"Midnight Confessions" is a song written by Lou T. Josie and originally performed by the Ever-Green Blues. American rock band

The Grass Roots The Grass Roots are an American rock band that charted frequently between 1965 and 1975. The band was originally the creation of Lou Adler and songwriting duo P. F. Sloan and Steve Barri. In their career, they achieved two gold albums and ...

later made it famous when they released it as a single in 1968. Though never released on any of the group's studio albums, it was on their first compilation album, '' Golden Grass'', and has since been included on many of their other compilations. The Grass Roots version became the band's biggest charting hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, reaching the Top 5 of both the U.S. and Canadian pop singles charts.

Background and recording

The lyrics describe a man who is infatuated with a married woman, knows he can never have her, and is relegated to confessing his love for her audibly, but alone. The original recording of "Midnight Confessions" was a demo by the Evergreen Blues Band, whose manager – Lou Josie – wrote the song. The demo contained a

horn section A horn section is a group of musicians playing horns. In an orchestra or concert band, it refers to the musicians who play the "French" horn, and in a British-style brass band it is the tenor horn players. In many popular music genres, the term ...

and caught the attention of

record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

Steve Barri Steve Barri (born Steven Barry Lipkin; February 23, 1942, New York City) is an American songwriter and record producer. Career Early in his career, Barri was a staff writer with Dunhill Records. He produced such huge hits as " Dizzy" by Tommy R ...

, who was looking to produce a song for the Grass Roots that was a " West Coast" version of a

Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

-style production. The Grass Roots track was produced/engineered by Steve Barri with the horn section's

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...

Jimmie Haskell Jimmie Haskell (born Sheridan Pearlman; November 7, 1926 – February 4, 2016) was an American composer and arranger for motion pictures and a wide variety of popular artists, including Elvis Presley, Neil Diamond, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Steely D ...

. The instrumentation was recorded by the group of Los Angeles studio musicians known as The Wrecking Crew, as were many hits by the Grass Roots.

Rob Grill Robert Frank Grill (November 30, 1943 – July 11, 2011) was an American musician and songwriter, best known as lead singer and bassist of the rock and roll group The Grass Roots. Though not a founding member, Grill was the longest-serving membe ...

and

Warren Entner Warren Entner (born 1944) is an American singer, songwriter, organist and guitarist for the rock and roll band The Grass Roots. He subsequently became a manager for several successful heavy metal/rock groups. Overview Entner is best known ...

shared lead vocals, with Grill singing the verses and Entner, the choruses.

Personnel

Per the Wrecking Crew's

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

page. The Grass Roots *

– lead and backing vocals *

Creed Bratton Creed Bratton (born William Charles Schneider; February 8, 1943) is an American actor and musician. A former member of the rock band the Grass Roots, he is best known for playing a Creed Bratton (character), fictionalized version of himself o ...

– backing vocals * Rick Coonce – backing vocals Additional musicians * Ben Benay – electric guitar *

Mike Deasy Michael William Deasy (born February 4, 1941) is an American rock and jazz guitarist. As a session musician, he played on numerous hit singles and albums recorded in Los Angeles in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. He is sometimes credited as Mike De ...

– electric guitar *

Carol Kaye Carol Kaye (née Smith; born March 24, 1935) is an American musician. She is one of the most prolific recorded bass guitarists in rock and pop music, playing on an estimated 10,000 recordings in a career spanning over 65 years. Kaye began play ...

– bass *

Don Randi Don Randi (born February 25, 1937) is an American keyboard player, bandleader, and songwriter who was a member of the Wrecking Crew. He's the father of bassist / singer Leah Randi. Career Don was born February 25, 1937, in New York City. He wa ...

– piano *

Larry Knechtel Lawrence William Knechtel (August 4, 1940 – August 20, 2009) was an American keyboard player and bassist who was a member of the Wrecking Crew, a collection of Los Angeles–based session musicians who worked with such renowned artists as Sim ...

– organ *

Hal Blaine Hal Blaine (born Harold Simon Belsky; February 5, 1929 – March 11, 2019) was an American drummer and session musician, thought to be among the most recorded studio drummers in the music industry, claiming over 35,000 sessions and 6,000 singles. ...

