Cole Porter, music and lyrics · Introduced by Nelson Eddy in the film Rosalie, 1937
In the Still of the Night
Cole Porter wrote this song in 1937 for the MGM film Rosalie, where Nelson Eddy sang it. Its refrain runs 72 , more than twice the length of a usual 32-bar tune. Tommy Dorsey, Charlie Parker, Oscar Peterson, Frank Sinatra and Betty Carter all recorded it.
Listen in this order
The path starts with Tommy Dorsey's hit record of 1937, then follows Billy Eckstine's big band, Oscar Peterson's trio and Charlie Parker with winds and voices. It continues with Sonny Criss, Frank Sinatra and Johnny Griffin, and ends with Betty Carter in 1992. This is Cole Porter's song, not the Five Satins' 1956 song of the same name.
Charlie Parker with Gil Evans orchestra and the Dave Lambert Singers1953 · Bebop
Sonny Criss Quintet1956 · Bebop
1960sFrank Sinatra1960 · Vocal
Johnny Griffin Sextet1961 · Post-bop
1970s
1980s
1990sBetty Carter1992 · Bebop
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Hear the song as the public first knew it
Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra (vocal Jack Leonard) · 1937 · Big band
In the Still of the Night / Who Knows
Tommy Dorsey's orchestra recorded the song on September 8, 1937, with Jack Leonard singing, and Victor issued it on a 78 backed with Who Knows. It charted at number 3.
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Listen for
Jack Leonard sings, with the Dorsey orchestra behind him, and this upload runs 3:21. Treat it as the reference: every later version here plays or sings this same tune.
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Play the first 8 slowly, one per bar: , Fmaj7, , B♭7, Fmaj7, Fmaj7, B♭7, B♭7. Hum the melody over it. Smaller version: play only Fmaj7 and B♭7, two bars each.
Billy Eckstine recorded it with his big band at Radio Recorders in Los Angeles on October 5, 1946. Miles Davis, Sonny Stitt and Gene Ammons were in the band that day.
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Eckstine sings, with four trumpets, three trombones, two alto saxes, two tenor saxes and a baritone sax behind him. The record runs 2:54.
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Play 9 to 16 of the chart: , Gm7, , C7, , , Gm7, C7. Hum the melody over it. Smaller version: play Gm7 then C7, twice.
Oscar Peterson recorded it in Los Angeles in early December 1952 with Barney Kessel on guitar and Ray Brown on bass. Norman Granz produced it, and it came out on the 1953 album Oscar Peterson Plays Cole Porter.
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This is an instrumental trio record. Peterson plays piano with Barney Kessel's guitar and Ray Brown's bass, and the track runs 3:00.
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Look at 21 to 24 of the chart: , Fmaj7, , . The second 16 bars start like the first, then turn at bar 23. Play those four bars slowly. Smaller version: play only bars 23 and 24.
Hear Charlie Parker's alto sax with voices and winds
Charlie Parker with Gil Evans orchestra and the Dave Lambert Singers · 1953 · Bebop
“In the Still of the Night (Take 7 / Master)”, The Magnificent Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker recorded it in New York on May 25, 1953 with a small group of winds, a and the Dave Lambert Singers, in an arrangement by Gil Evans. According to JazzStandards.com, the Verve box set holds seven takes from the session, and Parker plays on five of them.
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Parker's alto sax is the lead voice. Behind and around him you hear the Dave Lambert Singers and a small set of winds: flute, oboe, bassoon, clarinet and French horn. This is take 7, the master, and it runs 3:23.
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Follow the chart for 1 to 16 while the record plays, and say each out loud as its bar goes by. Smaller version: follow only bars 1 to 8.
Sonny Criss recorded it at Radio Recorders in Los Angeles on October 3, 1956, for his Imperial album Sonny Criss Plays Cole Porter. His quintet had Larry Bunker on vibes and Sonny Clark on piano.
