If you’ve ever taken a stroll down memory lane into the golden age of doo-wop, you’ve likely encountered the Five Satins and their iconic ballad, “In the Still of the Night.”
This soulful tune – recorded in the basement of a church in 1956 – is synonymous with the genre, resonating through decades as a hallmark of love, nostalgia, and timeless music.
In 1956, a 19-year-old Fred Parris was working guard duty in Philadelphia with the U.S. Army, lovesick for his sweetheart, Marla, who was in Connecticut, living with her fiancé’s parents.
The young soldier – known now as the visionary leader of the Five Satins – had just spent a weekend with “the girl of [his] dreams” and couldn’t shake her from his mind.
“There were other nights that we spent together,” the late singer told Smithsonian Magazine in 2004. “But there’s only one first time.”
“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,” added Parris, who died in 2022 at 85.
Pairing those raw emotions and feelings with spellbinding tunes, Parris wrote the legendary doo-wop song, “In the Still of the Night.”