– drums *

Emil Richards Emil Richards (born Emilio Joseph Radocchia; September 2, 1932 – December 13, 2019) was an American vibraphonist and percussionist. Biography Musician Richards began playing the xylophone aged six. In High School, he performed with the ...

– percussion *

Plas Johnson Plas John Johnson Jr. () (born July 21, 1931) is an American soul-jazz and hard bop tenor saxophonist, probably most widely known as the tenor saxophone soloist on Henry Mancini’s " The Pink Panther Theme". He also performs on alto and bar ...

– saxophone *John Audino – trumpet *Bud Childers – trumpet *

Tony Terran Anthony Terran (May 30, 1926 – March 20, 2017) was an American trumpet player and session musician. He was part of the Wrecking Crew, a group of largely uncredited session musicians in Los Angeles, California, who helped famous artists record ...

– trumpet * Richard Hyde – trombone *Harold Diner – trombone *Edward Kusby – trombone

Release and reception

"Midnight Confessions" was released as a single by the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

/ Dunhill

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

in late June 1968. It was the Grass Roots' first to feature a horn section and was therefore a departure from the group's previous singles; the band members worried that this would preclude it from becoming a hit. However, it was well received and became their biggest hit in the United States, peaking at #5 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on November 2, 1968, and was certified gold by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

, with sales of over one million units, on December 3, 1968.Gold & Platinum Searchable Database
.

. Type in "Grass Roots" under ''Artist'' to see search results. The single also did well in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, peaking at #4 on the ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

'' 100 singles chart.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Notable cover versions

Patti Drew Patti Drew (born December 29, 1944, Charleston, South Carolina) is an American pop singer who achieved brief success in the late 1960s. Drew was raised in Nashville, Tennessee and Evanston, Illinois, where she sang in church with her sisters, Lorr ...

(c. 1968) *

Phyllis Dillon Phyllis Dillon (27 December 1944 – 15 April 2004)
, ''

(c. 1968-71) *

Carolyne Mas Carol Patricia Mas (born October 20, 1955), professionally known as Carolyne Mas, is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, pianist, and producer. She broke out of the Greenwich Village music scene boom of the late 1970s, along with other ar ...

(1980) *

Karla DeVito Karla DeVito (born May 29, 1953) is an American singer and actress. Early life and education DeVito was born in Mokena, Illinois. She attended Willow Crest Grade School in Mokena and Lincoln-Way High School in New Lenox. She attended Loyola U ...

(US ''Billboard'' #109, 1981)Joel Whitburn's Bubbling Under the Billboard Hot 100 1959-2004 *

Fastbacks Fastbacks are a Seattle, Washington, punk rock band. Formed in 1979 by songwriter/guitarist Kurt Bloch (born August 28, 1960), and friends Lulu Gargiulo (guitar and vocals, born October 12, 1960) and Kim Warnick (bass and vocals, born April 7, ...

(1984) *

Rock City Angels Rock City Angels was an American rock band from Florida. They found only limited success, and are perhaps best known for having Johnny Depp as a guitarist before he pursued his acting career. History The band was founded in 1981 as The Abuser ...

(1989) * Carol Lynn Townes (1993) *

Ron Dante Carmine John Granito (born August 22, 1945), known professionally as Ron Dante, is an American singing, singer, songwriter, Session musician, session vocalist, and record producer. Dante is best known as the real life lead singer of the fiction ...

The Archies The Archies are an American fictional rock band featured in media produced by, and related to, Archie Comics. They are best remembered for their appearance in the animated TV series '' The Archie Show''. In the context of the series, the band ...

(1999) *

Paul Revere & the Raiders Paul Revere & the Raiders (also known as Raiders) were an American rock band formed in Boise, Idaho, in 1958. They saw considerable U.S. mainstream success in the second half of the 1960s and early 1970s. The band was known for including Revolu ...

(2000) *Lou Josie, solo album ''Me and Mother Music'' (2002)

References

External links

* {{authority control 1968 singles The Grass Roots songs 1968 songs ABC Records singles Dunhill Records singles