"Walkin' After Midnight" is a song written by Alan Block and Don Hecht and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

artist

Patsy Cline Patsy Cline (born Virginia Patterson Hensley; September 8, 1932 – March 5, 1963) was an American singer. One of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century, she was known as one of the first country music artists to successfully Cross ...

. The song was originally given to pop singer Kay Starr, but her label rejected it. The song was left unused until Hecht rediscovered it when writing for Four Star Records. Originally, Cline was not fond of "Walkin' After Midnight", but after making a compromise with her label, she recorded it. The first released recording, though, was by Lynn Howard with The Accents, released in August 1956. In January 1957, Cline performed the song on an episode of the CBS television program ''

Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts ''Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts'' (also known as ''Talent Scouts'') is an American radio and television variety show that ran on CBS from 1946 until 1958. Sponsored by Lipton Tea, it starred Arthur Godfrey, who was also hosting '' Arthur God ...

''. It garnered a strong response from viewers, so was rush-released as a single on February 11, 1957. "Walkin' After Midnight" became Cline's first major hit single, reaching number two on the ''

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 advertis ...

'' country music chart and number 12 on its pop chart. Although the song was her only hit until 1961, the single version sold over one million copies and is often included on authoritative lists of the all-time greatest songs in country music. In 2020, the 1957 release was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Background and composition

Alan Block and Donn Hecht wrote the song in 1954, a few years before Cline recorded it. According to Hecht, after securing a songwriting contract with Four Star Records, his assignment was to pick an artist from the label for whom he could compose a song. Hecht was impressed by Cline's vocals, and realized her voice was best suited to

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom.S. Frith, W. Straw, and J. Street, eds, ''iarchive:cambridgecompani00frit, The Cambridge Companion to Pop ...

. Among his catalog of pop-styled songs was "Walkin' After Midnight", originally intended for traditional pop artist Kay Starr, and written in the key of B-flat. Starr's record label had rejected the original version, and it was left unused for years. Hecht pawned his furniture, had a demonstation tape made with singer Lynn Howard, and played the demo for Cline's producer, who then played it to Cline over the telephone. Her first reaction to "Walkin' After Midnight" was negative, and Hecht and Four Star owner Bill McCall agreed with her. The compromise was that Cline would record it as long as she could also record " A Poor Man's Roses (Or a Rich Man's Gold)", a song she favored. "Walkin' After Midnight" was then recorded at the Bradley Film and Recording Studio on November 8, 1956, and was produced by

Paul Cohen Paul Joseph Cohen (April 2, 1934 – March 23, 2007) was an American mathematician, best known for his proofs that the continuum hypothesis and the axiom of choice are independent from Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory, for which he was awarded a F ...

(with assistance from

Owen Bradley William Owen Bradley (October 21, 1915 – January 7, 1998) was an American musician, bandleader and record producer who, along with Chet Atkins, Bob Ferguson, Bill Porter, and Don Law, was a chief architect of the 1950s and 60s Nashville sou ...

), along with "A Poor Man's Roses", "The Heart You Break May Be Your Own", and "Pick Me Up on Your Way Down". "Walkin' After Midnight" is a country pop song with stylistic elements taken from the genres of

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

traditional pop Traditional pop (also known as vocal pop or pre-rock and roll pop) is Western culture, Western pop music that generally pre-dates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s. The most popular and enduring songs from this era of music are known ...

, and

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

. The song was recorded in the key of

C major C major is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor and its parallel min ...

and follows the traditional AABA form followed by a short instrumental solo and a repeat of sections B and A. "Walkin' After Midnight" features instrumentation from an acoustic guitar, basic drums, piano, steel guitar, electric guitar, and acoustic bass. Its session members were part of The Nashville A-Team of musicians, who played on most of the recording sessions on

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...

and

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

. Among the musicians were Harold Bradley, Grady Martin, and Bob Moore, all of whom played on Cline's later records in the early 1960s. Don Helms, formerly of

Hank Williams Hiram "Hank" Williams (September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. An early pioneer of country music, he is regarded as one of the most significant and influential musicians of the 20th century. W ...

