After Midnight – A Quick History, Sheet Music, Lyrics, Chords, Harmonica, Plus Musical Instruments and Recording Equipment
- After Midnight was recorded by JJ Cale on his Naturally album back on June 9, 1971 in Bradley’s Barn Studio in Mt Juliet, TN.
- The album also includes Call Me The Breeze, later covered by Lynyrd Skynyrd, Crazy Mama which would become Cale’s only top 40 hit, Clyde which would be covered by both Dr Hook and Waylon Jenning and Magnolia, a personal favourite.
After Midnight – Sheet Music
The Cream Of Eric Clapton – Guitar tablature songbook for guitar and voice including JJ Cale’s After Midnight.
Includes standard guitar notation, guitar tablature, vocal melody, lyrics, chord names and guitar chord diagrams. 168 pages. Published by Hal Leonard.
Song list includes: After Midnight, Badge, Bell Bottom Blues, Blues Power, Cocaine, Cross Road Blues (Crossroads), Hello Old Friend, I Can’t Stand It, I Feel Free, I Shot The Sheriff, Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door, Layla, Let It Grow, Let It Rain, Presence Of The Lord, Promises, Sunshine of Your Love, White Room, Wonderful Tonight
After Midnight – Guitar Chords and Lyrics
I am playing in the key of A and am playing a Hohner 560 Special 20 Harmonica in the key of D.
The chords I play for the verse are A C D which I repeat between each line.
The chords I play for the chorus are A C D E7
After Midnight music and lyrics are property and copyright of their owners and provided for educational purposes and personal use only.
If you want the real thing, use the links above.
This is my rendition, transcription, envision of an all time awesome song.
Verse
After Midnight, We’re gonna let it all hang out
After Midnight, We’re gonna chug-a-lug and shout
Chorus
We’re gonna cause talking suspicion
We’re gonna give an exhibition
We’re gonna find out what it is all about
After Midnight, We’re gonna let it all hang out
Verse
After Midnight, We’re gonna shake your tabourine
After Midnight, It’s all gonna be peaches and cream
Chorus
We’re gonna stimulate some action
We’re gonna get some satisfaction
We’re gonna find out what it is all about
After Midnight, we’re gonna let it all hang out
Musical Instruments and Recording Equipment
In the video, I am playing my
Takamine Acoustic-Electric Guitar very similar to the picture to the left.
I bought this guitar in Charlotte, NC about 10 years ago at a great price. I had heard alot of good things about Takamine guitars and had tried a couple which I really liked so when I needed an affordable stage setup, I bought the guitar, hard-shell case, fender deluxe 90 amp, and an assortment of accessories for under a thousand bucks.
I like the rounded profile that is narrow at the waist and broad behind the bridge. This creates a soundboard with balanced frequency response – deep bass, clear treble, and a sweet, round midrange that projects well.
It includes 3-band graphic EQ and built-in tuner which is really handy.
From Takamine, “Built to Takamine designs in some of the most modern guitar shops in the world, G-series instruments are priced for every budget. The G-series guitar is every bit Takamine, from its acoustic performance to the latest in pickup and preamp design. These guitars are crafted from the finest handpicked tonewoods, hand-crafted by expert luthiers, all providing players with unmatched excellence and surprising affordability”
The Hohner Special 20 has been my harmonica of choice for a long time. They are just easy to play, easy to bend and sound great. They are excellent harmonicas for someone just starting out but are also played by pros in all types of venues worldwide.
In After Midnight, I am playing a Hohner 560 Special 20 Harmonica D.
From Hohner, “The Special 20 is the go-to harp for harmonica players of any style, including blues, country, folk, or rock. The Special 20 delivers the coveted Marine Band sound and offers the benefits of its plastic comb: it doesn’t absorb moisture so it won’t swell, shrink, or crack; it lasts longer and is more airtight than wood combs that can become swollen, twisted, and warped; airtight construction provides increased responsiveness; plastic provides comfort and it’s smoother on the lips, preventing chafing”.
I made my first harmonica holder out of an old wire coat hanger. It wasn’t beautiful but it worked and put me on the road to earning my McGyver certificate at an early age.
For me now, a comfortable and properly fitting harmonica holder is a must for hands free harmonica playing. This Hohner Harmonica Neck Holder works great for me.
