Earlier Songs
Blues pianist Roosevelt Sykes (listed as "The Honey Dripper") recorded "Night Time Is the Right Time" in 1937 (Decca 7324). Called "one of his 'hits' of the day", it is a moderate-tempo twelve-bar blues that features Sykes on vocal and piano. It has been suggested that it was "drawn from the old vaudeville tradition":
- Now I want you to tell me, mama after I sing this song
- Can I take you with me tonight darlin', and hold you in my arms
- Because night time is the right time, to be with the one you love, with the one you love
In 1938, Big Bill Broonzy recorded the song with slightly different (and more suggestive) lyrics (Vocalion 4149). The same year, Roosevelt Sykes recorded a second version titled "Night Time Is the Right Time #2" (Decca 7438), also with slightly different lyrics. These earliest recordings of "Night Time Is the Right Time" are credited to Roosevelt Sykes and Leroy Carr. Although Carr died in 1935 without any known recordings of the song, "Night Time Is The Right Time" bears considerable similarity to Carr's "When The Sun Goes Down". The latter was phenomenally popular song at this time, having been covered by the Ink Spots and also serving as a model for "Love In Vain" by Robert Johnson.
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