"Midnight in Montgomery" is a song written by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singer

Alan Jackson Alan Eugene Jackson (born October 17, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for blending traditional honky-tonk and mainstream country pop sounds (for a style widely regarded as "neotraditional country"), as well as penning many ...

and Don Sampson, and recorded by Jackson. It was released in April 1992 as the fourth single from Jackson's second album, ''

Don't Rock the Jukebox ''Don't Rock the Jukebox'' is the second studio album by American country music artist Alan Jackson. It was released on May 14, 1991, and produced five singles on the Hot Country Songs charts; the title track, "Someday", "Dallas", and "Love's Go ...

''. The song peaked at number 3 on the '' Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart (the album's only single not to top the chart), and number 3 as well on the Canadian ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'' Country Tracks chart. In August 2020,

Josh Turner Joshua Otis Turner (born November 20, 1977) is an American country and gospel singer and songwriter. In 2003, he signed to MCA Nashville Records. That same year, his debut album's title track, "Long Black Train", was his breakthrough single ...

recorded a cover version of "Midnight In Montgomery" on his album ''Country State of Mind''.

Content

This song was written about Hank Williams, who was from

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico. In the 202 ...

. It is a mid-tempo, largely acoustic ballad in the key of D minor. The singer, while heading to

Mobile Mobile may refer to: Places * Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city * Mobile County, Alabama * Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S. * Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Mobile ( ...

for a New Year's Eve show, makes a visit to a Montgomery grave (Williams died on New Year's Day 1953, and is buried in Montgomery), and encounters the ghost of Williams who thanks him for paying tribute before disappearing. The song also references several Williams hits, including "

I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" is a song written and recorded by American country music singer-songwriter Hank Williams in 1949. The song has been covered by a wide range of musicians. Authorship and production Various writers quoted Williams a ...

." The song ends with the words "Hank's always singing there".

Critical reception

Leeann Ward of Country Universe gave the song an A grade, saying that "the song’s story is fascinating in and of itself, but equally impressive is the recording as a whole package." She goes on to say that "along with the ominous production and chilling story, Jackson’s performance strays from its usual smooth reliability and picks up its own haunting quality, which perfectly adds to the overall darkness of the song."
Review by Kevin John Coyne

Music video

The music video was directed by Jim Shea and premiered in April 1992. It was filmed in black and white under a full moon amidst the headstones of an empty cemetery. It went on to win that year's Country Music Association award for Music Video of the Year. They had to record the video twice, in the first take, there was a shadow that wasn't supposed to be in the video.

Peak chart positions

"Midnight in Montgomery" debuted on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of April 25, 1992.

Year-end charts

References

{{authority control 1992 singles Alan Jackson songs Josh Turner songs Songs written by Alan Jackson Songs written by Don Sampson Song recordings produced by Scott Hendricks Song recordings produced by Keith Stegall Arista Nashville singles Black-and-white music videos 1991 songs Songs about ghosts Songs about Hank Williams