Another harmonica holder that you may want to try that has gotten great reviews is the
Lee Oskar Harmonica Holder. You can also check out other harmonica holders on my George’s Harp Shop page.
After Midnight Video Transcription
Hi, George here. Welcome to this video where I show you how I play JJ Cale’s After Midnight on guitar and harmonica. So, we’re going to go through guitar chords, strumming pattern, talk about the harmonica and the key I’m using and then we’ll jam it through.
Ok, so starting with guitar chords, we start with A, then C, then D, and back to A. Ok, we also have E7. Those are all the chords in the song.
So, for a strumming pattern, I’ll give you a little example of how I strum it. Let me count that for you a little slower.
↓1 (2) ↓3 (4) ↑& (1) ↑& ↓2 (3) ↑& ↓4 ↑&
↓1 (2) ↓3 (4)
↓1 (2) ↓3 (4)
That maybe a little tricky to get started. Another thing you can also do is to play roots. So sometimes I’ll do this.
So for the harmonica, I’m playing a D harmonica. So we’re in the key of A but I’m playing a D harmonica. The reason for that, on a D harmonica, when you draw on the second, third, fourth and fifth notes you make an A7 chord and that’s what we want. We’re playing in the key of A but we want to have that dominant seventh to just give it that bluesy feel. It also bases it on a bend. That’s not right. It’s based upon drawing these notes and it’s easier to bend on a draw so you can take that A7 chord and bend the heck out of it and have alot of fun.
Again, a D harmonica with that draw on the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th holes gives you an A7 chord.
Ok, so let’s just jam this out. There’s three chords for the main part and then we throw the E7 in there.
I hope you enjoyed the video. Please leave a comment below and tell a friend.
Pingback: What Kind Of Guitar Does Jj Cale Use | Informantion
Brilliant George. thanks for sharing
A D harmonica I thought clapton was mostly a G harp?
Thanks
Will try it when I am playing along with a group using the C harp for
Aminor blues
The D Harp was the easiest for me to play blues in Aminor with all minor
chords
G harp sounds great with House of the rising sun
WHY does a G HARMONICA SOUND GREAT IN A minor but if you play using a
C HARMONICA it does not
Nice. Love the J.J Cale. Cheers from Canada, eh?
JJ Cale R.I.P. Thank you for your gift of music.
lol that was wicked im gonna steal that n play this weekend
hey George, just came across some of your videos this week. Good stuff! Besides being a clear and concise teacher, I like your arrangements, you’ve inspired me several times over, and you’ve got good energy. So keep up the good work and thanks for getting these great songs out here for us all.
thank you again George you just made my day,and that makes two gorgeous tunes i’ve learned from you! can you hear that bass playing (jamming) along with you ? yes its me!!!! 🙂 ciao e grazie molto!
Thanks
NICE! 🙂
You are very welcome. Thank you.
excellent, simple et beau merçi. beautiful. A C D E7.
HI George, you are truly an awesome person and a great teacher, I look forward to your lessons. they are made so easy to play, the way you teach 🙂 thanks a ton for posting these lessons
Greatfully……
If you have more to learn, then I should be able to play my first chords by the time I am 80…..LOL
You’re too kind.
The great thing about music is that the more you learn, the more there is to learn.
I still have a lot of learning to do.
Thanks for the support.
Cheers, George
A true master musician.
Thanks Bruno.
good job! I
where have you been? I enjoyed learning from you. come back plox
That’s very kind. Thank you.
Have a great one. Cheers.
George,
Stellar work…I was looking for After Midnight and your lesson was perfect. Introducing the harp lesson was great. I play alone most of the time and I am going to start fooling around with it again.
Thanks for subbing me back. Explore my channel, there is lots of good music. I go to the Vanc Isl Music Fest with my camera every year and always get some good stuff. Vids are easier to find at my web site. I have everything organized there.
Cheers and nicely done,
Ed
http://www.comoxvalleyartsandlife.com
I’ve been wanting to learn this song thanks george.
Wow… thank you George for making it so easy to learn great songs.
[..YouTube..] Wow… thank you George for making it so easy to learn great songs.
Thanks very much. Merry Christmas to you.
[..YouTube..] @MrMontonman Thanks very much. Merry Christmas to you.
Thanks George, Merry Christmas from England.
[..YouTube..] Thanks George, Merry Christmas from England.