They Only Come Out at Night is the debut studio album by American rock band the Edgar Winter Group. A commercial success, the album reached the #3 on the US Billboard 200 chart and features two of the band's signature songs, "Frankenstein" and "Free Ride". The album was certified gold on April 30, 1973 and platinum on November 21, 1986 by the RIAA. The single "Frankenstein" was certified gold June 19, 1973 by the RIAA. In Canada, the album reached #4 on 2 separate occasions - May 5 and June 16, totaling 14 weeks in the top 10. The third single, "Hangin' Around", reached #39 in the singles chart. Overview Recording for the first time as The Edgar Winter Group, Winter assembled an all-star lineup which featured himself, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Dan Hartman, San Francisco guitarist Ronnie Montrose, and producer/guitarist Rick Derringer, with Eagles' producer Bill Szymczyk serving as technical director. Montrose had recently left Van Morrison's band and didn't view himself as a rock guitarist when he joined The Edgar Winter Group. "(Winter) so much wanted to do that whole rock thing that he encouraged me," said the guitarist. "I was in the Edgar Winter Group, and I had better start delivering this heavy guitar music. Now. Because I hadn't done that before." Only twenty-one years old when the album was recorded, Hartman was a child prodigy who had played with Winter's brother Johnny in the past. Hartman wrote or co-wrote six of the album's ten tracks while also contributing vocals, electric and acoustic guitar, ukulele, bass, maracas, and percussion. "Dan was a true genius and a musical visionary", said Winter. "The group would never have been the same without Dan." "Free Ride" was chosen by Winter as the album's first single. Though it fared poorly initially, it became a hit after the followup single "Frankenstein" went to #1 on the singles chart. Hartman had written "Free Ride" before joining Winter's band, and it is Hartman who plays the song's signature opening guitar chords. "I've never heard anybody play it with exactly the same feel as Dan", Winter has said. Two guitar solos are played simultaneously by Montrose on the song in an attempt to get an Eric Clapton feel. The main riff of "Frankenstein" originated when Winter was playing with his brother Johnny in the late 1960s, and the song developed as a live staple. "I wanted an