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Night Rider

Rating:
4.1 / 5

Words & Music: Doc Pomus Mort Shuman

Night rider, night rider
You may think that it's the breeze
Whispering through the lonely trees
But it's only him a'flying round the bend
As the day comes to that end

Night rider, night rider
He came riding to town
As the sun was going down
Saw my baby and he smiled her heart away
Now what will I do today

Cautioned my baby to stay at home
Not to leave mama's side
She laughed when I told her take care, take care
Or you'll share in his midnight ride

Night rider, night rider
Since he stole around the side
I ain't had no peace of mind
Night rider, won't you let my baby be
Come on, send her back to me

Recordingdate: 1961/03/18, first released on: Pot Luck (album)

Musicians

Musicians who contributed to the first recording of Night Rider:

(guitar)
(guitar)
(bass)
(drums)
(drums)
(piano)
(vocals)
(vocals)
(vocals)
(vocals)
(vocals)
(clarinet)
(sax)

Availability

Find available albums with Night Rider.

Steve V wrote on January 27, 2009
I don't know what it is, but I could never warm up to this song. Is it too fast? Does Elvis sound as into as he should be? It's not a bad tune, & it's from a great team. Maybe Elvis didn't really want to rock out as he did in the past. Maybe the soundtrack songs were already depressing him.
sitdown68 wrote on April 15, 2009
Night Rider never saw many spins on my record player. Compared to a fantastic song like "I want you with me" from about the same period of time, it sounds terribly sterile. As if Presley would sing it through the receiver of a telephone. The songwriter team is unbeatable.
Deke Rivers 6 wrote on April 15, 2009
The song's were getting samey & soundtrack,having said that,it's not that bad,he's done worse Anything from Harum Scarum come to mind !
old shep wrote on April 15, 2009
Pot Luck is one of my top 5 Elvis albums, although I don't play this particular track all that often it is a good song never the less and certainly better than the soundtrack material that he unfortunately got saddled with.
Pedro Nuno wrote on April 15, 2009
I Like it. It's a fine album track, from a good album like "Put Luck", maybe the last decent one Elvis made, if you exclude How Great thou Art, before the 68' Comeback and the 69' Memphis sessions.
Swen wrote on April 15, 2009
Not a whole lot of people want to write about this one. I think it might be because it´s so boring and trivial. These guys usually wrote much better songs.
Natha wrote on April 15, 2009
I liked this one when I first came across it. Then it sort of dropped out of focus, but lately I listen to it again on a regular basis. Maybe it is because it is a sort of in between song. Not really RnR yet its up tempo prompts attention. It could have been a more challenging when the rawness of the fifties would resound a little more.
JerryNodak wrote on April 15, 2009
I first heard this song when I was about 12. Loved it then. Still love it these many years later. There are other Elvis album tracks I'll skip, but this is not one of them.
dgirl wrote on April 15, 2009
Very medicore as was Pot Luck except for Suspicion. Watered down rock n roll.
NONE000000 wrote on April 15, 2009
This always sounded like it was on the wrong speed to me---even more than "Girl Happy" which actually IS on the wrong speed. The thing is, it is a good song. A few days ago I was sort of complaining about Elvis slowing down "Gentle On My Mind" a little too much, and now complaining that "Night Rider" is too fast. But with Elvis so much of what he did was so absolutely beautiful and flawlessly perfect, I guess it is easy to nitpick here and there. So for my money, slow it down, growl a little, turn it into Mystery train part 2
Deano1 wrote on March 19, 2010
An odd song from the "Pot Luck" LP that seemed to trouble Elvis. He originally recorded it in Oct 1961 (not March of 61 as shown above), but was not satisfied with the result. He tried recording it again in March of 1962, but was not happy at all with these takes. Finally RCA released the Oct of '61 version on the LP listed above and it is one of those songs that somedays I like it and somedays I don't. Anyone who think Elvis didn't want to still rock only needs to know that at that same Oct '61 recording session he recorded "Little Sister". 3 stars leaning closer to 2 1/2 stars.
