Midnight Rider

1970/1973

Gregg Allman/Allman Brothers Band

The other week when I posted the first One Hit Wonder to crack the Billboard Hot 100's Top 20 in each year of The Seventies, I said that there were a couple of acts on the list that just were not one hit wonders...No way, No how. So this week, I'm going to take a look the 'One Hit Wonder' artists that, well, aren't.

The first one's Gregg Allman. My brother noted when we were talking about it that The Allman Brothers was more of 'a Jam Band' that a hit-maker...they had hit albums, but only a couple of hit singles. But even only two hit singles is more that one...and both of The Allman Brothers singles that come immediately to mind were biggies.. Now if you want to get technical...and I'm talking really, really technical...both songs could have been considered One Hit Wonders. But when you do a little digging and analyzing, you realize neither of them were.

Ok, first to understand my opinion on why neither The Allman Brothers/Ramblin Man or Gregg Allman/Midnight Rider are One Hit Wonders you have to forget that The Hot 100 exists for just a paragraph or so. I know, that's kind of like saying 'Forget That The Sun Exists, but ...well just do it. Just for a paragraph or two.

The first one...Midnight Rider...was never actually released as a single by the Allman Brothers even though it was and is a must-play staple at their concerts,and was one of their millions of fans' favorite songs. It didn't chart until it was released as Gregg Allman's only charting solo release. Gregg Allman's version is actually listed as one of 1973's One Hot Wonders...but it couldn't have been a true One Hit Wonder because (This is purely my opinion, BTW) he performed in both versions of the song, and was still a member of the Allman Brothers when he released the single. And even though The Allman Brothers never actually released it as a single, their fans' devotion to and love of the song makes their version of it a hit in anybody's book.

The second, and even better known Non-OHW of the two...Rambling Man...was the only charting single for the band, and it was a huge hit for them. But it actually wasn't a One Hit Wonder because ...again...'The Brothers' version of Midnight Rider was a hit everywhere, as they say, but the scoreboard. The only thing that kept it from being a platinum-selling record was not being released as a single. That makes 'Ramblin' Man their second hit in my book...and gives them two major hits. Not just one.

And Gregg Allman couldn't have been a one hit wonder because he performed in all three songs if you count his solo cover of 'Midnight Rider. so, IMHO, neither 'The Brothers or Gregg Allman were OHWs. OK...you can now allow The Hot 100 to exist again! Lets take a look at both songs...Midnight Rider first.

Gregg Allman didn't just cover 'Midnight Rider' as a solo artist...he also wrote it for The Allman Brothers (With writing credit also going to Kim Payne), penning the song as a take on how he dealt with setbacks and adversity. And it was a classic just about from the minute it was recorded. It was included as the third track on side 1 of their second album, 'Idlewild South', and got good coverage on the 'Rock' stations in the land (All AM back in '70).

Midnight Rider blended about four separate genres of music together seamlessly...you can hear elements of Country, Blues, Southern Rock, and Rock in the arrangement, music, and lyrics. If The Allman Brother's had released it as a single it would have probably shot up the charts like a rocket, and it's signature guitar riff (Courtesy of Duane Allman) would have been added to the list of 'Most Recognized Hit Song Intros Of  All Time'. But they didn't, and it wasn't, though it was and in fact sill is band's signature song at concerts,.

But it was Gregg Allman who made a top twenty hit out of it four years later when he released it as a solo artist. He went up-tempo with it, changed the guitar arrangement, added an electric piano and horns, and made it his signature song. So the version we all know, love, and hear most often is actually Gregg Allman's solo cover of his own song. He released it in late 1973, and it immediately started chart-climbing and cracked the Top 20 on The Billboard Hot 100 when it peaked at #19 on January 19^th, 1974. (Within-in two months of 40 years ago as I type this, hard as it is to believe.)

If you asked a thousand 'Seventies Kids; what their favorite of the two versions was, a pretty fair percentage would tell you they preferred 'The Allman Brothers' version, with Duane's vocals in the mix. The band had, and still has a huge fan base who'd quickly tell you that, as far as they're concerned, 'Midnight Rider's an Allman Brother's hit as well as a hit for Gregg Allman despite it not being released as a single by the band.

I still have a sneakin' suspicion that the majority would vote for Gregg Allman's solo version simply because it was a Billboard Hot 100 Top 20 single and as such was heard on the air far more frequently than 'The Brothers' version. Of course, you can still hear both versions on classic rock stations and Oldies stations (And I've heard both with-in the past month or so, both on Richmond's Classic Rock, WKLR, 96.5). Back in The Day, you were more likely to hear 'The Brothers' version of Midnight Rider on the Rock Stations rather than the 'Top 40' stations, but Gregg's solo version was in pretty regular rotation on WLEE, Pre-FM, as well as WRVQ (Q-94) when they took over Richmond's Top-40 duties.

And both versions' ll be around for decades after we're gone. They're certified, bona fide classics from the Decade Of The Most Awesome Music That Ever Existed, and our grand kids grandkids'll be hearing 'em long after we've gotten our seats at the Big Concert Venue In The Sky...

so Enjoy! Midnight Rider by Gregg Allman...

 

...and The Allman Brothers!

An interesting little factiod...Kim Payne managed to get writing credit on Midnight Rider despite the fact that he was actually a roadie...the line 'The Road Goes On Forever' ? That was his contribution. But it wasn't his wasn't his only contribution. The night that Gregg Allman wrote it he had in mind exactly how he wanted a couple of tracks to sound. Payne was guarding the band's equipment when Gregg found him and said, basically, 'You're going to help me get inside this place (The studio.) SO the two of them, using undisclosed techniques and procedures, got inside, fired the equipment up, and got the tracks down while they were still fresh in Gregg Allman's mind.