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35-472: " Midnight Rider " is a 1970 song by the Allman Brothers Band. Midnight Rider(s) may also refer to: Midnight Rider 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

70-456: A New World . South rock musicians like Little Big Town , Billy Currington and Ryan Adams combine the Southern rock sound with country, bluegrass and blues. This has been propelled by record labels like Capitol Records Nashville , Mercury Nashville and Lost Highway Records . Southern metal is a fusion genre combining southern rock with heavy metal music. It appeared in the 1990s and

105-696: A group which fused rock, country, blues, and jazz. Erlewine described the band's sound as "a distinctly Southern blend" which emphasized improvisation in their instrumentation. After the success of " The Devil Went Down to Georgia ", a single which Erlewine described as a "roaring country- disco fusion", Daniels shifted his sound from rock to country music and "helped shape the sound of country-rock ". The Marshall Tucker Band , from Spartanburg, South Carolina, opened many of The Allman Brothers Band concerts using elements of blues , country rock and blues rock in their music. They also collaborated with Charlie Daniels. Their self-titled album, released in 1973, included

140-491: A mother," according to Stephen Thomas Erlewine . Erlewine described Daniels as "a redneck rebel, not fitting into either the country or the rock & roll [...] but, in retrospect, he sounds like a visionary, pointing the way to the future when southern rockers saw no dividing lines between rock, country, and blues , and only saw it all as sons of the south." Daniels later formed the Charlie Daniels Band,

175-423: A nice acoustic sound. Gregg Allman called it "the song I’m most proud of in my career." "Midnight Rider" uses traditional folk and blues themes of desperation, determination, and a man on the run: 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

210-657: A performance of the Allmans' " Whipping Post " and later performing Skynyrd's " Free Bird " and, with Skynyrd on stage with him, "Sweet Home Alabama". Southern rock currently plays on the radio in the United States, but mostly on oldies stations and classic rock stations. Although this class of music gets minor radio play, there is still a following for older bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Allman Brothers play in venues with sizable crowds. A number of books in

245-540: The Atlanta Rhythm Section , ZZ Top , Black Oak Arkansas , Potliquor , Barefoot Jerry , Grinderswitch, Wet Willie , Blackfoot , Johnny Winter , Edgar Winter Group, and Sea Level. Charlie Daniels ' self-titled debut album , released in 1970, was a pivotal recording in the development of the Southern rock genre, "because it points the way to how the genre could and would sound, and how country music could retain its hillbilly spirit and rock like

280-539: The Deep South . However, the British Invasion and the rise of folk rock and psychedelic rock in the middle 1960s shifted the focus of new rock music away from the rural south and to large cities like Liverpool , London , Los Angeles , New York City , and San Francisco . In the 1960s, rock musician Lonnie Mack blended black and white roots-music genres within the framework of rock, beginning with

315-642: The Rossington Collins Band . By the beginning of the 1980s, the Allman Brothers Band and Lynyrd Skynyrd had disbanded, and Capricorn Records had gone bankrupt. Leading acts of the genre (in particular, 38 Special ) had become enmeshed in arena rock . With the rise of MTV , new wave , funk , urban contemporary, and heavy metal , most surviving Southern rock groups were relegated to secondary or regional venues. Rock musicians such as Molly Hatchet, Outlaws , Georgia Satellites ,

350-730: The Tedeschi Trucks Band ( the Derek Trucks Band ), Warren Haynes, Gov't Mule , Chris Duarte Group, Dixie Witch , Whiskey Myers , Widespread Panic , the Black Crowes , Blackberry Smoke , Kid Rock , and the Allman Betts Band are continuing the Southern rock art form. In 2005, singer Bo Bice took an explicitly Southern rock sensibility and appearance to a runner-up finish on the normally pop-oriented American Idol television program, with

385-495: The 2000s have chronicled Southern rock's history, including Randy Poe's Skydog: The Duane Allman Story and Rolling Stone writer Mark Kemp 's Dixie Lullaby: A Story of Music, Race & New Beginnings in a New South . Turn It Up was released by Ron Eckerman, Lynyrd Skynyrd's former manager and plane crash survivor. Sociologist Jason T. Eastman analyzes contemporary Southern rock to illustrate changes in today's southern identity in his book The Southern Rock Revival: The Old South in

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420-551: The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Jimmie Vaughan, Point Blank, Tom Petty , Bruce Hornsby, Steve Earle, Widespread Panic , and Kentucky Headhunters , emerged as popular Southern bands across the southeastern United States during the 1980s and 1990s. During the 1990s, the Allman Brothers reunited and became a strong touring and recording presence again, and the jam band scene revived interest in extended improvised music. Georgia 's alternative rock band R.E.M. released