RobIreland wrote on September 26, 2011
Well "Night Rider" as i see it isnt "Rock n Roll" but a typical sixties up tempo track along the same lines as "Blue River which isnt rock n roll but a good sixites style tune. I have always loved Elvis" voice from this period and Night Rider is no exception. I do love this tune and am glad Elvis recorded it the way he did ... but : ) I would have loved to have heard a slower version with beefier instrumentation. Hey maybe this is cause for a new remix. This tune let us not forget was chosen for the sound track in the series Knight Rider so it cant be that mediocre as some fans here seem to think. Has anyone found a complete track from that knight rider remix by the way ? An unusual song which plays well at Halloween ... I always think of Night Rider as a ghost kind of figure something like the Headless Horseman lol ... Infact I made a vid of this very subject on Utube ... Thank You !
TCB1974 wrote on September 26, 2011
The song is fast and short. Night rider is included in the cheap 'Tickle me' movie, dancing in the scene with a hot babe in tight white shorts, which makes it somewhat enjoyable to watch. The song is not rocking, neither dull. Three stars.
freedom101 wrote on April 07, 2012
Cool tune! Pure pop from "The King".
GEORGE (GK) wrote on April 07, 2012
"Night Rider" is a fun song and it's a nice album track, and was featured nicely later, in the movie "Tickle Me", but I could never see the song, being a big hit single for Elvis. Of note, I read here, that someone didn't like how Elvis slowed down the tempo of "Gentle on my Mind". I so totally disagree with that. Slowing it down and singing it, with soul, as he did, gave the song real depth and meaning. It was brilliant ! One of the best tracks he recorded in his amazing career.
Gorse wrote on November 13, 2012
A track that I really enjoy from one of my favourite albums namely Pot Luck. Perhaps not a rocker but a song that zips along and allows Elvis to show his ability at singing this type of number.
sugartummy wrote on April 18, 2013
Elvis did not record Little sister at this session. He recorded that already in June that year. The most rocking song he did in October 1961 next to Night rider, was Good luck charm. As Elvis picked the songs for Tickle me himself, he must have liked this one.
ElvisSacramento wrote on July 19, 2013
This is such a splendid, underrated, fun and overlooked song and it should definitely be much better known than it actually is. It was a tremendous addition to the magnificent "Pot Luck" album.
shawnrw wrote on January 09, 2014
I believe this song was originally cut for the "Blue Hawaii" soundtrack and then never used. Later I believe was used in "Tickle Me", which has gotta be the most piecedtogether creation since Frankenstein. Fast tempo rocker, enjoyable but far from great. Elvis fires out the lyrics at breakneck pace.
dcrook80 wrote on June 18, 2014
Good song. The drums catch your ear as soon as the song starts.
RobIreland wrote on July 17, 2014
I love the whole feel of Night Rider. Maybe just a little too fast tho. It could have been much more gritty if recorded at a slower pace. Still, one of my very favorites !
shoesuedeblues wrote on July 16, 2016
Fast and furious a Pomus and Shuman song from the batch he recorded around this time.Pot Luck is a good album apart from the lacklustre title.The song is OK but hardly memorable.
Cruiser621 wrote on July 16, 2016
Half baked effort which really didn't ring my chimes. Most of the songs on the album were ballads and they should have left it as such, rather than trying to interject what was thought as rock 'n roll at the time.
JerryNodak wrote on May 04, 2017
I've never had a problem with the inclusion of Night Rider. But Steppin' Out Of Line sticks out like sore thumb. Should have been replaced with something else RCA had in the vaults. I Met Her Today, for instance.
Miknik7077 wrote on October 22, 2020
Really enjoy this song. Fun fast paced rocker that shows that Pomus and Shuman wrote great songs for Elvis.
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