"Southern Nights" is a song written and performed by American musician

Allen Toussaint Allen Richard Toussaint (; January 14, 1938 – November 10, 2015) was an American musician, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was an influential figure in New Orleans rhythm and blues from the 1950s to the end of the century, descri ...

, from his 1975 album, '' Southern Nights'', and later recorded 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

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, actor and television host. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting ''The Glen Campbell Goodt ...

. It was the first single released from Campbell's 1977 album, '' Southern Nights'', and reached No. 1 on three separate US charts. It was covered by the

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

band

Whitney Whitney may refer to: Film and television * ''Whitney'' (2015 film), a Whitney Houston biopic starring Yaya DaCosta * ''Whitney'' (2018 film), a documentary about Whitney Houston * ''Whitney'' (TV series), an American sitcom that premiered i ...

in 2015.

Song history

The lyrics of "Southern Nights" were inspired by childhood memories Allen Toussaint had of visiting relatives in the

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

backwoods, which often entailed

storytelling Storytelling is the social and cultural activity of sharing stories, sometimes with improvisation, theatrics or embellishment. Every culture has its own stories or narratives, which are shared as a means of entertainment, education, cultural pre ...

under star-filled nighttime skies. When Campbell heard Toussaint's version, he immediately identified with the lyrics which reminded him of his own youth growing up on an

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

farm. In October 1976, Campbell recorded the song with slightly modified lyrics.

Accolades

In 1977, "Southern Nights" song was nominated for Song of the Year by the

Country Music Association The Country Music Association (CMA) was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre. The objectives of the organization are to guide and enha ...

Chart performance

Released as a single by Campbell in January 1977, "Southern Nights" immediately caught on with both country and pop audiences. The song featured a unique guitar lick that Campbell had learned from friend

Jerry Reed Jerry Reed Hubbard (March 20, 1937 – September 1, 2008) was an American singer, guitarist, composer, and songwriter as well as an actor who appeared in more than a dozen films. His signature songs included " Guitar Man", " U.S. Male", "A Thi ...

. In late March, "Southern Nights" spent two weeks at No. 1 on the ''

Billboard magazine ''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music ...

Hot Country Singles Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

chart marking it Campbell's fifth and final No. 1 country hit. In late April, the track reached No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 pop chart marking Campbell's second and last No. 1 pop hit. The song also spent four weeks at No. 1 on the

Hot Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...

chart marking Campbell's seventh hit on the chart.

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

In popular culture

The song is featured in the 2017 film ''

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 ''Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2'' is a 2017 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team Guardians of the Galaxy, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the sequel to ' ...

'' and further included on the film's soundtrack album. Also included at the end of the TV show Claws, season 4 episode 9.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1977 singles Glen Campbell songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Songs written by Allen Toussaint RPM Top Singles number-one singles Capitol Records singles 1976 songs Song recordings produced by Gary Klein (producer) Songs about the American South Songs about nights