This popular composition is usually credited to Texas
fiddler Luke Thomasson, although it has been published
that Luke's son Benny (a famous Texas-style fiddler who
popularized the melody) long remembered the night he
heard both his father and uncle composing the tune on
the family porch (c. 1900?). Several sources have noted
this tune's resemblance to an Oklahoma-collected tune
called "Old Paint," and there is an ongoing debate
about whether "Midnight" is derivative of "Paint" (or
vice versa). |