Houdini Of The Midnite Hour

**"Houdini of the Midnite Hour"** is a song by American singer Nancy Wilson, from her 31st studio album, *Come Get To This*. It was released as a single on August 5, 1975, by Capitol Records. It's 1/5 of the original tracks from the album. The song was written and produced by Billy Page and Gene Page. It's title is a play on Hungarian-American magician Harry Houdini. Lyrically, "Houdini of the Midnite Hour" is about sex and romance, containing numerous innuendos, hence the chorus line, "Wave your magical wand." The song is primarily is a R&B song with elements of disco and funk.

Following singles "If I Ever Lose This Heaven" and "All My Love Comes Down", "Houdini of the Midnite Hour" was the third single from the album to reach number one on the *Billboard* Hot 100. The single remained there for three non-consecutive weeks, nine non-consecutive weeks at number two and in the top-ten for a total 17 consecutive weeks. "Houdini of the Midnite Hour" became the tenth consecutive top-ten hit for Wilson, out of her 27 consecutive top-ten hits on the Hot 100. As of December 2022, the song is Wilson's second-biggest Hot 100 single to date, according to current chart metrics, spending over 56 weeks on the chart, and is ranked number 14 on "The *Billboard* All-Time Hot 100 Top Songs" chart.

Internationally, the single was a massive success, peaking at number one in Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. It was the best-selling single of 1975. In November 2022, "Houdini of the Midnite Hour" was certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), making Wilson the only woman act to have two diamond singles from the 20th century. As of 2023, "Houdini of the Midnite Hour" has sold over 13 million copies worldwide.

"Houdini of the Midnite Hour" has been noted to be one of the prominent singles to further push disco into the mainstream. In 1976, "Houdini of the Midnite Hour" won Record Of The Year at the 18th Annual Grammy Awards, as well an American Music Award for Best Soul/R&B Song. It has been listed one of the most successful singles during the disco era, as well as one of the most recognizable recordings in popular music, listed by *Rolling Stone* and *Billboard. "*Houdini of the Midnite Hour" has appeared in numerous films and advertisements since it's release.

## Background and composition

Being one of the few original songs, as well as last to be recorded on the album, the creation of the song came about during a jam session in March 1975, between Billy Page, Gene Page and other session musicians. Shortly after, Billy and Gene Page approached Wilson about the composition that would give her "an edge". After reading the lyrics, Wilson was a quite shocked about its lyrical content, but she eventually was open to the idea of recording material outside of her comfort zone.. Wilson admitted in an interview with *Rolling Stone*, "I had no intention for *Houdini* to be a single. I just figured that It's a fun and feel good song, and that it deserved to be on that album."

The song is a R&B song with elements of disco and pop. "Houdini of the Midnite Hour" is arguably Wilson's first disco recording, as well as one of her first single to include sexual innuendos, even though numerous critics note her single, "All My Love Comes Down" as her first disco recording. The intro of the song use instruments, such as the trombone, played by George Bohanon, the drums, played by, Eddie Greene, rhythm guitar, played by Ray Parker, Jr., bass, played by Wilton Felder and congas, play by Bobbye Hall. The distinct chorus, with Wilson's 'feathery' mixed voice/falsetto, singing "Wave your magical wand.", and the background vocalists chanting, "sweet Houdini", have been noted to be the highlight of the song. The brass was also noted for giving the chorus, it's 'funky 'rhythm.

