Background
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. It was originally released as a B-side (to "The Jones Girl", a play on the Mills Brothers' 1954 hit, "The Jones Boy") on Kugell's Standard Records label. 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-FM. The track 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". (The song was included on the highly influential 1959 LP Oldies But Goodies on Original Sound.)
"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.)
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