Walkin' After Midnight

"Walkin' After Midnight"
Single by Patsy Cline
from the album Patsy Cline
B-side"A Poor Man's Roses (Or a Rich Man's Gold)"
ReleasedFebruary 11, 1957
RecordedNovember 8, 1956
StudioBradley Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
GenreCountry
Length2:32
LabelDecca
Songwriters
  • Alan Block
  • Don Hecht
Producers
Patsy Cline singles chronology
"Stop, Look and Listen"
(1956)
"Walkin' After Midnight"
(1957)
"Today, Tomorrow and Forever"
(1957)

"Walkin' After Midnight" is a song written by Alan Block and Don Hecht. The song was originally given to pop singer Kay Starr, but her label rejected it. The song was left unused until Hecht rediscovered it when writing for 4 Star Records. The first released recording was by Lynn Howard with the Accents, released in August 1956. It was later recorded by American country music singer Patsy Cline in November 1956 and released as a single in February the following year. Originally, Cline was not fond of "Walkin' After Midnight", but after making a compromise with her label, she recorded it.

In January 1957, Cline performed the song on an episode of the CBS television program Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts. It garnered a strong response from viewers, so was rush-released as a single on February 11, 1957. "Walkin' After Midnight" became Cline's first major hit single, reaching number two on the Billboard country music chart and number 12 on its pop chart. Although the song was her only hit until 1961, the single version sold over one million copies and is often included on authoritative lists of the all-time greatest songs in country music.

In 2020, the 1957 release was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.