## Commercial performance

Prior to its release, fans and the general public soon urged Wilson and her label Capitol Records to release "Houdini of the Midnite Hour" as a single. After the release of *Come Get to This*, "Houdini of the Midnite Hour" was played on radio stations and numerous nightclubs across the globe. This was all noted to the success of the single. In the United States, "Houdini of the Midnite Hour" debuted on the *Billboard* Hot 100, at number two on August 16, 1975, becoming the highest-debuting single on the Hot 100 at that point. The following week, "Houdini of the Midnite Hour" peaked at number one on the chart for three non-consecutive weeks, making it her 17th number-one single on chart. "Houdini of the Midnite Hour" remained in the top-ten for 17 consecutive weeks, which was one of the longest running top-ten singles on the Billb*oard* Hot *100,* at the time. *Billboard* ranked it the number-one single of 1975. Furthermore, the single and *Come Get to This* simultaneously peaked at the number-one position, both on the Hot 100 and *Billboard* 200 charts. To date, "Houdini of the Midnite Hour" has spent a total 51 weeks on the Hot 100. It has since been ranked Wilson's fourth-biggest hit on the chart, based on various metrics and data. After Wilson's death in 2018, the single re-entered the chart at number 12, on December 22, 2018, making it is highest chart peak since 1975.

On other US charts, "Houdini of the Midnite Hour" peaked at number one on the *Billboard* R&B, Adult Contemporary, and Disco/Dance charts, as well as the US *Cash Box* and US *Record World* charts. The single was certified Gold in 1990, for shipments of 500,000 by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In November 2022, "Houdini of the Midnite Hour" was certified was Diamond, making it her second-highest certified single in the nation.

Internationally, the song was a huge success as well. In Canada, the single peaked at number one for one week on the Canadian *RPM* chart. "Houdini of the Midnite Hour" peaked at number one the UK Singles Chart for eight consecutive weeks and spent a total of 51 weeks on the chart, becoming her fifth biggest-hit on the chart. In Australia, "Houdini of the Midnite Hour" spent six consecutive weeks at the number one spot. In Japan, peaked at number two in the nation. The single peaked at number one in other nations, including Brazil, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Sweden, and Switzerland. Globally, it was the best-selling and fastest-selling single of 1975. As of 2020, "Houdini of the Midnite Hour" has sold over 11 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling singles of all-time. On Spotify, "Houdini of the Midnite Hour" has accumulated over 727 million streams on the platform, as of August 2023.

## Critical reception and legacy

The single was well received by critics, including *Billboard*, *Rolling Stone*, and *Entertainment Tonight,* praising Wilson’s growth and versatility as an artist. However, some were critical of Wilson's attempt to be 'seductive' and 'hip to younger crowds', said a critic from BBC. "Houdini of the Midnite Hour" was heavily compared with Gwen McRae's "Rocking Chair" and later Donna Summer's "Love To Love You Baby", due to those singles suggestive lyrics and innuendos. Its production was praised heavily by *RPM*, mentioning "the saxophone solo during the bridge of the recording is the definitely the highlight." Many critics believed the song to be the best song from *Come Get to This*. It has been listed as one of the most recognizable songs in recorded music and is still popular in modern day. Over the years, numerous artists have covered the song, including Madonna, Beyoncé, Kylie Minogue, Britney Spears, Sam Smith, Luther Vandross, Whitney Houston, Reba McEntire and Jazmine Sullivan.

"Houdini of the Midnite Hour" won Record Of The Year at the 18th Annual Grammy Awards in 1976 (becoming Wilson's second consecutive win), and won Best Soul/R&B Performance at the 3rd Annual American Music Awards. Despite the previous number-one singles *Come Get to This* produced, "Houdini of the Midnite Hour" helped propell the album to become the world's best selling album of 1975. American singer-songwriter, Lady Gaga stated that the innuendoes used in 'Houdini' is what influenced her to write her 2008 hit "LoveGame". In 2013, Rolling Stone ranked "Houdini of the Midnite Hour" at number 68 on its 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list.

### Reappraisal

In recent years, particularly after Wilson's death in 2018, new interest in "Houdini of the Midnite Hour" has sparked, amongst Millenials and Gen Z. Fan-made remixes have been published on platforms such as SoundCloud and TikTok. In April 2022, *Pitchfork* argued "'Houdini' is just as big as "Life, Love and Harmony" and in the future, may even become bigger.".

## Charts

### **Certifications**

 Germany (BVMI)
 United States (RIAA)
(Physical)
‡sales+streaming figures based on certification alone