In the Midnight Hour

"In the Midnight Hour" is a song originally performed by Wilson Pickett in 1965 and released on his 1965 album of the same name, also appearing on the 1966 album The Exciting Wilson Pickett. The song was composed by Pickett and Steve Cropper at the historic Lorraine Motel in Memphis where Martin Luther King, Jr. would later be assassinated in April 1968. Pickett's first hit on Atlantic Records,[1] it reached #1 on the R&B charts and peaked at #21 on the pop charts.[2] Wilson Pickett version Wilson Pickett recorded "In the Midnight Hour" at Stax Studios, Memphis, 12 May 1965. The song's co-writer Steve Cropper recalls: "[Atlantic Records president] Jerry Wexler said he was going to bring down this great singer Wilson Pickett" to record at Stax Studio where Cropper was a session guitarist "and I didn’t know what groups he'd been in or whatever. But I used to work in [a] record shop, and I found some gospel songs that Wilson Pickett had sung on. On a couple [at] the end, he goes: 'I'll see my Jesus in the midnight hour! Oh, in the midnight hour. I'll see my Jesus in the midnight hour.'" and Cropper got the idea of using the phrase "in the midnight hour" as the basis for an R&B song.[3] Besides Cropper the band on "In the Midnight Hour" featured Stax session regulars Al Jackson (drums) and Donald "Duck" Dunn (bass). According to Cropper, Wexler was responsible for the track's innovative delayed backbeat, as Cropper revamped his planned groove for "In the Midnight Hour" based on a dance step which Wexler demonstrated in the studio - "(quote Cropper) this was the way the kids were dancing; they were putting the accent on two. Basically, we'd been one-beat-accenters with an afterbeat; it was like 'boom dah,' but here was a thing that went 'um-chaw,' just the reverse as far as the accent goes."[4] "In the Midnight Hour" reached #1 on the R&B chart in Billboard magazine dated 7 August 1965 and crossed over to the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 reaching #21: however according to Stax owner Jim Stewart the domestic sales total of the single in its original release was a moderate 300,000 units.[5] However "In the Midnight Hour" by Wilson Pickett has become an iconic R&B track, placing at #134 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All-Time, Wilson Pickett's first of two entries on the list (the other being "Mustang Sally" at #434). It is also one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll, Pickett's only such entry. The song is currently ranked as the 175th greatest song of all time, as well as the eleventh best song of 1965, by Acclaimed Music.[6] Wilson Pickett rerecorded the song for his 1987 album American Soul Man. The Mirettes version The Mirettes had a Top 20 R&B hit with their version of "In the Midnight Hour" which reached #18 on the R&B chart in Billboard magazine in the spring of 1968, almost crossing-over to the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 with a chart peak of #45. Cross Country version Cross Country - an outfit which consisted of three members of the Tokens quartet - recorded a ballad version of "In the Midnight Hour" for the group's sole album release which was entitled Cross Country and otherwise consisted of original material: group member Jay Siegel states that Cross Country re-invented "In the Midnight Hour" taking as prototype the recordings of Crosby Stills and Nash.[7] Issued as a single in July 1973, "In the Midnight Hour" debuted at #100 on the Hot 100 in Billboard magazine dated 18 August 1973, rising to a peak of #30 in October 1973: the Cashbox Top 100 Singles chart ranked "In the Midnight Hour" by Cross Country as high as #18 besting the #22 peak afforded to the Wilson Pickett original by the Cashbox Top 100 Singles chart. "In the Midnight Hour" by Cross Country also ranked on the Billboard Easy Listening chart with a #6 peak, and was a moderate hit in Canada with an RPM100 peak of #34, also charting in Australia (#63). Razzy Bailey version "In the Midnight Hour" became a C&W hit in 1984 via a remake by Razzy Bailey which reached #14 C&W. The single was taken from Bailey's The Midnight Hour album recorded in 1983 at producer Bob Montgomery's Soundshop Studio, Nashville. (Bailey followed up "In the Midnight Hour" with another Steve Cropper co-write "Knock on Wood".) Other versions Australian band Ray Brown and The Whispers recorded a local cover of the Wilson Pickett hit, and were afforded a #4 Australian hit in 1965. Australian artist Samantha Sang remade "In the Midnight Hour" for her 1979 album From Dance to Love from which it was issued as the second single: reaching #88, the track would mark her third and final Hot 100 appearance. The English rock band Roxy Music remade "In the Midnight Hour" for their 1980 "Flesh and Blood" album with the track issued as a single in USA where it bubbled under the Billboard Hot 100 reaching #106: the track was also issued as a single in Portugal. American musician Roger had an R&B hit with his remake entitled "Midnight Hour (Part 1)" which reached #34 R&B in 1984: the single was taken from the album The Saga Continues... "In the Midnight Hour" has also been recorded by Ace Cannon (inst) (album Memphis Golden Hits/ 1967), Archie Bell & the Drells, (album Tighten Up/ 1968), the Chambers Brothers (album The Time Has Come/ 1967), Chris Farlowe (EP Farlowe in the Midnight Hour/ 1965), the Jam (album This is the Modern World/ 1977), Bob Kuban and the In-Men (album Look Out For the Cheater/ 1966), Delbert McClinton (album Plain' From The Heart/ 1981), the Righteous Brothers (album Soul & Inspiration/ 1966), Johnny Rivers (album ...And I Know You Wanna Dance/ 1966), Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels (album Breakout...!!!/ 1966), Guy Sebastian (album The Memphis Album/ 2007), James Taylor (album Covers/ 2008), Them (album Them/ 1970), Tina Turner (album Tina Live in Europe/ 1988), Mary Wells (album The Two Sides of Mary Wells/ 1966), and the Young Rascals (album The Young Rascals/ 1966).

