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User:FrostFairBlade/sandbox/In the Still of the Night (The Five Satins song)

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Background

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When I arrived at camp, I went straight to the day room. There was a piano there and I started playing the chord in my head and the words in my heart. Before I realized it, it was time to go to guard duty. It was a cold, black night, and the stars were twinkling. The setting was very apropos for my feelings and emotions.

Fred Parris, in a 2004 interview for Smithsonian magazine[1]

  • Parris said that the song was inspired by a girl named Marla, whom he had met and fell in love with at the Savin Rock Amusement Park in May 1954[2][1]
  • Parris, who had enlisted in the United States Army at the time, wrote the song on a piano at the base in Philadelphia that he was stationed at[1]
  • He claimed in Smithsonian that after getting engaged with her, Marla decided to leave him to rejoin her mother in California[1]
  • Recorded in the basement of St. Bernadette Catholic Church in New Haven, Connecticut on February 19, 1956[3] with four Satins and four musicians[4]
  • It was recorded when both Parris (tenor) and Satin baritone Al Denby had returned home from military leave; Jim Freeman and Ed Martin also sang bass and baritone, respectively[5][6]: 57 
  • Church parishioner Vinny Mazzetta played saxophone on the recording[7]
  • Mazzetta played a key part in convincing the church's pastor, Father Charles Hewett, to allow the Satins to record their songs there[8]
  • Father Hewett also permitted the group to use the piano in the church for recording[8]
  • He was joined by drummer Bobby Mapp and bassist Doug Murray; recollections differed on whether the piano was played by Jesse Murphy or Curley Glover[5]
  • Multiple takes were performed: Mazzetta recalls Parris stating that the band performed about six takes; his recollection was that it took 12 takes[9]
  • Originally titled "(I'll Remember) In the Still of the Nite", to differentiate it from "In the Still of the Night" by Cole Porter[2]

Lyrics and music

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  • Features two verses and a bridge[10]
  • Lyrics revolve around the narrator's remembrance of holding his lover in his arms at night[11]

Release and commercial performance

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  • The song was originally released as the B-side to "The Jones Girl"[6]: 64 
  • The song charted on Billboard's R&B lists on September 1, 1956[12]
  • A Billboard article from January 1960 noted that the record has sold consistently since its 1956 release, mentioning that it has sold as many as 20,000 copies in one week since its debut[13]

Critical reception

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Live performances and other versions

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Credits and personnel

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d Amdur, Neil (June 2004). "A love letter set to music". Smithsonian magazine. Retrieved 2022-02-09.
  2. ^ a b Genzlinger, Neil (2022-01-20). "Fred Parris, creator of a doo-wop classic, is dead at 85". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-02-09.
  3. ^ "'In the Still of the Night': The Five Satins recorded biggest hit in New Haven church basement". New Haven Register. 2014-03-03. Retrieved 2022-02-09.
  4. ^ Beach, Randall (2001-04-29). "Fred Parris, Gateway Community College is looking to pay tribute to you". New Haven Register. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
  5. ^ a b Zaretsky, Mark (2022-01-16). "New Haven's Fred Parris, writer of 'In the Still of the Night', may be gone—but the song and his legacy will live on". New Haven Register. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
  6. ^ a b Marcus, Greil (2014). The History of Rock 'n' Roll in Ten Songs. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-18737-3. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
  7. ^ Beach, Randall (2010-12-05). "Vinny played sax. The Five Satins needed a solo. The rest was history". New Haven Register. Retrieved 2022-02-09.
  8. ^ a b Renzoni, Tony; Felix, Cavaliere (2022). Historic Connecticut Music Venues: From the Coliseum to the Shaboo. Arcadia Publishing. p. 32. ISBN 978-1-4671-5003-3.
  9. ^ Schecker, Justin (2016-02-23). "New Haven church celebrates 60th anniversary of "In the Still of the Night" recording". NBC Connecticut. Retrieved 2022-02-09.
  10. ^ Beviglia, Jim (2019-05-06). "The Five Satins, "In the Still of the Night"". American Songwriter. Retrieved 2022-02-09.
  11. ^ Gillett, Charlie (1 May 2011). The Sound of the City: The Rise of Rock and Roll. Souvenir Press. ISBN 978-0-285-64024-5.
  12. ^ Warner, Jay (2006). American Singing Groups: A History from 1940s to Today. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 189. ISBN 978-0-634-09978-6.
  13. ^ "Solid revenue source: old R&B hits pan new gold in pop category". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. 1960-01-11. p. 4. Retrieved 2022-02-09.
  14. ^ "Reviews of New R & B Records". Billboard. 1956-06-09. p. 46. Retrieved 2023-10-19.
  15. ^ "500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. 2003-12-11. Retrieved 2022-02-09.
  16. ^ Allen, Jamie (2001-03-07). "New song list puts 'Rainbow' way up high". CNN. Retrieved 2023-04-21.
  17. ^ Ring, Deborah A. (2010). "Boyz II Men". Contemporary Black Biography. Vol. 82. Gale. p. 26. ISBN 978-1-4144-4603-5. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
  18. ^ Russell, Deborah (1992-12-05). "Films, TV spawn hot singles, soundtracks: big, small screens light four no. 1 songs". Billboard. Vol. 104, no. 49. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2023-04-21 – via Gale Academic OneFile.
  19. ^ Sexton, Paul (2022-01-04). "'In The Still Of The Nite': Five Satins Inspire The Beach Boys | uDiscover". uDiscover Music. Retrieved 2022-02-09.
  20. ^ Sims, David (2019-11-01). "Martin Scorsese's Epic Funeral for the Gangster Genre". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2022-02-09.
  21. ^ Schonfeld, Zach (2019-11-06). "The Doo-Wop Song at the Mournful Heart of 'The Irishman'". The Ringer. Retrieved 2022-02-09.
  22. ^ Knopper, Steve (2022-01-14). "Fred Parris, 'In the Still of the Night' Songwriter and Five Satins Frontman, Dies at 85". Billboard. Retrieved 2022-02-09.
  23. ^ O'Connell, Max (2014-10-08). "Criticwire Classic of the Week: David Cronenberg's 'Dead Ringers'". IndieWire. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
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