“The Five Satins family is devastated by this loss but appreciative of having shared Fred’s music with thousands of fans and friends,”The group stated.
The song didn’t chart highly upon its first release, but grew in the years after to personify the era of vocal groups thanks to constant airplay. It was recorded by Boyz II Men and Debbie Gibson and featured in films such as The Buddy Holly Story: Dirty Dancing The Irishman.
The group noted Parris’ classic song “has been “recognized as one of the greatest love songs of all time and the number one requested song of the doo-wop era.”
“In the Still of the Night”Sometimes it is stylized as “In the Still o the Nite”Avoid confusion by using the 1937 Cole Porter song of the same name.
Parris grew up in New Haven, Conn. and wrote the song’s lyrics while on guard duty for the US Army in Philadelphia. It was recorded in New Haven on February 1956. It is ranked as No. 90 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 Greates Songs of All-Time. It won the oldies radio countdowns every year and was part a Dirty DancingThe soundtrack has sold over 10 million copies.
It is also the only song to have charted on the Billboard Hot 100 three separate times by the same artist with the same version each time.
Information on memorial plans and survivors was not immediately available.