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Fred Parris, 'In the Still of the Night' Songwriter and Five Satins Frontman, Dead at 85

Fred Parris
Fred Parris

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Fred Parris, the songwriter behind "In The Still of the Night," has died. He was 85.

Parris, who was a member of doo-wop group the Five Satins, died Thursday. His death was announced in a statement posted to the group's Facebook page on Friday.

"Sadly the music world lost one of the greats yesterday as Fred Parris passed away after a brief illness," the statement read. "Fred's classic song 'In the Still of the Night' has been recognized as one of the greatest love songs of all time and the number one requested song of the doo-wop era."

"Fred also wrote several other classic songs, and his gorgeous voice enthralled audiences world-wide for decades," the statement continued. "The Five Satins family is devastated by his loss but appreciative of having shared Fred's music with thousands of fans and friends. Future plans for services will be posted as they become available. Rest in peace Maestro Fred Parris."

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Parris first recorded his most famous song, "In the Still of the Night," in 1956 in a Connecticut basement with his Five Satins bandmate, Al Denby, according to Billboard. Parris, who first wrote the song while on guard duty at a Philadelphia U.S. Army base, did not anticipate the success of "In the Still of the Night."

The songwriter had already been sent to Japan on active duty when his song took off. The track landed at No. 3 on the R&B charts, according to Billboard.

The Five Satins
The Five Satins

Michael Ochs Archives/Getty

"In the Still of the Night" went on to shatter records as the first song by the same artist and same version to chart three different times on the Billboard Hot 100 — the song landed on chart in 1956, 1960 and 1961.

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"In the Still of the Night" has been featured in multiple films over the years, including Dirty Dancing, The Irishman and The Buddy Holly Story, according to Billboard.

Parris credited the track with changing his life in a 2014 interview with The New Haven Register.

"The song has been real good to me," Parris told the Register. "Extremely good to me — because many other people have recorded it."

He added, "I never expected it to have so much of an impact that people would embrace the song 50 years later. I had no idea it was going to be that successful ... I didn't know if they were going to listen to it 15 minutes later, let alone 50 years."