View source for Walkin' After Midnight

{{Infobox song
| name       = Walkin' After Midnight
| cover      = Patsy Cline - Walkin' After Midnight single.jpg
| border     = yes
| type       = single
| artist     = [[Patsy Cline]]
| album      = [[Patsy Cline (album)|Patsy Cline]]
| B-side     = [[A Poor Man's Roses (Or a Rich Man's Gold)]]
| released   = February 11, 1957
| recorded   = November 8, 1956
| studio     = [[Bradley Studios]], Nashville, Tennessee
| genre      = {{hlist|[[Country music|Country]]|[[Nashville Sound]]<ref name="allmusicreview">{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=song|id=t961613|pure_url=yes}}|title="Walkin' After Midnight" > Song review|last=Unterbeger|first=Richie|website=[[allmusic]]|access-date=22 November 2009}}</ref>}}
| length     = {{duration|m=2|s=32}}
| label      = [[Decca Records|Decca]]
| writer     = {{hlist|Alan Block|Don Hecht}}
| producer   = {{hlist|[[Owen Bradley]]|[[Paul Cohen (producer)|Paul Cohen]]}}
| prev_title = [[Stop, Look and Listen (Patsy Cline song)|Stop, Look and Listen]]
| prev_year  = 1956
| next_title = [[Today, Tomorrow and Forever (Patsy Cline song)|Today, Tomorrow and Forever]]
| next_year  = 1957
}}

'''"Walkin' After Midnight"''' is a song written by Alan Block and Don Hecht and recorded by [[Americans|American]] [[country music]] artist [[Patsy Cline]]. 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 Corporation|CBS]] television program ''[[Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts]]''. 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 Magazine|Billboard]]'' [[Hot Country Songs|country music chart]] and number 12 on its [[Billboard Hot 100|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]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.grammy.com/awards/hall-of-fame-award#w|title=GRAMMY Hall Of Fame &#124; Hall of Fame Artists &#124; GRAMMY.com|website=grammy.com}}</ref>

== 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]]. 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.<ref>Patsy: The Life and Times of Patsy Cline. Margaret Jones. Da Capo Press. 1999.page 119</ref>

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.<ref>{{harvnb|Nassour|1993|pp=61–65}}</ref> "Walkin' After Midnight" was then recorded at the [[Bradley Film and Recording Studio]] on November 8, 1956, and was produced by [[Paul Cohen (producer)|Paul Cohen]] (with assistance from [[Owen Bradley]]), along with "A Poor Man's Roses", "The Heart You Break May Be Your Own", and "Pick Me Up on Your Way Down".<ref name="patsified">{{cite web|url=http://www.patsified.com/fourstar.html|title=Patsy Cline's Recording Sessions - The Four Star Years|publisher=Patsified|access-date=22 November 2009}}</ref>

"Walkin' After Midnight" is a [[country pop]] song with stylistic elements taken from the genres of [[Jazz music|jazz]], [[traditional pop]], and [[Blues music|blues]].<ref name="Nash 2006 239">{{harvnb|Nash|2006|p=239}}</ref> The song was recorded in the key of [[C major]] and follows the traditional [[AABA form]] followed by a short instrumental solo and a repeat of sections B and A.<ref>{{harvnb|Nassour|1993|p=67}}</ref><ref>"Nothing But a Little Ole Pop Song." Jocelyn R. Neal. "Sweet Dreams: The World of Patsy Cline" edited by Warren R. Hofstra.  University of Illinois Press, Jul 22, 2013. page 142</ref> "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]] and [[Decca Records]]. Among the musicians were [[Harold Bradley (guitarist)|Harold Bradley]], [[Grady Martin]], and [[Bob Moore (musician)|Bob Moore]], all of whom played on Cline's later records in the early 1960s.  [[Don Helms]], formerly of [[Hank Williams]]' band the Drifting Cowboys, played the steel guitar.<ref name="patsified"/>

== Reception ==
=== Critical reception ===
Alanna Nash of the book ''Will the Circle Be Unbroken? Country Music in America'', called "Walkin' After Midnight" "bluesy";<ref name="Nash 2006 239"/> Richie Unterberger of ''[[Allmusic]]'' also praised the song, calling its beat "bouncy" and its overall sound different from [[rockabilly]] and [[country music]] 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."<ref name="allmusicreview"/>

=== Impact and chart performance ===
On January 21, 1957, Cline was invited to perform a song on the CBS television program hosted by [[Arthur Godfrey]] entitled, ''[[Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts]],'' 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.<ref>{{harvnb|Nassour|1993|pp=72–73}}</ref> The excessive audience applause froze the show's applause meter, and Cline won first place on that night's show.<ref>{{harvnb|Nassour|1993|p=74}}</ref> Because of the strong response, [[Decca Records]] (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]] chart and number 12 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|pop chart]] by March 3. "A Poor Man's Roses (Or a Rich Man's Gold)" was released as the single's [[A-side and B-side|B-side]], also charting on the ''Billboard'' country chart at number 14.<ref>{{harvnb|Nassour|1993|p=81}}</ref> Because "Walkin' After Midnight" had become a significant hit, Decca issued Cline's debut album August 5, 1957, simply titled, ''[[Patsy Cline (album)|Patsy Cline]]''. The album, however, did not contain the flip side.<ref>{{harvnb|Nassour|1993|p=91}}</ref>

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 (1985 film)|Sweet Dreams]]''.

