In the Still of the Night (1956)

"In the Still of the Nite", also subsequently titled "In the Still of the Night", is a song written by Fred Parris and recorded by his band the Five Satins in 1956. Originally the song was titled "(I'll Remember) In the Still of the Nite" to distinguish itself from Cole Porter's "In the Still of the Night.” Later the title was changed to "In the Still of the Night".

While only a moderate hit when first released (peaking at No. 24 on the national pop charts), it has received considerable airplay over the years and is notable as one of the best known doo-wop songs, recorded by artists such as Boyz II Men and Debbie Gibson. It has been featured in several films and television series, such as The Buddy Holly Story, Dirty Dancing, The Irishman and The Offer.

The Five Satins' original version was included in Robert Christgau's "Basic Record Library" of 1950s and 1960s recordings—published in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981)—and ranked No. 90 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of "the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".

Background

Parris was inspired to write the song while working guard duty in the U.S. Army, after seeing a pretty woman walk by him that day. Famously, it was recorded in the basement of St. Bernadette's Church in New Haven, Connecticut. Normally, the quintet sang with five singers, but for this recording there were only 4 -- Al Denby (low tenor), Eddie Martin (baritone), Jim Freeman (bass) and Fred Parris. Marty Kugell produced the song. The saxophone solo was played by Vinny Mazzetta of New Haven. The rhythm section was Doug Murray (bass), Bobby Mapp (drums) and Curlee Glover (piano). It was originally released on Kugell's Standord label with the B-side "The Jones Girl", a play on the Mills Brothers' 1954 hit, "The Jones Boy".

When it was released, Parris was in Japan, so the label used another singer, Bill Baker, to promote the single and record more music (Warner, pg. 189). Although the single was only a moderate hit after it was reissued on the Ember label, peaking at No. 24 on the national pop charts and No. 3 on the R&B "race" charts (Billboard's chart designation for R&B at the 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. The song was included on the highly influential 1959 LP Oldies But Goodies on Original Sound.

"In the Still of the Nite" is one of the few songs to have charted on the Hot 100 three separate times, by the same artist with the same version each time. After initially reaching No. 24 in 1956, it was released again in 1960 and reached No. 81. Then more than a year later in 1961 it reached No. 99.

Boyz II Men version

American group Boyz II Men recorded an a cappella arrangement (a full 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 No. 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 on January 16, 1993. It also debuted at No. 1 in New Zealand—becoming the band's second chart-topper there—and charted strongly in Australia, Canada, France, and the United Kingdom. It was later added to the 1993 re-release of their debut album, Cooleyhighharmony (1991).

Other cover versions

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 Goodnight My Love by Paul Anka did likewise in 1969 (#62 Canada). None of these releases reached the top half of the Billboard Hot 100, however.

The Crests recorded a version titled "I Remember (In the Still of the Night)" for their 1960 album The Crests Sing All Biggies on Coed Records.

The song was used in the Walt Disney World attraction The Enchanted Tiki Room (Under New Management).

"In the Still of the Night" was also recorded by The Beach Boys on their 1976 album 15 Big Ones. Lead vocals were by drummer Dennis Wilson.

Songwriters Mike Reid and Troy Seals incorporated the song in the 1985 song "Lost in the Fifties Tonight (In the Still of the Night)", performed by Ronnie Milsap. Milsap's song was a number one country hit that year.

Debbie Gibson recorded the song transposed to C major during her Atlantic-years concert tours and recorded the same arrangement for the Atlantic soundtrack album The Wonder Years — Music from the Emmy Award-Winning Show and its Era (LP 82032).

A version by Bruce Murray (brother of Anne Murray) reached #74 in Canada in 1979.

In popular culture

The original Five Satins version of the song featured prominently in Martin Scorsese's 2019 epic crime film The Irishman, including the opening scene and end credits. It is the first track on the film's soundtrack album, released by Sony Music on November 8, 2019.

The same version also appears in the second season of the television series Dark Winds.

The song appears in the first episode of the miniseries The Offer.