band's live performances and an enduring standard. Renditions by Joe Cocker
, Gregg Allman himself, and Willie Nelson
have all reached the charts as singles.
The verses arrangement features Duane Allman
's acoustic guitar
carrying the song's changes, underpinned by a congas-led rhythm section and soft, swirling organ
. Dickey Betts
' lead guitar
phrases ornament the choruses and the instrumental break, while Gregg Allman's powerful, soulful singing, featuring harmony
-producing reverb, has led to the song becoming known by some as Allman's signature piece. Music writer Jean-Charles Costa stated in 1973 that, "'Midnight Rider' has been recorded by other bands and it's easy to see why. The verse construction, the desperate lyrics, and the taut arrangement make it standout material," while musician and writer Bill Janovitz
said that the recording successfully blended elements of blues
, country music
, soul music
, and Southern rock
.
"Midnight Rider" has been a concert staple for the band in decades since; it is usually played fairly closely to the original template, and was not used as the basis for long jams until the Allman Brothers' annual New York City run in 2010.
In November 1972, British rock singer Joe Cocker
, who specialized in treating recently-written songs by others, released a version on his album Joe Cocker
, the single from which reached #27 on the Billboard Hot 100
; it was billed as Joe Cocker with The Chris Stainton Band.
In Fall 1973, Gregg Allman released a re-imagined version of the song on his first solo album, Laid Back
, that featured the addition of horns and a solo rather than harmony vocal line. It reached #19 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1974.
In early 1976, a reggae
version by the Jamaica
n singer, Paul Davidson, on the Tropical Records label, reached #10 in the UK Singles Chart
.
In 1980, Willie Nelson
recorded a cover of the song for inclusion in the soundtrack to the film The Electric Horseman
. Nelson's version was released as a single, and peaked at #6 on the Hot Country Singles chart. Nelson later re-released the song in 2004 as a duet with Toby Keith
, although this rendition did not chart.
legend Waylon Jennings
to punk rock
legend Patti Smith
; from bluegrass
fiddler/singer Alison Krauss
to ska
revivalists Bad Manners
to doo-wop
vocalists The Drifters
. O.A.R.
also covers Midnight Rider frequently at live shows, as well as Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora
, who sometimes uses it as an intro to Wanted Dead or Alive
; during his solo tours, he had also sung "Midnight Rider" before the mentioned. Buckcherry
has also played "Midnight Rider" before live, Michael McDonald
does a rendition of "Midnight Rider", and it has also appeared on a Hank Williams, Jr.
album. Bob Seger
covered the song on his long out of print Back in '72
album. An edited and remastered version of his version, which eliminates the breakdown and Seger's scatting towards the end of the track, appears on his 2009 Early Seger Vol. 1
album.
"Midnight Rider" has been featured in soundtracks for the movies Wild Hogs
, The Devil's Rejects
, Unbreakable, and Warren Miller
's Storm. Gregg Allman's solo version is featured during the opening scenes of the 2004 remake of Walking Tall
featuring The Rock. The concert film Earth vs. The Radiators: the First 25
features Gregg Allman performing the song with swamp rockers The Radiators
during that band's 25th anniversary celebration.
On October 27, 2009 Stephen Stills
played "Midnight Rider" on The Howard Stern Show saying that he and Gregg Allman used to sing it together. In Summer 2010, he and his bandmates in Crosby, Stills and Nash performed the song on their European tour, during a covers section in their set. The song is one of a number of songs under consideration for inclusion on an album of cover versions they are to record.
The Allman Brothers Band
The Allman Brothers Band is an American rock/blues band once based in Macon, Georgia. The band was formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman and Gregg Allman , who were supported by Dickey Betts , Berry Oakley , Butch Trucks , and Jai Johanny "Jaimoe"...
, from their album Idlewild South
Idlewild South
Idlewild South is the second album of The Allman Brothers Band, released in 1970.Unlike the band's self-titled debut album, Idlewild South enjoyed some popular success as well as critical enthusiasm, mostly due to what Rolling Stone magazine called "briefer, tighter, less 'heavy' numbers" which...
