"In The Still of The Nite" is a song written by Fred Parris and recorded by his Five Satins. Although the single was only a moderate hit, peaking at #24 on the national pop charts and #3 on the R&B "race" charts (Billboard's chart designation for R&B during that 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 original recording briefly hit the charts again in 1960 and 1961; an instrumental version by Santo & Johnny charted in 1964, and a version by Paul Anka did likewise in 1969. None of these releases reached the top half of the Billboard Hot 100, however.
Deborah Gibson performed a cover version, transposed to C major, during her Atlantic-years concert tours and recorded the same for the Atlantic soundtrack album The Wonder Years - Music from the Emmy Award-Winning Show and its Era (LP 82032).
Boyz II Men recorded an a cappella cover (in the original F major) of the song for the soundtrack to the television miniseries The Jacksons: An American Dream. This version reached number 3 on the Hot 100. It was later added to the 1993 re-release of their album Cooleyhighharmony.
The song was spelled as "In the Still of the Nite" to avoid confusion with Cole Porter's "In the Still of the Night." The Five Satins rock and roll standard is at times also spelled in that manner.
References
- "In the Still of the Nite". Rolling Stone.
- Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The Five Satins". All Music Guide.
- Whitburn, Joel. Top Pop Singles 1955-1999. Menomonee Falls, WI, 2000.
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