| "In the Still of the Night" | |
|---|---|
| Song by The Five Satins | |
| Released | 1956 |
| Recorded | Saint Bernadette Catholic School |
| Genre | Soul, Doo-wop |
| Language | English |
| Length | 3:02 |
| Label | Standord Records |
| Writer | Fred Parris |
| Producer | Marty Kugell |
"In the Still of the Night" is a song written by Fred Parris and recorded by his Five Satins.
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The song was recorded in the Saint Bernadette Catholic School basement in New Haven, CT in February, 1956. Marty Kugell produced the song. The saxophone solo was played by Vinny Mazzetta, of New Haven. It was originally released as a B-Side (to "The Jones Girl", a play on the Mills Brothers' 1954 hit, "The Jones Girls") on Kugell's "Standord Records" label. Although the single was only a moderate hit (after it was reissued on the Ember label), peaking at #24 on the national pop charts and #3 on the R&B "race" charts (Billboard's chart designation for R&B during that time), its reputation came to surpass its original chart placement. For three decades, the single almost always topped the influential Top 500 Songs countdown on oldies radio station WCBS-FM. The track sold over 10 million copies in 1987 and 1988 as part of the Dirty Dancing soundtrack. It is ranked #90 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of "the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". (Clearly, one of the primary reasons why the song became such a standard was its inclusion in the highly influential 1959 LP "Oldies But Goodies" on Original Sound.)
"In the Still of the Night" is the only song to have charted on the Billboard Hot 100 three separate times, by the same artist with the same version each time. After initially reaching #24 in 1956, it was released again in 1960 and reached #81. Then more than a year later in 1961 it reached #99.
"In the Still of the Night" is one of two songs that may lay claim to being the origin of the term doo-wop. The plaintive "doo wop, doo wah" refrain in the bridge has often been suggested as the origin of the term doo-wop to describe that musical genre. (The other contender for the honor is When You Dance by The Turbans, in which the chant "doo-wop" can be heard.)
The original recording briefly hit the charts again in 1960 and 1961; an instrumental version by Santo & Johnny charted in 1964, and a version from the album Exitos De Paul Anka by Paul Anka did likewise in 1969. None of these releases reached the top half of the Billboard Hot 100, however.
The Crests recorded a cover version, titled "I Remember", for their 1960 album "The Crests Sing All Biggies" on Coed Records.
Deborah Gibson performed a cover version, transposed to C major, during her Atlantic-years concert tours and recorded the same for the Atlantic soundtrack album The Wonder Years - Music from the Emmy Award-Winning Show and its Era (LP 82032).
The song was spelled as "In the Still of the Nite" to avoid confusion with Cole Porter's "In the Still of the Night". The Five Satins rock and roll standard is at times also spelled in that manner. The song was also used in the Disney attraction The Enchanted Tiki Room (Under New Management).
"In the Still of the Night" was also covered by The Beach Boys on their 1976 album 15 Big Ones. Lead vocals were by drummer Dennis Wilson.
| "In the Still of the Nite (I'll Remember)" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Boyz II Men | ||||
| from the album The Jacksons: An American Dream Original Soundtrack and Cooleyhighharmony (1993 re-issue) | ||||
| B-side | "Snippets from 'An American Dream'" | |||
| Released | October 13, 1992 (airplay) November 10, 1992 |
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| Format | CD, CD maxi, 7" single | |||
| Recorded | 1992 | |||
| Genre | A Cappella, Doo-wop | |||
| Length | 2:51 | |||
| Label | Motown | |||
| Writer(s) | F. Parris | |||
| Producer | Boyz II Men | |||
| Boyz II Men singles chronology | ||||
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Boyz II Men recorded an a cappella cover (a half step below the original version, in E) of the song for the soundtrack to the television miniseries The Jacksons: An American Dream. This version reached number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the Hot 100 Singles Sales on January 16, 1993 and February 6, 1993, respectively. It also reached #2 on the Hot 100 Airplay on December 12, 1992. It was later added to the 1993 re-release of their album Cooleyhighharmony.
| Chart (1993) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian ARIA Singles Chart[1] | 11 |
| French SNEP Singles Chart[1] | 24 |
| German Singles Chart[2] | 69 |
| UK Singles Chart[3] | 27 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[4] | 3 |
| U.S. Billboard Rhythmic Top 40[4] | 3 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks[4] | 11 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot R&B Singles[4] | 4 |
| End of year chart (1993) | Position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[5] | 12 |