The group, formed in New Haven, Connecticut, consisted of leader Fred Parris, Lou Peebles, Stanley Dortch, Ed Martin and Jim Freeman and Nat Mosley in 1954. With little success, the group reorganized, with Dortch and Peebles leaving, an d new member Al Denby entering. The group then recorded In the Still of the Night, that was originally released as the B-side to the single, The Jones Girl.

The song was recorded in the Saint Bernadette Catholic School basement in New Haven, Connecticut, in February, 1956. 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. Rumor has it that the girls’ bathroom was just down the hall and the faint echo heard in the recording is a bit of reverberation from the door being left open. Although the single was only a moderate hit (after it was reissued on the Ember label), 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.

“In the Still of the Night” is the only song to have charted on the Billboard Hot 100 three separate times, by the same artist with the same version each time. After initially reaching #24 in 1956, it was released again in 1960 and reached #81. Then more than a year later in 1961 it reached #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.)

The single was initially issued on the tiny local “Standord” label and after some local Connecticut sales, it was released the following year on the New York label Ember, and ended up charting at number three on the R&B chart and number 25 on the pop charts. Two singles later, the follow-up track Pretty Baby (That’s Why I Sing) got weeks of airplay on powerful CHUM in Toronto, in November of 1957. An August 1958 release, A Night To Remember, got some Boston airplay. During late 1959 (in San Francisco, CA) and early 1960 (in both San Antonio, TX and Rochester, NY), because of this exposure, their classic 45 side garnered renewed current airplay, becoming a Top 10 hit in all three listed markets. In total, their signature track sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc.

A case of painfully bad timing affected the group’s lead singer. Uncle Sam had come calling, and Parris entered the Army very soon after the huge success of “In The Still Of The Night”, forcing the group to reorganize again, with Martin, Freeman, Tommy Killebrew, Jessie Murphy and new lead Bill Baker. Baker quickly proved to be a highly capable replacement, however, as this lineup immediately hit big with another timeless, very successful effort, Billy Dawn Smith’s To the Aisle, in September 1957.

Upon Parris’ return from the Army, a new lineup was assembled, consisting of Parris, Lou Peebles (who was in the original incarnation of the Five Satins), Sylvester Hopkins, Richie Freeman and Wes Forbes. The group would be briefly known as “Fred Parris and the Scarlets”, until the Baker-led group split up. At this point, they reverted to the Five Satins name. The group appeared on an unusually high number of record labels, even for their era, when such label-hopping was far more of a common practice. They continued to perform but mostly in the Connecticut local area.

With the smash hit 1973 film “American Graffiti” and its nostalgic soundtrack sparking a renewed interest in both old hits and old groups, music mogul Don Kirshner sought to capitalize by signing Parris and his group to his own Kirshner label. He restored the group’s moniker back to Five Satins, and released two 45’s: Very Precious Oldies/Your Are Love”, 1973; and “Two Different Worlds/Love Is Such A Beautiful Thing”, 1974. Both singles flopped, however.

They continued recording into the 1980s, with Parris, Richie Freeman, Curtis and Nate Marshall. In 1981, a “Medley Craze” had suddenly engulfed Top 40 radio, led by the Beatle hit-laden Stars. One 45 medley, performed by some Dutch studio sound-alike musicians. The Still Of The Night track hit #1 in the U.S. In response, Capitol had quickly spliced up and issued “genuine” old hit medleys, for both The Beatles and The Beach Boys. Both of these medleys only narrowly missed reaching the national Top 10. Noticing this new trend, however, longtime Connecticut music producer Marty Markiewicz (who’d known Parris personally for many years), knew that he was still singing/performing at a very high level . Markiewicz also happened to be working for Elektra Records (as a local music rep) at the time. He got an idea. He both asked for and was given permission by his employer to bring Parris and company in, on each’s own time, to record/produce a medley of classic ’50s hits. Just to see what would come out of it.

The plan was to use the Satins’ own classic hit as the medley’s final song. The result was “Memories Of Days Gone By”, which became the group’s first new entry on the Billboard Hot 100 since 1960. And although it only peaked at #71 in early 1982, it did again reach the Top 10 at New Haven’s WKCI and Hartford’s WDRC. The latter was especially satisfying, as airplay for Parris in the Hartford market had always been tough to come by, even during the ’60s days of huge downstate radio play. In response to their successful medley, Elektra requested a full LP. For this release, the “Five” was dropped, and the album was issued as by “Fred Parris And The Satins.” Two more singles were released from it. The first, a remake of the Delfonics’ 1970 hit “(Didn’t I) Blow Your Mind” again got solid airplay in New Haven, in November of 1982. Meanwhile, Bill Baker had started his own Five Satins group around this same time, with former Satin Sylvester Hopkins and Hopkins’ brothers Arthur “Count” Hopkins, Sr. and Frank. By the late 1980s, this group consisted of Baker, Harvey Potts, Jr., Anthony Hofler and Octavio DeLeon. In 1990, the group was joined by Jimmie Wilson stepping into the first tenor position for Don Simpson.

The song came back again and sold over 10 million copies in 1987 and 1988 as part of the Dirty Dancing soundtrack. It is ranked #90 on the Rolling Stone magazine’s list of ” the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Fred Parris and Richie Freeman continue to perform. Bill Baker died in 1994.

Here is the original In the Still Of the Night.https://youtu.be/eHhWwEvHaEk<a

Enjoy (or not).

Rick