. Written by Gregg Allman
Gregg Allman
Gregory Lenoir Allman , known as Gregg Allman, is a rock and blues singer, keyboardist, guitarist and songwriter, and a founding member of The Allman Brothers Band. He was inducted with the band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Georgia...
and Robert Kim Payne, the song has become a fixture of the band's live performances and an enduring standard. Renditions by Joe Cocker
Joe Cocker
John Robert "Joe" Cocker, OBE is an English rock and blues musician, composer and actor, who came to popularity in the 1960s, and is most known for his gritty voice, his idiosyncratic arm movements while performing, and his cover versions of popular songs, particularly those of The Beatles...
, Gregg Allman himself, and Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
have all reached the charts as singles.
Overview
"Midnight Rider" uses traditional folk and blues themes of desperation, determination, and a man on the run:- I've got one more silver dollar,
- But I'm not gonna let 'em catch me, no ...
- Not gonna let 'em catch
- The midnight rider.
The verses arrangement features Duane Allman
Duane Allman
Howard Duane Allman was an American guitarist, session musician and the primary co-founder of the southern rock group The Allman Brothers Band...
's acoustic guitar
Acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
carrying the song's changes, underpinned by a congas-led rhythm section and soft, swirling organ
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
. Dickey Betts
Dickey Betts
Forrest Richard "Dickey" Betts is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and composer best known as a founding member of The Allman Brothers Band. He was inducted with the band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and also won with the band a best rock performance Grammy Award for his...
' lead guitar
Lead guitar
Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
phrases ornament the choruses and the instrumental break, while Gregg Allman's powerful, soulful singing, featuring harmony
Harmony
In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...
-producing reverb, has led to the song becoming known by some as Allman's signature piece. Music writer Jean-Charles Costa stated in 1973 that, "'Midnight Rider' has been recorded by other bands and it's easy to see why. The verse construction, the desperate lyrics, and the taut arrangement make it standout material," while musician and writer Bill Janovitz
Bill Janovitz
Bill Janovitz is best known as the singer and guitarist of the alternative rock band Buffalo Tom.-History:After enrolling at the University of Massachusetts, Janovitz formed Buffalo Tom with fellow students Chris Colbourn and Tom Maginnis. A friendship with J. Mascis of Dinosaur Jr...
said that the recording successfully blended elements of blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
, soul music
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
, and Southern rock
Southern rock
Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music, and genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country music, and blues, and is focused generally on electric guitar and vocals...
.
"Midnight Rider" has been a concert staple for the band in decades since; it is usually played fairly closely to the original template, and was not used as the basis for long jams until the Allman Brothers' annual New York City run in 2010.
Charted versions
"Midnight Rider" was never released as a single by The Allman Brothers Band, but it has charted four times in subsequent recordings.In November 1972, British rock singer Joe Cocker
Joe Cocker
John Robert "Joe" Cocker, OBE is an English rock and blues musician, composer and actor, who came to popularity in the 1960s, and is most known for his gritty voice, his idiosyncratic arm movements while performing, and his cover versions of popular songs, particularly those of The Beatles...
, who specialized in treating recently-written songs by others, released a version on his album Joe Cocker
Joe Cocker (1972 album)
Joe Cocker is the third studio album by Joe Cocker, released in 1972. It was issued in the U.S. on A&M Records. It contains the hit single "High Time We Went", that was released in the summer of 1971....
, the single from which reached #27 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
; it was billed as Joe Cocker with The Chris Stainton Band.
In Fall 1973, Gregg Allman released a re-imagined version of the song on his first solo album, Laid Back
Laid Back (Gregg Allman album)
Laid Back is a 1973 album by Gregg Allman and was released on the Capricorn Records label. It peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Pop Albums charts in 1974....
, that featured the addition of horns and a solo rather than harmony vocal line. It reached #19 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1974.
In early 1976, a reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
version by the Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n singer, Paul Davidson, on the Tropical Records label, reached #10 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
.
