Songoftheday 8/22/18 - I remember that night in May, when the stars were bright up above...
from the albums The Jacksons: An American Dream (Original Soundtrack) (1992) and Cooleyhighharmony (1993 re-issue, Boyz II Men)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #3 (three weeks)
Weeks in the Top-40: 17
Today's song of the day comes from the soulful vocal group Boyz II Men, who had previously just set a record for the longest stay at #1 on Billboard's pop Hot 100 chart in the summer and early fall of 1992 with "End Of The Road" from the movie Boomerang. However, it didn't take long for that feat to be surpassed, this time from Whitney Houston's version of "I Will Always Love You" from The Bodyguard. The Boyz' next single also came from a movie, this time a TV miniseries about the Jackson Five, which broadcast on ABC in November of 1992. Starring Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs (Washington on Welcome Back Kotter) and Angela Bassett as the Joe and Katherine Jackson, parents of the clan, and Wylie Draper, Jason Weaver, and Alex Burrell playing Michael Jackson in different stages of his life, the series had much mixed reviews especially about its loose ties to the real history, even though it was based on a book by Katherine. Nevertheless, it was successful in the ratings, and a companion soundtrack was released, featuring original Jackson material as well as songs from outside groups. One of those was a remake of a doo-wop classic that was one of the cornerstone hits of the genre. "In The Still Of The Nite (I'll Remember)" was written by Fred Parris for his vocal group the Five Satins, who released the song originally in 1956. On its initial release it climbed to #24 on the American pop chart, and all the way to #3 on the R&B tally. It was re-released in the same version two more times, hitting the pop chart at #81 in 1960 and #99 a year later. It would find itself on the soundtrack of Dirty Dancing decades later...
In 1992, Boyz II Men recorded an a cappella version of the song for the Jacksons miniseries, and it was released as a single (their final from their Cooleyhighharmony record)...
The Boyz II Men version of "In The Still Of The Nite" became the highest-charting version of the classic, reaching the top-3 on Billboard's pop Hot 100 in January of 1993. The song also climbed to #4 on their R&B chart, and made it to #11 on their Adult Contemporary (or "easy listening") radio format tally. Internationally, the single spent two weeks at #1 in New Zealand, and reached the top-40 in Australia (#11), Canada (#23), France (#24), and the UK (#27). Because of its success, the song was tacked on to the re-release of their debut album Cooleyhighharmony...
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Besides the Five Satins and Boyz II Men, many other acts recorded the song, including a few that made the charts. In 1961, along with the Satins re-appearing on the chart, the doo-wop group the Crests also put out a cover retitled "I'll Remember" that "bubbled under" the pop Hot 100 at #102...
Three years later, Santo & Johnny also released an instrumental of "In The Still Of The Nite", and made it to #58 on the pop chart and #20 on the Adult Contemporary (or "easy listening") list...
In 1969, Paul Anka covered the song for a single that reached #64 on the pop Hot 100 and #36 on the Adult Contemporary list...
Country star Ronnie Milsap interpolated the doo-wop classic into his new single "Lost In The Fifties Tonight" which topped Billboard's Country singles chart in 1985, and peaked at #8 on their Adult Contemporary tally...
And now back to the Boyz for a live rendition...
...and another...
and again.
Up tomorrow: The man who championed the Boyz takes his side-piece trio to the 'hood.
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