"In the Midnight Hour" Single by Wilson Pickett from the album In the Midnight Hour Further information B-side "I'm Not Tired" Released 1965 Format 7" single Recorded 12 May 1965, Stax Studios (Memphis) Genre R&B Length 2:30 Label Atlantic Writer(s) Wilson Pickett Steve Cropper Certification Wilson Pickett singles chronology "Come Home Baby" (1965) "In the Midnight Hour" (1965) "Don't Fight It" (1965) "In the Midnight Hour" Single by the Mirettes from the album In the Midnight Hour Further information B-side To Love Somebody Released November 1967 Format 7" single Genre Soul Length 3:23 Label Revue Writer(s) Wilson Pickett, Steve Cropper Producer(s) Jerry Goldstein Certification the Mirettes singles chronology "Now That I've Found You, Baby" (1966) "In the Midnight Hour" (1967) "Take Me For a Little While" (1967) "In the Midnight Hour" Single by Cross Country from the album Cross Country Further information B-side A Smile Song Released July 1973 Format 7" single Recorded 14 February 1973, Century Sound Studios(NYC) Genre soft rock Length 3:14 Label Atco Writer(s) Wilson Pickett, Steve Cropper Producer(s) Margo Siegel & Margo & Medress & Appell Productions Certification Cross Country singles chronology "I Like To Throw My Head Back & Sing (That Good Ole Rock & Roll)" (The Tokens) (1972) "In the Midnight Hour" (1973) "Tastes So Good to Me" (1974) "In the Midnight Hour" Single by Samantha Sang from the album From Dance to Love Further information B-side Now Released July 1979 Format 7" single, 12" single Recorded 1979, The Power Station (NYC) Genre disco Length 7" single 3:28, 12" single 7:17 Label United Artists Writer(s) Wilson Pickett, Steve Cropper Producer(s) Meco Monardo, Harold Wheeler, Tony Bongiov Certification Samantha Sang singles chronology "From Dance to Love" (1979) "In The Midnight Hour" (1979) "Let's Start Again" feat. Robert Delon (1981) "In the Midnight Hour" Single by Roxy Music from the album Flesh and Blood Further information B-side "Flesh and Blood" (USA) "Rain Rain Rain" (Portugal) Released December 1980 Genre Pop/Rock Length 3:12 Label Polydor/E.G. Writer(s) Wilson Pickett, Steve Cropper Producer(s) Rhett Davies & Roxy  Music Certification Roxy Music singles chronology "Same Old Scene" (1980) "In The Midnight Hour" (1980) "Jealous Guy" (1981) "In the Midnight Hour" Single by Razzy Bailey from the album The Midnight Hour Further information B-side Mr. Melody Man Released 1984 Format 7" single Recorded 1983, Studioshop Studio (Nashville) Genre country pop Length 2:51 Label RCA Writer(s) Wilson Pickett, Steve Cropper Producer(s) Bob Montgomery Certification Razzy Bailey singles chronology "This is Just the First Day" (1983) "In The Midnight Hour" (1984) "Knock on Wood" (1984)

References

1. Gilliland, John (1969). "Show 51 - The Soul Reformation: Phase three, soul music at the summit. [Part 7] : UNT Digital Library" (audio). Pop Chronicles. Digital.library.unt.edu.
2. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 461.
3. Else, Something. "Steve Cropper's research into Wilson Pickett sparked initial hit". Somethingelsereviews.com. Retrieved 2016-09-29.
4. Pickett-New, Louella (2015). Don't Let the Green Grass Fool You. NYC: Fulton Books. ISBN 9781499052855.
5. Bowman, Rob (1997). Soulsville, U.S.A.: the story of Stax Records. NYC: Schirmer Trade Books. p. 62. ISBN 978-0825672842.
6. "Acclaimed Music Top 3000 songs". Acclaimed Music. 27 May 2009.
7. "Gary James' Interview With Jay Siegel of the Tokens". ClassicBands.com. Retrieved 14 September 2015.