In 1980, Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
recorded a cover of the song for inclusion in the soundtrack to the film The Electric Horseman
The Electric Horseman
The Electric Horseman is a 1979 adventure and romance feature film starring Robert Redford and Jane Fonda and directed by Sydney Pollack. It was the third time Redford and Fonda starred together in a feature film, having previously teamed on The Chase and Barefoot in the Park .-Plot:Sonny Steele ...
. Nelson's version was released as a single, and peaked at #6 on the Hot Country Singles chart. Nelson later re-released the song in 2004 as a duet with Toby Keith
Toby Keith
Toby Keith Covel , best known as Toby Keith, is an American country music singer-songwriter, record producer and actor. Keith released his first four studio albums — 1993's Toby Keith, 1994's Boomtown, 1996's Blue Moon and 1997's Dream Walkin, plus a Greatest Hits package for various divisions of...
, although this rendition did not chart.
Other versions
Many other versions have been recorded as well, starting in 1973 when jazz guitarist Maynard Parker released a version on an album named for the song. Since that time, the song has gone on to be The Allman Brothers Band's most covered song, performed by artists ranging from countryCountry music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
legend Waylon Jennings
Waylon Jennings
Waylon Arnold Jennings was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. Jennings began playing at eight. He began performing at twelve, on KVOW radio. Jennings formed a band The Texas Longhorns. Jennings worked as a D.J on KVOW, KDAV and KLLL...
to punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
legend Patti Smith
Patti Smith
Patricia Lee "Patti" Smith is an American singer-songwriter, poet and visual artist, who became a highly influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses....
; from bluegrass
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
fiddler/singer Alison Krauss
Alison Krauss
Alison Maria Krauss is an American bluegrass-country singer, songwriter and fiddler. She entered the music industry at an early age, winning local contests by the age of ten and recording for the first time at fourteen. She signed with Rounder Records in 1985 and released her first solo album in...
to ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
revivalists Bad Manners
Bad Manners
Bad Manners are an English 2 Tone ska band. They quickly became the novelty favourites of the UK pop scene through their bald outsized frontman's on-stage antics, earning early exposure through their Top of The Pops exploits and an appearance in the live film documentary, Dance Craze.They were at...
to doo-wop
Doo-wop
The name Doo-wop is given to a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music that developed in African American communities in the 1940s and achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. It emerged from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and...
vocalists The Drifters
The Drifters
The Drifters are a long-lived American doo-wop and R&B/soul vocal group with a peak in popularity from 1953 to 1963, though several splinter Drifters continue to perform today. They were originally formed to serve as Clyde McPhatter's backing group in 1953...
. O.A.R.
O.A.R.
O.A.R. is an American rock band composed of Marc Roberge , Chris Culos , Richard On , Benj Gershman , and Jerry DePizzo...
also covers Midnight Rider frequently at live shows, as well as Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora
Richie Sambora
Richard Stephen "Richie" Sambora is an American rock guitarist, producer, musician, singer, and songwriter who is the longtime lead guitarist of the rock band, Bon Jovi. He and frontman Jon Bon Jovi form the primary songwriting unit of the band...
, who sometimes uses it as an intro to Wanted Dead or Alive
Wanted Dead or Alive (Bon Jovi song)
-Music Video:The video for the song is black and white and features footage from the band's massive 1986-1987 world tour, including shots from Chicago's UIC Pavilion, Rochester, Minnesota's Mayo Civic Center, Denver, Colorado's McNichols Arena, Pittsburgh, PA F. Pitt Tunnel and Pittsburgh Skyline...
; during his solo tours, he had also sung "Midnight Rider" before the mentioned. Buckcherry
Buckcherry
Buckcherry is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California formed in 1995. The band released two albums, Buckcherry and Time Bomb , before partially dissolving in the summer of 2002. In 2005, lead vocalist Josh Todd and lead guitarist Keith Nelson reformed Buckcherry and released a new album...
has also played "Midnight Rider" before live, Michael McDonald
Michael McDonald (singer)
Michael McDonald is a five-time Grammy Award winning American singer and songwriter. McDonald is known for a soulful baritone singing style and a multi-octave range. He began his career singing back-up vocals with Steely Dan...
does a rendition of "Midnight Rider", and it has also appeared on a Hank Williams, Jr.
