Friday Night Cat Fight Show

The

History Of

“Midnight Special”

The “Midnight Special” is a traditional folk tune about a passenger train that roared past a prison every night. The singer of the tune dreamed of the freedom that waited just outside his prison walls. It was first committed to paper in 1905, but didn’t appear on record until 1926 when Dave “Pistol Pete” Cutrell recorded it for Okeh with some new lyrics that referenced his band. Leadbelly popularized the song after he let Alan Lomax record him singing it for the Library Of Congress in 1934. The song entered the R&B charts as an instrumental in 1948 with Tiny Grimes cutting it for the then new Atlantic Label. In 1952, The Weavers had a small hit with is, but it didn’t hit the Rock n’ Roll Era until Big Joe Turner cut it in 1957. From there, it became a pop hit for Paul Evans in 1960 and Johnny Rivers in 1965. Credence Clearwater Revival included their inspired version of “Midnight Special” on their 1969 LP, “Willie & The Poor Boys”. This week, 7 versions of the tune (Leadbelly to CCR) will be competing for YOUR Vote. For historical purposes, I do include the original 1926 recording by Dave Cutrell.

I’ll also take a look at some of the popular songs that were recorded on THIS DAY (5-21-10) in rock n’ roll history.

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