== Track listing ==
'''7" vinyl single'''<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cline |first1=Patsy |title="Walkin' After Midnight" / "A Poor Man's Roses (Or a Rich Man's Gold)" (7" vinyl single insert sleeve) |journal=[[Decca Records]] |date=1957 |id=9-30221}}</ref>
* "Walkin' After Midnight" – 2:32
* "[[A Poor Man's Roses (Or a Rich Man's Gold)]]" – 2:45

== Personnel ==
'''Original 1956 recording'''<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cline |first1=Patsy |title=''Patsy Cline'' (LP Liner Notes and Album Information) |journal=[[Decca Records]] |date=August 5, 1957 |id=DL-8611}}</ref>
* [[Harold Bradley (guitarist)|Harold Bradley]] – acoustic guitar
* [[Owen Bradley]] – associate producer, piano
* [[The Nashville A-Team|Farris Coursey]] – drums
* [[Don Helms]] – [[steel guitar]]
* [[Tommy Jackson (musician)|Tommy Jackson]] – fiddle
* [[Grady Martin]] – electric guitar
* [[Bob Moore (musician)|Bob Moore]] – acoustic bass
* [[Paul Cohen (producer)|Paul Cohen]] &ndash; [[record producer|producer]]

'''Re-recorded 1961 version'''<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cline |first1=Patsy |title=''Showcase'' (LP Liner Notes & Album Information) |journal=[[Decca Records]] |date=November 27, 1961 |id=DL 74202}}</ref>
* Harold Bradley &ndash; [[Extended-range bass|6-string electric bass]]
* Owen Bradley – producer
* [[Floyd Cramer]] – organ
* [[Buddy Harman]] – drums
* [[Walter Haynes]] – steel guitar
* Randy Hughes – acoustic guitar
* [[The Jordanaires]] – backing vocals
* Grady Martin – electric guitar
* Bob Moore – acoustic bass
* [[Hargus "Pig" Robbins]] – piano

== Charts ==
=== Weekly charts ===
{|class="wikitable sortable"
!align="left"|Chart (1957)
!align="center"|Peak<br />position
|-
|align="center"| Australia Top 100 Singles (''[[Kent Music Report]]'')<ref name="Kent Music Report">{{cite book|title=Australian Charts Book 1970—1992|author=David Kent|isbn=978-0-646-11917-5|year=1993|publisher=Australian Chart Book Pty Ltd, Turramurra, N.S.W.}}</ref>
|align="center"| 33
|-
|align="left"|US [[Billboard Hot 100|Hot 100]] (''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'')<ref name="Billboard Pop Songs Two">{{cite book|title=Top Pop Singles: 1955-2006|last=Whitburn|first=Joel|year=2007|publisher=Record Research}}</ref> 
|align="center"|12
|-
|align="left"|US [[Hot Country Singles]] (''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'')<ref name="Country Songs">{{cite book|last=Whitburn|first=Joel|title=Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008|publisher=Record Research, Inc.|year=2008|isbn=978-0-89820-177-2}}</ref>
|align="center"|2
|-
|}

== Notes ==
{{Reflist}}

== References ==
{{refbegin}}
*{{citation
 | last = Nassour
 | first = Ellis
 | title = Honky Tonk Angel: The Intimate Story of Patsy Cline
 | year = 1993
 | publisher = [[St. Martin's Press]]
 | isbn = 0-312-08870-1
 | url-access = registration
 | url = https://archive.org/details/honkytonkangelin00nasso
 }}
*{{citation
 | last = Nash
 | first = Alanna
 | title = Will the Circle Be Unbroken? Country Music in America
 | year = 2006
 | publisher = DK Publishing
 | isbn = 0-7566-2352-9
 | url-access = registration
 | url = https://archive.org/details/willcirclebeunbr0000unse
 }}
{{refend}}

{{Patsy Cline singles}}
{{Madeleine Peyroux}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1957 singles]]
[[Category:Patsy Cline songs]]
[[Category:Decca Records singles]]
[[Category:Song recordings produced by Owen Bradley]]
[[Category:1957 songs]]
[[Category:Rhoda Dakar songs]]