| "Midnight Rider" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by The Allman Brothers Band | ||||
| from the album Idlewild South | ||||
| B-side | "Whipping Post" | |||
| Released | March 26, 1971 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:57 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter(s) |
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| Producer(s) | ||||
| The Allman Brothers Band singles chronology | ||||
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| Official Audio | ||||
| "Midnight Rider" on YouTube | ||||
| Audio sample | ||||
"Midnight Rider" is a song by the American rock band the Allman Brothers Band. It was the second single from their second studio album, Idlewild South (1970), released on Capricorn Records. The song was primarily written by vocalist Gregg Allman, who first began composing it at a rented cabin outside Macon, Georgia. He enlisted the help of roadie Robert Kim Payne to complete the song's lyrics. He and Payne broke into Capricorn Sound Studios to complete a demo of the song.
While the original Allman Brothers release of the song did not chart, "Midnight Rider" was much more successful in cover versions. Gregg Allman's solo version of the song, released in 1973, was its biggest chart success; it was a top 20 hit in the U.S. and Canada. A cover by Jamaican singer Paul Davidson represented its biggest peak in the United Kingdom, where it hit number ten. Country artist Willie Nelson also recorded a version of the song that peaked at number six on U.S. country charts.