Wilson Pickett trotted this one out in 1965. “In the Midnight Hour” was his breakout hit to be followed by such classics as “Mustang Sally” and “634-5789” (my personal favorite). He won a gold record for this recording and was inducted into the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame in 1991.
In this tune, the singer is waiting until midnight to meet his best girl. Why so late, do you suppose? Could be he was hiding something – maybe she was married – maybe he was. A secret rendezvous would certainly be in order if that were the case. Or perhaps she had skinny legs and he didn’t want to be seen with her. That’s sexist, I know, but it was the ’60’s. I always thought that meeting at midnight was something our hero believed would be incredibly romantic and exciting. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. But, not to worry – we’re assured that his love “comes tumblin’ down”.
Pickett co-wrote this song with guitarist Steve Cropper. The first recording turned out to be something less than satisfactory. None of the studio musicians liked it, but couldn’t figure out what was wrong. They worked for days – changing guitar licks, switching out backup singers, adding organ – subtracting organ, more horns-less horns, but it still wasn’t right. Finally, someone suggested changing the rhythm from a snare on every beat (Motown style) to an emphasis on the 2nd and 4th beat – so the teenagers could dance “The Jerk” to it (the current dance craze). Voila! Now everybody was happy. They did, however, keep the snare on every beat during the horn solo, but we’ll forgive them for that.
“Midnight Hour” has been recorded every way imaginable. Although I used Wilson Pickett’s arrangement as a guide for these backing tracks, I always liked the country version by a guy named Razzy Bailey. Give it a listen on the link below – you’ll enjoy it.
Stageworthy Backing Tracks by Dave Zobrist 