Lead singer in the 1950s harmony group the Five Satins, Fred Parris, passed away at age 85.
According to his music manager, Pat Marafiote, Parris died Thursday, January 13, after "a brief illness," as per ABC News. The late singer lived in Hamden, Connecticut, along with his wife, Emma.
His family wrote a statement following his passing on their official Facebook account, "The Five Satins family is devastated by this loss but appreciative of having shared Fred's music with thousands of fans and friends." They also recently posted a tribute to Parris reposting their hit song, "In The Still of the Night."
The Success of "In the Still of the Night"
According to Deadline, Parris was raised in New Haven, Connecticut. He wrote their smash hit song lyrics while on guard duty for the US Army in Philadelphia. In 1956, he and his fellow Satins recorded the song in the basement of St. Bernadette Church in New Haven.
That song alone ranked No. 90 on Rolling Stone Magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All-Time. Also, it became the only song that charted Billboard Hot 100 three separate times by the same artist, with the same version.
As reported by the initial source mentioned, "In the Still of the Night" ranked no. 24 on the Billboard pop charts. It still became a multimillion seller after being reissued and reused on compilation and soundtrack albums at that time.
The song was even stylized as "In the Still of the Nite" to avoid confusion with Cole Porter's 1937 song with the same title.
The song made by the Five Satins became an oldies radio station's favorite while also being featured in movies as a part of its original soundtrack. The list of films it appeared on was the 1987 romantic drama dance film "Dirty Dancing," "The Buddy Holly Story," and the 2019 Martin Scorsese film "The Irishman."
Fred Parris and the Five Satins were initially formed as the Scarlets when the singer was in high school. They also had minor hits with the "Aisles" and "Shadows " in their early years.
Parris continued to go on tour over the following decades even as the Satins' popularity faded while his backing singers came and went.
May his soul rest in peace.
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