The Five Satins - The Five Satins Sing Their Greatest Hits

Some Folks Are Hard To Please

Some reviewers are ticked over the omission of Our Anniversary and I'll Get Along Somehow. Yes, they did those songs on one of their vinyl albums years ago, but this is labeled, after all, "The Five Satins Sing Their Greatest Hits." And like it or not, a "hit" was then regarded as a single release - initially on 78 rpm and then on 45 rpm - that did well enough in sales, air play, and juke box play to get an artist onto the various Billboard charts - whether Pop, Country or R&B.

THAT is what they all strove to achieve because THAT is what put them on the map, so to speak. And this group had 7 charted hits (three of them with the same song) and, along with their B-sides, they're all here. From the perspective of a collector of hit singles it just doesn't get any better, and this is one time Collectables did it right.

Their first, In The Still Of The Nite, was written by group member and lead singer Fred Parris [the others were Al Denby, Jim Freeman, and Eddie Martin with pianist Jessie Murphy], and recorded in a New Haven church basement. For my money I can't think of a more beautiful ballad to emanate from the mid-1950s. With the upbeat The Jones Girl as the flipside, and first released on the Standard label before being picked up and re-released as Ember 1005, it made it to # 3 R&B and # 24 Billboard Pop Top 100 in the fall of 1956. It's also been written in several places that it "continues to hang somewhere in the air over New York City." I can believe it.

With Parris in the Army and stationed in Japan, Bill Baker sang lead on their next hit, another tender ballad called To The Aisle, which, b/w the jumped-up I Wish I Had My Baby, reached # 5 R&B and # 25 Top 100 in August 1957. More than a year would then pass before their next hit, Shadows, billed to The 5 Satins. By now Parris was back and had replaced Baker and, with his lead, Shadows peaked at # 27 R&B and # 87 Billboard Pop Hot 100 in November 1959 b/w an equally-slow tune, Toni My Love.

Early in 1960 Ember re-released In The Still Of The Nite and it charted again, going to # 81 Hot 100 in January. Five months later they reached back to an old Bing Crosby hit and saw I'll Be Seeing You level off at # 79 Hot 100 in May b/w A Night Like This. Their last charter for 21 years then came in 1961 with yet another re-release of In The Still Of The Night which, with the added words "/I'll Remember" on the label, made it to # 99 Hot 100 in January.

Parris then formed a new group, The New Yorkers and, for the Wall label, had a # 69 Hot 100 called Miss Fine in May 1961 b/w (At Night) Dream A Little Dream. In 1975 he emerged again, this time as Black Satin Featuring Fred Parris, to take Everybody Stand And Clap Your Hands (For The Entertainer) to # 49 R&B for Buddah Records, b/w Hey There Pretty Lady.

Then, in 1982, Fred Parris & The Five Satins had a medley called Memories Of Days Gone By reach # 71 Hot 100, The songs covered were: Sixteen Candles/Earth Angel/Only You (And You Alone)/A Thousand Miles Away/Tears On My Pillow/Since I Don't Have You/In The Still Of The Nite (I'll Remember). The dlip was Loving You (Would Be The Sweetest Thing). Twelve years after that, on August 10, 1994, To The Aisle feature vocalist Bill Baker died of lung cancer at age 58.

I can't find any fault with this great CD which has to be one of the best bargains offered by Amazon.
September 8, 2007

Fabulous Doo-Wop Standards

They are known for 'In The Still Of The Night" but listen to "I'll Be Seeing You" and "To The Aisle". You will play them over and over again. February 25, 2006

In The Still Of The Nite wasnt all

Though this group could be concidered a one hit wonder group, they had more material than any other one hit wonder......I especially like the songs "I Aint Gonna Dance" and "You Can Count On Me" February 22, 2005

Great Doo Wop and R&B

The 5 Satins are probably best known for the classic "In The Still Of The Night" but they had a lot more to offer, as this CD demonstrates.
Plenty of classic Doo Wop here including their hit "To The Aisle" and there is some great R&B too.
My only complaint is the minimal liner notes but that's just quibbling.
All the tunes are the original versions and the recording quality is just fine. February 17, 2005

George's goof

Just now read Mr. O'Leary of Canada's commentary re my original review contained here of this great album, (submitted many moons ago, which shows how much of my life force and attention is given over to this stuff) wherein I lament the exclusion (on the CD) of two singles from the original album. Just for the record, I am not an "oldies" wannabe. I grew up with this music and I also own today the original vinyl 33 of this specific album, so I know whereof I speak. (said album featuring the exact cover photo as the CD)

The reason for the comment in my initial review was that I hoped to get a CD version which duplicated the original album and included these two neat titles. And George, if you aren't familiar with them, I suggest that you check out Master Tapes volume 2 here on Amazon, where you will find the items in question. Yes, they did record them and yes, the songs were on this original album. By the way, the original only had 14 cuts; besides the 2 aforementioned songs, "Again" and "Moonlight and I" were also deleted, and 10 additional songs added. These last 2 also probably didn't chart, so they don't count either, right?

The suggestion going forward is not to judge another reviewer, unless ye also be judged. I don't worry about what "charted"; I don't make a career of statistical analysis or chronological music forensics; I just care about the music I truly know. And George, I know this stuff. Bottom line; it's a great album in either new or or old format. October 21, 2003

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