FIRST
A BOY AND A GIRL
MEET
EACH OTHER
THE FIVE SATINS
are an American
doo-wop group,
best known for their
1956 million-selling song
"In the Still of the Night.
"They were formed in 1954
and continued performing
until 1994.
When it was formed,
the group consisted of
six members,
which was eventually
cut down to five.
The group is in
the Vocal Group
Hall of Fame.
CareerThe group,
formed in
New Haven, Connecticut
in 1954,
consisted of leader
Fred Parris
(March 26, 1936 – January 13, 2022),
Lewis Peeples,
Stanley Dortche,
Ed Martin,
Jim Freeman,
Nat Mosley.
With little success,
the group reorganized,
with Dortche
and Peeples leaving,
and new member
Al Denby entering.
The group then recorded
"In the Still of the Night",
a big hit
in the United States,
which was originally
released as the B-side
to the single
"The Jones Girl".
The single was initially
issued on the tiny local
"Standord"
label
(45 stock 200)
and after some
local Connecticut sales,
it was released
the following year
on the New York label
Ember
(45 stock 1005),
and
"In The Still Of The Night"
ended up charting
at number three on
the R&B chart
and number 25
on the pop chart.
Two singles later,
the follow-up track
"Pretty Baby (That's Why I Sing)"
(Ember 1025)
got weeks of airplay
on powerful
CHUM
in Toronto,
in November 1957.
The August
1958 release
"A Night to Remember"
(Ember 1038)
got some Boston airplay.
During late 1959
(in San Francisco)
and early 1960
(in both San Antonio, Texas
and
Rochester, New York),
their classic 45 side
garnered renewed
current airplay,
becoming a Top 10 hit
in all three listed markets.
"In The Still of the Night"
became an even bigger hit
when it appeared as
the lead track on
Original Sound Records'
Oldies But Goodies Vol. 1.
The series eventually ran to
15 volumes.
The series has been
in continual print
in one form or another
since that first volume
was released in 1959.
In total,
their signature track sold over
1 million copies
and was awarded a
gold disc
.A case of painfully
bad timing
affected the group's
lead singer.
Parris entered
the United States Army
soon after the success of
"In the Still of the Night",
forcing the group to
reorganize again,
with Martin,
Freeman,
Tommy Killebrew,
Jessie Murphy
and new lead
Bill Baker.
Baker quickly proved
to be a highly
capable replacement
as this lineup immediately
had success with
Billy Dawn Smith's
"To the Aisle"
(Ember 1019),
in September 1957.
They appeared in the film
Sweet Beat
(1959).
Upon Parris' return
from the Army,
a new lineup was assembled,
consisting of
Parris,
Lewis Peeples
(who was in a previous
incarnation of
the Five Satins),
Sylvester Hopkins,
Richie Freeman
and
Wes Forbes.
The group would be
briefly known as
"Fred Parris and the Scarlets",
until the Baker-led group
split up.
At this point,
they reverted to
the Five Satins name.
According to
old radio survey repository
ARSA,
the following
45 sides charted
in some markets:
"I'll Be Seeing You"
(Ember 1061);
"Your Memory"
(Cub 9071);
"The Time"
(Ember 1066);
"These Foolish Things/
A Beggar With A Dream"
(Cub 9077);
"Till The End"
(United Artists 368);
"The Masquerade Is Over"
(Chancellor 1110);
"Remember Me"
(Warner Brothers 5367);
and
"Ain't Gonna Dance"
(aka "Ain't Gonna Cry",
Roulette 4563).
In total,
the group appeared on
an unusually high number
of record labels,
even for their era
In 1965,
Parris retooled his band,
and started a
three-year run
of getting substantial airplay
almost exclusively inside
his home state of
Connecticut,
as Fred Parris
and the Restless Hearts.
Songs included
"No Use In Crying"
(Checker 1108)
"Blushing Bride/Giving My Love To You"
(Green-Sea 106);
"Bring It Home To Daddy"
(Atco 6439);
"I'll Be Hangin On"
(Green-Sea 107);
and ending this career phase
with an updated version of
their classic hit,
"(I'll Remember) In The Still Of The Night "67"
(Mama Sadie 1001).
By the early 1970s,
the group was
Parris,
Peeples,
Richie Freeman,
Jimmy Curtis
and
Corky Rogers.
"Dark at the Top of My Heart"
(RCA 0478)
had garnered them
still more Connecticut airplay.
With the 1973 film
American Graffiti
and its nostalgic soundtrack
sparking a renewed interest
in both old hits
and old groups,
music mogul
Don Kirshner
sought to capitalize by
signing Parris
and his group to
his own
Kirshner label.
He restored the group's
moniker back to
Five Satins,
and released two 45s:
"Very Precious Oldies/You Are Love"
(Kirshner 4251),
1973;
and
"Two Different Worlds/
Love Is Such A Beautiful Thing"
(Kirshner 4252),
1974.
Both singles flopped.
They continued recording into
the 1980s,
TRACKLIST
To the Aisle
Skippity Do
Sugar
Pretty Baby
Love with No Love in Return
All Mine
(I'll Remember) in the Still of the Nigh
A Night Like This
I'll Get Along
Our Anniversary
Weeping Willow
You Must Be an Angel
Wishing Ring
When Your Love Comes Along
Moonlight and I
Senorita Lolita
When the Swallows Come Back to Capistrano
The Time
Wish I Had My Baby
Wonderful Girl
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