Because the Night (1978)

"Because the Night" is a song from 1977 written by Bruce Springsteen and Patti Smith which appears on the 1978 Patti Smith Group album Easter. On March 2, 1978, the song was released as a single, and was commercially successful, reaching No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. 5 in the United Kingdom, which helped propel Easter to mainstream success.

The song has been recorded by several singers. In 1993, a live acoustic version was recorded by 10,000 Maniacs for MTV Unplugged. This version reached No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it the highest charting version of the song in the U.S. The song also became 10,000 Maniacs' highest charting single in the U.S. and Canada.

In 1987, the song was ranked No. 116 on NME magazine's list of "The Top 150 Singles of All Time". It remains the best-known song of Smith's catalog. In 2021, Rolling Stone ranked it No. 358 on "Top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". The Independent listed the song as one of the ten best new wave singles of 1978.

History

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band recorded "Because the Night" at Atlantic Studios in New York City on June 1, 1977, the first day of recording sessions for Darkness on the Edge of Town, though the lyrics only consisted of the song title and some mumbling. Springsteen struggled with the song for almost four months. Smith recorded the song two months after Springsteen's original version was recorded.

Springsteen later said he was not satisfied with the song, and he already knew he was not going to finish it since it was "a[nother] love song". Jimmy Iovine, who was engineering Springsteen's album, was also producing the album Easter for Patti Smith at the Record Plant in New York City, where Darkness was being recorded. He brought Smith the last recording by Springsteen, from September 27, 1977. Smith added her own lyrics, recorded it, and scored her biggest hit single.

The song was first performed live at a Patti Smith concert at CBGB in New York City on December 30, 1977 (Smith's 31st birthday), with Springsteen joining on vocals and guitar. Though it was never released on any of Springsteen's studio albums, in concert beginning with his Darkness Tour Springsteen performed the song with his own lyrics.

The only two commercially released recordings of a Springsteen version of the song were in the 1986 box set Live/1975–85, in which Smith is listed as co-writer; and the 2010 compilation album The Promise (using the original recording from the Darkness on the Edge of Town sessions with Smith's lyrics).

A performance of the Bruce Springsteen was done with Michael Stipe of REM fame in 2004

In September 2023, the song was featured in the trailer for Season 2 of HBO Max's Our Flag Means Death.

CO.RO version

In 1992, Italian dance act CO.RO released a version that sold over 660,000 copies. It also samples the Depeche Mode song "Master and Servant" and was a hit in Europe, becoming gold record in France and reaching number-one in Spain. Additionally the single peaked within the top 10 in Belgium, France, Greece and Italy. On the Eurochart Hot 100, "Because the Night" reached number 15 in February 1993. It was also successful in Brazil, and became a big opening of a Eurodance explosion in the 1990s.

Critical reception

The song received favorable reviews from music critics. Larry Flick from Billboard magazine wrote that it "gets a rave/pop treatment" and "urgent vocals by Tarlisa swerve around a looped sample from Depeche Mode's 'Master & Servant'." He stated that it "ultimately works well and is better than many of the other covers". Alan Jones from Music Week gave it three out of five. He complimented the song as "actually quite endearing", adding that it combines DM samples with "a maverick bassline and a Smith soundalike. It could click."

10,000 Maniacs version

An acoustic version was recorded by 10,000 Maniacs in 1993 for MTV Unplugged, with a few lyrical alterations. The recording gained considerable radio airplay and reached No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. The cover reached the top 10 in Canada and Iceland, reaching No. 10 and No. 7, respectively. A live version with lead vocalist Mary Ramsey was also included on their 2016 album Playing Favorites.

Cascada version

In 2008, Cascada recorded a version which appears on their second album Perfect Day. The music video for the single premiered on YouTube on May 28, 2008. The single was released on July 18, 2008, in Germany.