In the Still of the Nite

“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. 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”. 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.
Excluding Christmas records, “In the Still of the Night” is one of only three songs (the others being “Monster Mash” by Bobby “Boris” Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers and “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen) 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. “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 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.