Hank Williams, Jr.
Randall Hank Williams , better known as Hank Williams, Jr. and Bocephus, is an American country singer-songwriter and musician. His musical style is often considered a blend of Southern rock, blues, and traditional country...
album. Bob Seger
Bob Seger
Robert Clark "Bob" Seger is an American rock and roll singer-songwriter, guitarist and pianist.As a locally successful Detroit-area artist, he performed and recorded as Bob Seger and the Last Heard and Bob Seger System throughout the 1960s...
covered the song on his long out of print Back in '72
Back in '72
Back in '72 is an album by American rock singer/songwriter Bob Seger, released in 1973 . It was the first new album on Seger's label, Palladium Records, to be released under their distribution deal with the Reprise division of Warner Bros...
album. An edited and remastered version of his version, which eliminates the breakdown and Seger's scatting towards the end of the track, appears on his 2009 Early Seger Vol. 1
Early Seger Vol. 1
Early Seger Vol. 1 is a compilation album by American rock singer–songwriter Bob Seger, released in 2009 . The album, which includes archival material from the 1970s and 1980s, was released exclusively to Meijer stores on November 24, 2009...
album.
"Midnight Rider" has been featured in soundtracks for the movies Wild Hogs
Wild Hogs
Wild Hogs is a 2007 comedy film directed by Walt Becker and starring Tim Allen, John Travolta, Martin Lawrence, and William H. Macy. It was released nationwide in the United States and Canada on March 2, 2007, though preview film screenings were held in select areas on February 24, 2007.-Plot:Doug...
, The Devil's Rejects
The Devil's Rejects
The Devil's Rejects is a 2005 American horror film written and directed by Rob Zombie, and the sequel to his 2003 film House of 1000 Corpses. The film is about the family of psychopathic killers from the previous film now on the run...
, Unbreakable, and Warren Miller
Warren Miller (director)
Warren Miller is an American ski and snowboarding filmmaker. He is the founder of Warren Miller Entertainment and produced, directed and narrated his films until 1988. His credits include over 750 sports films, several books and hundreds of published non-fiction stories...
's Storm. Gregg Allman's solo version is featured during the opening scenes of the 2004 remake of Walking Tall
Walking Tall (2004 film)
Walking Tall is a 2004 remake of the 1973 film of the same name. It stars Dwayne Johnson and Johnny Knoxville. Like the original film, it was based on real-life Sheriff Buford Pusser, however, the main character's name was changed to "Chris Vaughn"...
featuring The Rock. The concert film Earth vs. The Radiators: the First 25
Earth vs. The Radiators: the First 25 (film)
Earth vs. The Radiators: the First 25 is a 2004 concert film by the New Orleans rock band, The Radiators. Released in honor of the band's twenty-fifth anniversary, the film contains the complete performance from their January 31, 2004 concert at Tipitina's nightclub in New Orleans, and features...
features Gregg Allman performing the song with swamp rockers The Radiators
The Radiators (US)
The Radiators, also known as The New Orleans Radiators, are a rock band from New Orleans, Louisiana, who have combined the traditional musical styles of their native city with more mainstream rock and R&B influences to form a bouncy, funky variety of swamp-rock they call fish-head music...
during that band's 25th anniversary celebration.
On October 27, 2009 Stephen Stills
Stephen Stills
Stephen Arthur Stills is an American guitarist and singer/songwriter best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills & Nash . He has performed on a professional level in several other bands as well as maintaining a solo career at the same time...
played "Midnight Rider" on The Howard Stern Show saying that he and Gregg Allman used to sing it together. In Summer 2010, he and his bandmates in Crosby, Stills and Nash performed the song on their European tour, during a covers section in their set. The song is one of a number of songs under consideration for inclusion on an album of cover versions they are to record.