Five Satins ( The ) - In the Still of the Night

First performance: 00/10/1965


Coverinfo

Bruce covered the song only once:
 
Brucebase mentions that it is unknown which Springsteen performed: The Cole Porter, the Hoagy Carmichael and Jo Trent, or the Fred Parris one (written for The Five Satins). 
 
After checking with Albee Tellone, I can catalogue this song as 'The Five Satins' one. 
 
Albee:
 
" I know for sure that it would be the one written by Fred Parris for the Five Satins. It was a big hit on the radio when we were growing up. Those other songs with the same name would have been considered "old people music" and not cool at all. Bruce has said that those "slow dance" romantic songs were what helped boys and girls get close while dancing at a high school dance. I heard him say something like that at the Wonder Bar in 2011 when he sat in on guitar at a "Doo-Wop" show with Nick Addeo and Southside Johnny.
 
Thanks Albee for helping on this page
 
 
1965-10-00 Recreation Hall, Fort Monmouth, NJ

One show, with The Castiles the sole act on the bill. The 27 song titles of this show plus two titles that are illegible have been culled from a surviving inventory/setlist document that was originally in the possession of a member of The Castiles. This list is believed to have emanated from a wedding reception the band performed in the autumn of 1965. With the exception of "Sidewalk" (co-written by Bruce) all of the songs are covers of other artist’s material, with the most recently released song at the time being Sonny & Cher’s "I Got You Babe" (July 1965). The setlist includes numerous 1964-1965 'British Invasion" hits by the Stones, Yardbirds, Kinks, Zombies and Beatles - a clear indication of the kind of music the band was playing at teen gigs. The high proportion of 1950s ballad material in this particular show (sung by George Theiss, not Bruce) is likely the result of it being a wedding, with manager Tex Vinyard making sure his boys also catered to the older relatives in attendance. These include the G-Clefs’ "I Understand", Acker Bilk’s "Stranger On The Shore", Don & Juan’s "What’s Your Name" and Anton Karas’ "The Third Man Theme". There is no circulating audio of any of this performance . Frank Marziotti has recalled the bride's choice of song was the jazz standard "Moonglow".
 
 
 
photo Billy Smith 
 
 
 

Songinfo

"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 Five Satins. 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 is heard in several films, such as The Buddy Holly Story and Dirty Dancing.
 
 
 

Other cover versions

Bruce on the artist

Lyrics

In the still of the night
I held you
Held you tight
'Cause I love
Love you so
Promise I'll never
Let you go
In the still of the night
I remember
That night in May
The stars were bright above
I'll hope and I'll pray
To keep
Your precious love
Well before the light
Hold me again
With all of your might
In the still of the night
So before the light
Hold me again
With all of your might
In the still of the night
In the still of the night