' band the Drifting Cowboys, played the steel guitar.

Reception

Critical reception

Alanna Nash of the book ''Will the Circle Be Unbroken? Country Music in America'', called "Walkin' After Midnight" "bluesy"; Richie Unterberger of ''

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

'' also praised the song, calling its beat "bouncy" and its overall sound different from

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre, it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western musi ...

and

of the time. Unterberger went on to say, "While Cline's vocal is a little restrained in comparison with the approach she used on her better-known sides in the early 1960s, it's well-suited for the almost bemused aura of loneliness of the lyric. More than any of the other songs she recorded for the Four Star label in the 1950s, it anticipates the successful country-pop fusion of her crossover hits for Decca in the early 1960s."

Impact and chart performance

On January 21, 1957, Cline was invited to perform a song on the CBS television program hosted by

Arthur Godfrey Arthur Morton Godfrey (August 31, 1903 – March 16, 1983) was an American radio and television broadcaster and entertainer. At the peak of his success, in the early to mid-1950s, Godfrey was heard on radio and seen on television up to six days ...

entitled, ''

,'' a talent competition made up of rising young, unknown professionals. She originally intended to perform "A Poor Man's Roses (Or a Rich Man's Gold)" on the show, but the producers preferred "Walkin' After Midnight." Against her wishes, Cline performed the song during the program's 8:30 pm slot. The excessive audience applause froze the show's applause meter, and Cline won first place on that night's show. Because of the strong response,

(Four Star leased their music to Decca) released "Walkin' After Midnight" as a single on February 11, 1957. It quickly debuted on the ''Billboard'' charts, eventually peaking at number two on the

Hot Country Songs 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 along with digital sales and streaming. ...

chart and number 12 on the pop chart by March 3. "A Poor Man's Roses (Or a Rich Man's Gold)" was released as the single's

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

, also charting on the ''Billboard'' country chart at number 14. Because "Walkin' After Midnight" had become a significant hit, Decca issued Cline's debut album August 5, 1957, simply titled, ''

''. The album, however, did not contain the flip side. Cline later re-recorded "Walkin' After Midnight" for Decca with a more "pop" arrangement that featured backing vocals and a pronounced "clip clop" percussion effect, as well as a modulation to the key of C# for the final verse. Although this version is sometimes heard as an "oldie" on country playlists, it is not the version that was the hit single. Cline's vocals from this recording were overdubbed with a jazzier arrangement for the soundtrack of Cline's biopic '' Sweet Dreams''.

Track listing

7" vinyl single * "Walkin' After Midnight" – 2:32 * " A Poor Man's Roses (Or a Rich Man's Gold)" – 2:45

Personnel

Original 1956 recording * Harold Bradley – acoustic guitar *

– associate producer, piano * Farris Coursey – drums * Don Helms – steel guitar * Tommy Jackson – fiddle * Grady Martin – electric guitar * Bob Moore – acoustic bass *

– producer Re-recorded 1961 version * Harold Bradley – 6-string electric bass * Owen Bradley – producer *

Floyd Cramer Floyd Cramer (October 27, 1933 – December 31, 1997) was an American pianist who became famous for his use of melodic "whole-step" attacks. He was inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His signatur ...

– organ * Buddy Harman – drums * Walter Haynes – steel guitar * Randy Hughes – acoustic guitar *

The Jordanaires The Jordanaires were an American vocal quartet that formed as a gospel group in 1948. Over the years, they recorded both sacred and secular music for recording companies such as Capitol Records, RCA Victor, Columbia Records, Decca Records, Vo ...

– backing vocals * Grady Martin – electric guitar * Bob Moore – acoustic bass * Hargus "Pig" Robbins – piano

Charts

Weekly charts

Notes

References

* * {{Authority control 1957 singles Patsy Cline songs Decca Records singles Song recordings produced by Owen Bradley 1957 songs Rhoda Dakar songs