Midnight Rider

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For other uses, see Midnight Rider (disambiguation).
"Midnight Rider"
Midnight Rider.jpg
Single by The Allman Brothers Band
from the album Idlewild South
B-side "Whipping Post"
Released March 26, 1971
Format
7"
Genre
Southern rockblues rock
Length 2:57
Label
Capricorn
Songwriter(s)
Gregg AllmanRobert Kim Payne
Producer(s)
Tom Dowd
The Allman Brothers Band singles chronology
"Revival (Love Is Everywhere)"
(1970) "Midnight Rider"
(1971) "Ain't Wastin' Time No More"
(1972)
Audio sample
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"Midnight Rider" is a song by the American rock band the Allman Brothers Band. It
was the second single from their second studio album, Idlewild South (1970),
released on Capricorn Records. The song was primarily written by vocalist Gregg
Allman, who first began composing it at a rented cabin outside Macon, Georgia. He
enlisted the help of roadie Robert Kim Payne to complete the song's lyrics. He and
Payne broke into Capricorn Sound Studios to complete a demo of the song.

While the original Allman Brothers release of the song did not chart, "Midnight
Rider" was much more successful in cover versions. Gregg Allman's solo version of
the song, released in 1973, was its biggest chart success; it was a top 20 hit in
the U.S. and Canada. A cover by Jamaican singer, Paul Davidson, represented its
biggest peak in the United Kingdom, where it hit number ten. Country artist Willie
Nelson also recorded a version of the song that peaked at number six on U.S.
country charts.

Contents
1 Background
2 Recording and production
3 Composition
4 Charted versions
5 Other versions
6 Charts
7 Notes
7.1 References
7.2 Sources
8 External links
Background
"Midnight Rider" originated during the group's time spent at Idlewild South, a
$165-a-month farmhouse they rented on a lake outside Macon, Georgia.[1] Allman felt
free to smoke marijuana with no police around, which contributed to his writing at
the cabin.[2] Its genesis was quick: the song came to him out of nowhere, and he
completed a rough draft in just over an hour of writing.[3] He found himself stuck
on the song's third verse, which he regarded as an especially important component
of the song: "it's kind of the epilogue to the whole thing," he later wrote.[2] In
the middle of the night, he went to roadie Kim Payne, who was keeping watch over
the band's warehouse, where they kept their equipment.[3] Payne helped him write
the first two lines of the third verse: "We were getting high and, honestly, he was
starting to irritate me—because he was singing this song over and over and I got
sick of hearing the band play the same shit over and over again until they got it
right," Payne later recalled. "So I just threw out the line, 'I've gone past the
point of caring / some old bed I’ll soon be sharing.'"[3][4]

Thankful for Payne's help, Allman told him he would give him a percentage of its
royalties should it become a success.[5] Payne was not originally listed as a
songwriter on the song, so he later had Allman contact Phil Walden to produce a
contract that allowed him five percent of its future royalties.[6]

Recording and production

Allman wanted to record it immediately, but had no keys to Capricorn Sound Studios,
which was adjacent to the warehouse. They phoned both producer Johnny Sandlin and
Paul Hornsby who "told us to go to hell, come back in the morning," according to
Payne.[5] Intent on recording the song, Allman and Payne broke into the building,
with Payne smashing a window on a door to allow him to unlock it.[4] After managing
to turn on the recording console and microphones, Allman recorded a demo by himself
on acoustic guitar.[5] Unable to find the band members, he enlisted friend Twiggs
Lyndon to perform bass guitar on a rough demo, though Lyndon did not know how to
play the instrument. Allman instructed him to play the bassline he had envisioned
and Lyndon practiced it multiple times to prepare.[3] He later found Allman
Brothers drummer Jaimoe and had him perform congas on the demo. In the final studio
recording, Duane Allman plays acoustic guitar, as he had enough studio experience
to produce a nice acoustic sound.[7]

Gregg Allman called it "the song I’m most proud of in my career."[2]

Composition
"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's acoustic guitar carrying the song's
changes, underpinned by a congas-led rhythm section and soft, swirling organ.[8][9]
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.[8] 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,"[9] while musician and
writer Bill Janovitz said that the recording successfully blended elements of
blues, country music, soul music, and Southern rock.[8]

"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
The original version of "Midnight Rider" by The Allman Brothers Band never charted,
but the song later became a hit for four other artists:

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;[10] it was billed as Joe
Cocker with The Chris Stainton Band.[10]

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.[10]

In early 1976, a reggae version by the Jamaican singer, Paul Davidson, on the
Tropical Records label, reached #10 in the UK Singles Chart.[11]

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.[12] Nelson later re-released the
song in 2004 as a duet with Toby Keith, although this rendition did not chart.

Other versions
Many other versions have been recorded as well, starting in 1971 with Drummer Buddy
Miles on his "A Message to the People" LP on Mercury Record.- when jazz guitarist
Maynard Parker released a 1973 version on an album named for the song.[13] Since
that time, the song has gone on to be The Allman Brothers Band's most covered song,
[8] performed by artists ranging from country 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,[14] as well as Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora, who
sometimes uses it as an intro to Wanted Dead or Alive; during his solo shows but
also with his main band, 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. In 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.

Gregg Allman's solo version is featured during the opening scenes of the 2004
remake of Walking Tall

Fury in the Slaughterhouse covered this song on their 2002 album The Color Fury

Theory of a Deadman covered the song on the 2003 special edition of their 2002
self-titled debut album.

UB40 also covered the song on their 2013 Getting Over the Storm album.

Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings recorded a Soul/Funk version in 2016 for Lincoln Motor
Company to use in a commercial.[15]

In 2017 Lydia Lunch & Cypress Grove covered the song on their album Under the
Covers.[16]

Christian singer Zach Williams covered the song on his 2017 deluxe version of his
album Chain Breaker.[17]