The group, formed in New Haven, Connecticut, consisted of leader Fred Parris, Lou Peebles, Stanley Dortch, Ed Martin and Jim Freeman in 1954. With little success, the group reorganized, with Dortch and Peebles leaving, and new member Al Denby entering. The group then recorded "In the Still of the Night", which was originally released as the b-side to the single, "The Jones Girl". The single was released the following year, and "In the Still of the Night" ended up charting at number three on the R&B chart and number 25 on the pop charts. Parris entered the Army soon after, and the group reorganized again, with Martin, Freeman, Tommy Killebrew, Jessie Murphy and new lead Bill Baker. This lineup hit with another highly successful song, Billy Dawn Smith's "To The Aisle".
Upon Parris' return from the Army, a new lineup was assembled, consisting of Parris, Lou Peebles (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, but had little success on the charts.
By the early 1970s the group was Parris, Peebles, Richie Freeman, Jimmy Curtis and Corky Rogers, and they continued recording into the 1980s, with Parris, Richie Freeman, Curtis and Nate Marshall. Meanwhile, Bill Baker started his own Five Satins group in 1981, with former Satin Sylvester Hopkins and Hopkins' brothers Carl and Frank. By the late 1980s, this group consisted of Baker, Harvey Potts, Jr., Anthony Hofler and Octavio DeLeon.
Fred Parris continues to perform. Bill Baker died in 1994.
Awards and recognition:
In 2003, the Five Satins were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame.
Present day:
One of the original members of the Five Satins now works in the cafeteria at the University of New Haven. Jim Freeman lives in Norwalk, Iowa and owns a pest control company. Wes Forbes is a psychologist in the State of California, currently employed with Alliant International University as a Training Director
Fred Parris passed away in January of 2022.
A Night Like This
The Five Satins Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We kissed and kissed and kissed
And nothing else mattered
'Cause you were in my arms
′Twas a crazy night in May
We kissed the time away
And nothing else mattered
You said you wanted to find happiness
I replied close your eyes and I will do the rest
Until you are my wife for the rest of my life
Each evening at seven I will be in heaven like this
The Five Satins's song A Night Like This talks about a romantic night in May where the couple spend the whole night kissing and being in each other's arms. They were so enraptured by their love that nothing else seemed to matter, not even the shining moon. The singer reminds his lover of her search for happiness and how he promised to be her source of happiness. He expresses his desire to marry her and spend every evening with her at seven, being in heaven like this.
The song seems to be a representation of a perfect love story, one that everyone wishes for themselves. The singer is a true romantic, who is willing to make his lover happy and fulfill her wishes, simply because he loves her. The image of the moon shining brightly is reminiscent of the setting of a romantic movie, which adds to the charm of the lyrics.
The song's simplicity and sincerity have made it an evergreen classic. It's a love song that captures the essence of love and how it can make one feel truly happy. The song was released in 1958, and since then, it has been used in many movies, commercials, and TV shows. It is considered one of the greatest love songs of all time.
Line by Line Meaning
?Twas a night just like this
It was a night that resembled this one
We kissed and kissed and kissed
We kept kissing each other repeatedly
And nothing else mattered
We didn't care about anything else at that moment
'Cause you were in my arms
Because I was holding you close to me
?Twas a crazy night in May
It was an insane night in the month of May
We kissed the time away
We spent the evening kissing each other
The Moon was shinin' bright like this
The Moon was luminously shining, just like it is now
You said you wanted to find happiness
You mentioned that you desired to discover happiness
I replied close your eyes and I will do the rest
I responded to you by saying that you should shut your eyes, and I would take care of everything
Until you are my wife for the rest of my life
Until you become my life partner forever
Each evening at seven I will be in heaven like this
Every evening at seven, I will experience extreme happiness like I am experiencing right now
Writer(s): Robert Smith
Contributed by Liam T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Sheri Orr
Such a romantic song to dance with the one you love. What has happen? Love the great doo wop songs and such true singing talent. No screaming and bashing guitars. Pure music
Teresa Carella
GREAT!!
CIB67
06/20/12 ~ YOU CAN NEVER GO WRONG WITH FRED AND THE BOYS ~ NICE! ~ THANKS ~ LES ~ COLLINGSWOOD, NJ ~
Leopold Von Habsburg
what are the lyrics to this song??
Davide Rosselli
6 years late but here you go:
'Twas a night just like this
We kissed and kissed and kissed
And nothing else mattered
'Cause you were in my arms
'Twas a crazy night in May
We kissed the time away
And nothing else mattered
The Moon was shinin' bright like this
You said you wanted to find happiness I replied close your eyes and I will do the rest
Until you are my wife for the rest of my life
Each evening at seven I will be in heaven like this