455-766: The People" LP on Mercury Record.- when jazz guitarist Maynard Parker released a 1973 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 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, 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

490-621: 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. In 2017 Lydia Lunch & Cypress Grove covered

525-477: 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. "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 . Allman felt free to smoke marijuana with no police around, which contributed to his writing at

560-702: The album Fables of the Reconstruction which explicitly invokes the Reconstruction Era in the title and is considered a Southern Gothic album. The 1990s also saw the Black Crowes rise to mainstream popularity with the releases of Shake Your Money Maker (3× platinum), the Southern Harmony and Musical Companion (debut at #1 on the Billboard 200 and certified 2× platinum), and Amorica (certified Gold). New musicians such as

595-463: 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. 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

630-402: The band's warehouse, where they kept their equipment. 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

665-407: The cabin. 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. 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. In the middle of the night, he went to roadie Kim Payne, who was keeping watch over

700-483: 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

735-444: The ear of Rick Hall , owner of FAME. In November 1968, Hall hired Allman to play on an album with Wilson Pickett . Allman's work on that album, Hey Jude (1968), got him hired as a full-time session musician at Muscle Shoals and brought him to the attention of a number of other musicians, such as Eric Clapton, who later related how he heard Pickett's version of "Hey Jude" on his car radio and called Atlantic Records to find out who

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770-443: The guitarist was: "To this day," Clapton said, "I've never heard better rock guitar playing on an R&B record. It's the best." Duane Allman was killed in a motorcycle accident in 1971. Their blues rock sound incorporated long jams informed by jazz and also drew from native elements of country and folk . They were also contemporary in their electric guitar and keyboard delivery. Gregg Allman commented that "Southern rock"

805-546: The hit " Can't You See ". Perhaps known best for the single " Fire on the Mountain ," the Marshall Tucker Band hit "Heard it in a Love Song" charted in 1977. Lynyrd Skynyrd played British hard rock influenced music until the deaths of lead singer Ronnie Van Zant and two other members of the group in a 1977 airplane crash . After this tragic plane crash, members Allen Collins and Gary Rossington started

840-508: The hit song "Memphis" in 1963. Music historian Dick Shurman considers Mack's recordings from that era "a prototype of what later could be called Southern rock". The Allman Brothers Band , from Jacksonville, Florida , made their national debut in 1969 and soon gained a loyal following. Duane Allman 's playing on the two Hour Glass albums and an Hour Glass session in early 1968 at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama had caught

875-472: 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. Stephen Stills included

910-458: The point of caring / some old bed I’ll soon be sharing.'" Thankful for Payne's help, Allman told him he would give him a percentage of its royalties should it become a success. 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. Allman wanted to record it immediately, but had no keys to Capricorn Sound Studios , which

945-441: 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. The original version of "Midnight Rider" by The Allman Brothers Band never charted, but

980-463: 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 ; it was billed as Joe Cocker with The Chris Stainton Band. In fall 1973, Gregg Allman released a re-imagined version of

1015-492: The song on his 1978 Thoroughfare Gap album, and later played "Midnight Rider" in 2009 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

1050-656: 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 Jamaican 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

1085-632: The song on their album Under the Covers . Christian singer Zach Williams covered the song on his 2017 deluxe version of his album Chain Breaker . Southern rock Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music and a genre of Americana . It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll , country music , and blues and is focused generally on electric guitars and vocals. Author Scott B. Bomar speculates

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1120-641: 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 was a dear friend of fellow Austinite Dusty Rhodes and when Rhodes portrayed the masked professional wrestling gimmick "The Midnight Rider", Nelson's version of the song was utilized. Nelson later re-released the song in 2004 as a duet with Toby Keith , although this rendition did not chart. Many other versions have been recorded as well, starting in 1971 with Drummer Buddy Miles on his "A Message to

1155-501: The term "Southern rock" may have been coined in 1972 by Mo Slotin, writing for Atlanta's underground paper, The Great Speckled Bird , in a review of an Allman Brothers Band concert. Rock music's origins lie mostly in the music of the American South , and many stars from the first wave of 1950s rock and roll such as Bo Diddley , Elvis Presley , Little Richard , Buddy Holly , Fats Domino , and Jerry Lee Lewis hailed from

1190-430: Was a redundant term, like "rock rock." Early 1970s, popular musicians in the southern area included Creedence Clearwater Revival (from California ), Dale Hawkins , Delaney & Bonnie , Janis Joplin , Leon Russell , and Tony Joe White . Lynyrd Skynyrd of Jacksonville, Florida, is known for " Free Bird ", " Sweet Home Alabama ", "Saturday Night Special", and "What's Your Name". 70s southern rock bands include

1225-438: 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. 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. After managing to turn on the recording console and microphones, Allman recorded a demo by himself on acoustic guitar. Unable to find

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