The Allman Brothers Band, Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin and Neil Young were among the artists inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25 years ago today (January 12th).
The Allman Brothers song “Midnight Rider” written by Greg Allman on Idewild South heard it in a movie. First time although it was Willie Nelson and not him singing it. Never released as a single by The Allman Brothers, the version on Gregg Allman’s 1973 solo album, Laid Back, peaked at number-19 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was one of three versions of the song to chart in the U.S. — the others were by Joe Cocker and Willie Nelson. here is the late Gregg Allman on writing “Midnight Rider,” and how he found out years later that it had been covered in a hit movie
“I don’t know where that came from, but it took little over an hour. That was great hearing it in Electric Horseman. Dickey Betts came to my house one day and said, ‘Come on, I want to take you to the movies.’ It was in the middle of the afternoon. I said, ‘That’s kinda strange.’ But I went, you know, and he didn’t tell me anything about it. He’s already seen it, and Redford came out of that casino on that horse, man, I heard Willie crank up ‘Midnight Rider’ and man, I stood up in there. ‘Alright!’ That knocked me out, man. I still get goosebumps when I think about it.”
