The Midnighters

The Midnighters
Origin	Detroit, Michigan, United States
Genres	Rock and roll, R&B, doo-wop
Labels	Federal, King, People
Past members	Johnny Otis Jackie "Sonny" Wilson Little Willie John Levi Stubbs Alonzo Tucker Freddy Pride Hank Ballard Henry Booth Charles Sutton Lawson Smith Ardra “Sonny” Woods Norman Thrasher Arthur Porter Cal Green J.C. Billy Davis Walter Miller Frank Stanford Wesley Hargrove

The Midnighters were an American R&B group from Detroit, Michigan. They were an influential group in the 1950s and early 1960s, with many R&B hit records. They were also notable for launching the career of lead singer Hank Ballard and the worldwide dance craze the Twist. Between 1953 and 1962 the Midnighters had almost two dozen hits on the U.S. Pop & R&B charts. Their big hits included the million-selling Billboard Top 10 pop hits "Finger Popping Time" (for which they received a 1961 Grammy Award nomination), and "Let's Go, Let's Go, Let's Go". The Midnighters also had 13 Top 10 R&B hits, including three that reached number 1. Their Top 10 R&B hits included "Work with Me, Annie", "It's Love Baby (24 Hours a Day)", "Annie Had a Baby", "The Hoochi Coochi Coo", "Teardrops on Your Letter", "Get It", "The Float" and "Nothing but Good". They received the Rhythm and Blues Foundation's prestigious Pioneer Award in 1992 and were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999. The group's lead singer, Hank Ballard, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. The Midnighters as a group were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 14, 2012.

The group was formed as the Four Falcons by the guitarist and songwriter Alonzo Tucker in Detroit in 1952. For their recording debut, their name was changed to the Royals, as there was another Detroit-based group with a similar name, the Falcons. In the group's early years, it included Jackie Wilson, Little Willie John, Freddie Pride, and Levi Stubbs, who went on to become stars after they left the group. After several personnel changes, the group stabilized with the lineup of Tucker, Henry Booth, Charles Sutton, Sonny Woods, and Lawson Smith. Hank Ballard and Sonny Woods met when they worked on the same Ford auto assembly line in Detroit. They became friends, and when Smith, the group's lead singer, was drafted, Ballard joined the group to take his place. This was the lineup when the group was discovered by the legendary bandleader, songwriter, and record producer Johnny Otis in 1953. Otis became the group's manager and obtained a record contract for them with Cincinnati-based King Records on its subsidiary label De Luxe Records. Initially, Booth took over Smith's role as lead singer, while Ballard sang backup with Woods, Sutton, and Tucker. Early Royals and Midnighters recordings featuring Booth were doo-wop ballads, including the original version of "Every Beat of My Heart", written by Otis (which, years later, became the first million-selling hit for Gladys Knight & the Pips), and "Starting from Tonight" (written by Tucker). Ballard began writing for the group and became its lead singer. The group had some success and moved to another King Records subsidiary, Federal Records, for which they recorded "Get It", their first major R&B hit, which spent seven weeks in the Top 10 on the R&B chart and also sold well in mainstream markets. Around this time, the group's name was considered too similar to that of another group on the King roster, the "5" Royales, and the name was changed to the Midnighters.

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