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Criss leads on alto sax, and Larry Bunker's vibes sit in the band beside Sonny Clark's piano. The track runs 4:16.
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Play 25 to 32 of the chart slowly: , Am7, , D7, Am7, D7, , . Hum the melody over it. Smaller version: play Am7 then D7, then Gm7 then C7.
Frank Sinatra recorded it in Los Angeles in December 1960 for the Reprise album Ring-A-Ding-Ding! Johnny Mandel arranged and conducted the track, and Felix Slatkin produced it.
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Sinatra sings with an orchestra arranged and conducted by Johnny Mandel. The track runs 3:25.
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Play 33 to 40 of the chart: , , , B♭7♯11, , , , Fmaj7. Smaller version: swap A7♯5 for and B♭7♯11 for .
Johnny Griffin recorded it for Riverside at Plaza Sound Studios in New York in February 1961, for the album Change of Pace. Orrin Keepnews produced it, and Julius Watkins plays French horn on the track.
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Johnny Griffin plays tenor sax, and Julius Watkins adds French horn to the group. The track runs 3:29.
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Play 57 to 72 of the chart: , , , , , F6/A, , A♭°7, Gm7, Gm7, C7, C7, , , Gm7, C7. Smaller version: play only the last four bars, Fmaj7, D7, Gm7, C7.
Betty Carter recorded it on May 25 and 26, 1992, for her Verve album It's Not About the Melody, which she produced herself.
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Carter's voice leads, and the track runs 4:07 on the album.
Try it on your instrument
Play 1 to 16 of the chart, then play them again and change one thing on the second pass, such as the rhythm of the . Smaller version: do this with bars 1 to 8 only.
Nelson Eddy sings it in the 1937 film Rosalie. Tommy Dorsey's orchestra records it with Jack Leonard on September 8, 1937, and Leo Reisman's record charts too.
1940s
Billy Eckstine's big band, with Miles Davis, Sonny Stitt and Gene Ammons in its ranks, records it in Los Angeles in October 1946.
1950s
Oscar Peterson's trio, Charlie Parker with winds and the Dave Lambert Singers, and Sonny Criss's quintet with vibes all record it. Ella Fitzgerald sings it on her Cole Porter Song Book in 1956.
1960s
Frank Sinatra sings it on Ring-A-Ding-Ding!, arranged by Johnny Mandel, in December 1960. Johnny Griffin records it with a French horn in February 1961.
1990s
Betty Carter records it for her Verve album It's Not About the Melody in May 1992.
More great versions
1 more, from 1956 to 1956. Tap a cover to play it here.
Ella Fitzgerald sings it on her Verve album Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Song Book, recorded in February and March 1956. Norman Granz produced the album, and the track runs 2:40.
The tune's layout, its keys and the chord chart, for anyone who wants to play along.
Show the form and chords
How the tune works
F majorusual key
72 barsA · B · C · D form
F major · A minor · G major · G minorkeys it moves between
A16 bars
B16 bars
C24 bars
D16 bars
F
A m
G
F
F
G m
F
A m
F
The , 1 to 16, stays in : twice, twice, Fmaj7 twice, B♭7 twice, then twice, twice and a short turn of Fmaj7, , Gm7, C7. The , bars 17 to 32, repeats the first six bars of A. Bars 23 and 24 (, ) lead toward , bars 25 to 30 ( twice, twice, Am7, D7) pass through , and Gm7 C7 brings it home. The , bars 33 to 56, is the longest: , , twice, Gm7, C7, Fmaj7 twice, then F6, A7♯5, B♭7♯11 twice, Gm7, C7, twice, D7 twice, Gm7 twice, twice, Fmaj7 twice. The D section, bars 57 to 72, closes the tune: Bm7♭5, E7♭9, Gm7, C7, twice, twice, Gm7 twice, C7 twice, Fmaj7, D7, Gm7, C7. These follow the iReal Pro chart, which labels the last two sections both C; other lead sheets may spell some differently. According to JazzStandards.com, the refrain is 72 measures long.