"It's Midnight" is a 1974 song recorded by

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...

. It was written by

Jerry Chesnut Jerry Donald Chesnut (May 7, 1931 – December 15, 2018) was an American country music songwriter. His hits include " Good Year for the Roses" (recorded by Alan Jackson, George Jones and Elvis Costello) and " T-R-O-U-B-L-E" (recorded by Elvis P ...

and

Billy Edd Wheeler Billy Edward "Edd" Wheeler (born December 9, 1932, Boone County, West Virginia, United States) is an American songwriter, performer, writer, and visual artist. His songs include " Jackson" (Grammy award winner for Johnny Cash and June Carter ...

Recording

Elvis Presley recorded it during his December 10–16, 1973, recording sessions at

Stax Records Stax Records is an American record company, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the label changed its name to Stax Records in 1961. It also shared its operations with sister label Volt Records. Stax was ...

in Memphis. The session produced three more charting songs: "

Promised Land The Promised Land ( he, הארץ המובטחת, translit.: ''ha'aretz hamuvtakhat''; ar, أرض الميعاد, translit.: ''ard al-mi'ad; also known as "The Land of Milk and Honey"'') is the land which, according to the Tanakh (the Hebrew ...

", "

If You Talk in Your Sleep "If You Talk in Your Sleep" is a 1974 Elvis Presley song released as a single and featured on Elvis Presley's 1975 album ''Promised Land''. The song was written by Red West and Johnny Christopher, who had earlier written " Mama Liked the Roses" an ...

" and " Help Me".

Release history

The song was first released in October 1974 as a

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

to a cover of Chuck Berry's "

". (While the ''Goldmine Standard Catalog of American Records'' indicates "Promised Land" as the A-side, different pressings have "It's Midnight" as the A-side and "Promised Land" as a B-side and vice versa.)

Reception

"Promised Land" rose to number 14 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, while the two sides together (as "It's Midnight / Promised Land") and "It's Midnight" on its own charted on the Hot Country Singles chart. "It's Midnight" peaked on it at number 9 in January 1975.

Critical reception

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

'' in its review of the album ''

'' (in the January 18, 1975 issue) picked "It's Midnight" as one of the best cuts on the album.

Charts

: ^* as "It's Midnight / Promised Land" : ^** as "It's Midnight"

References

{{authority control 1974 songs 1974 singles Elvis Presley songs RCA Records singles Songs written by Jerry Chesnut Country ballads Songs written by Billy Edd Wheeler 1970s ballads