Shadows of the Night

"Shadows of the Night"
Single by Pat Benatar
from the album Get Nervous
B-side "The Victim"
Released September 18, 1982
Format Vinyl record (7")
Recorded June 18, 1982
Genre Hard Rock
Length 4:20
3:43 (single edit)
Label Chrysalis
Songwriter(s) D.L. Byron: added lyrics by Myron Grombacher and Pat Benatar
Producer(s) Peter Coleman, Neil Giraldo
Pat Benatar singles chronology
"It's A Tuff Life"
(1981)		 "Shadows of the Night"
(1982)		 "Anxiety (Get Nervous)"
(1982)

"It's A Tuff Life"
(1981)		 "Shadows of the Night"
(1982)		 "Anxiety (Get Nervous)"
(1982)

"Shadows of the Night" is a song released by American rock singer Pat Benatar. It was released in September 1982 as the lead single from her fourth studio album, Get Nervous.

D.L. Byron composed the song explicitly for the 1980 film Times Square,[1] which tells the story of two young runaways in New York City, but it did not make it into the movie and Byron's own record label rejected it, claiming the song "wasn't commercial enough."[2] Prior to Benatar's version, the song was released as a single by Helen Schneider in 1981 from her album Schneider with the Kick. According to Byron, Schneider's version went 5 times Platinum in Germany and the Benelux countries.[2]

The song was also recorded by singer Rachel Sweet for her 1981 album ...And Then He Kissed Me.[3] In an interview with Byron, he described how Sweet received permission from him to change some of the lyrics.[2]

The later Benatar version had additional lyrics added by Myron Grombacher and Benatar herself. The song was a huge hit, peaking at #13 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and reaching #3 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart.

"Shadows of the Night" garnered Benatar her third Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance in 1983.

There have been several cover versions of the song over the years. In 1983, the Rachel Sweet version was covered by singer-songwriter Randy VanWarmer on his 1983 album The Things That You Dream.

In 2005, the song was included as a musical number medley with the Quarterflash song "Harden My Heart" in the jukebox musical Rock of Ages. In the 2012 film adaptation of Rock of Ages, the song is performed by Mary J. Blige.

In 2008, the song was covered by Ashley Tisdale for the soundtrack of the TV film Picture This. That same year, another cover by Paul Layton was included on the soundtrack of the independent zombie comedy movie Dance of the Dead.

In 2014, the song was featured in the enhanced version of the video game Grand Theft Auto V on the in-game radio station Los Santos Rock Radio.

In 2015, the song was featured at the end of the Halloween episode of The Goldbergs.

Chart performance

Chart (1983) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[4] 19
Canada Top Singles (RPM) 12
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[5] 32
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[6] 50
US Billboard Hot 100[7] 13
US Billboard Top Rock Tracks[7] 3

Sampling

In 1995, the melody of the chorus was sampled in the DJ Miko eurodance song "Lovely Lullaby".

References

  1. ↑ "Blog Archive » The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack “TIMES SQUARE”". Robin Johnson. Retrieved 2016-11-14.
  2. 1 2 3 "D.L. BYRON: Shadows Of The Night (Pat Benatar) (c) 2012". Rockunited.com. Retrieved 2016-11-14.
  3. ↑ "Rachel Sweet – Reluctant Rock Star turns 50!". Stianeriksen.com. 2012-07-28. Retrieved 2016-11-14.
  4. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970 - 1992. Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  5. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Pat Benatar – Shadows of the Night". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved May 5, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Pat Benatar: Artist Chart History" Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 5, 2014.
  7. 1 2 "Pat Benatar | Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved May 5, 2014.
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