Into the Night (Benny Mardones song)
Encyclopedia
"Into the Night" is a 1980 song
by American
pop singer-songwriter
Benny Mardones
, from his album Never Run, Never Hide
, and re-released in 1989.
It is unusual for being one of only 10 recordings to ever ascend to the top 20 of the Billboard
Hot 100 chart twice. The chartings, in 1980 and in 1989, were of the same recording. Chubby Checker
was first to do this with his cover of "The Twist"
, a single that went to #1 in September 1960 and again in January 1962. Other artists to achieve the feat include the Contours
, who charted "Do You Love Me
" in 1962 and 1988, and the Righteous Brothers
, who charted "Unchained Melody
" in 1965 and 1990.
Benny Mardones originally released "Into the Night" in June 1980. The song peaked at #11 on the Hot 100 for two weeks in September 1980, logging 20 weeks on the chart before falling off in late October.
In 1989, a Where Are They Now? Arizona radio segment spurred L.A. DJ Scott Shannon
to add the song to his playlist, ultimately rocketing the song back onto the national charts, on May 6, 1989. Mardones' recording peaked this time at #20 the first week in July, adding 17 weeks to its previous run of 20, to add up to a total of 37 (nonconsecutive) weeks, breaking the record set by Laura Branigan
with her single "Gloria
", which charted for 36 (consecutive) weeks from July 1982 to March 1983, for the longest-charting single of the 1980s by a solo artist.
"Into the Night" was a hit at Adult Contemporary radio this time as well, where it spent 19 weeks, and also peaked at #20. Mardones re-recorded the song in 1989 for a new, self-titled album on the Curb Records
label; this second recording drew some radio attention but did not chart.
Usher
samples this song in a song entitled Making Love (Into the Night), on his Raymond v. Raymond album.
by a year, it was not widely broadcast.
The video opens with Mardones walking down a street and approaching a house. The song plays over the video, and the lyrics
serve as Mardones' dialogue
. He is met at the door by a bearded man who tells him, "She's just 16 years old. Leave her alone." Mardones leaves and walks around to the back of the house, peering through a window at a girl sitting sullenly in her room. The video then cuts to Mardones at a pay phone, speaking to the girl on the other end of the line and professing his love. The video then cuts again to Mardones returning to the girl's house, carrying a rolled-up carpet. He crawls through her bedroom window, unravels the magic carpet
, and taking the girl's hand, they take flight into the night sky. The video closes with Mardones serenading the girl as they embrace, the scene finally fading to black as they kiss.
Though difficult to find in its entirety, clips from the video have been featured in infomercials for Time-Life
Soft Rock compilations.
1989 Curb re-recording
covered the song for his 1987 debut album Nick Kamen.
In 1991, Ragga
singer Junior Tucker
had a European hit and a #46 Australian hit
with the song, retitled "16 (Into The Night)". Taiwan's Harlem Yu
released a cover version of the song in 2009 in his 3-disc greatest hits compilation.
The song was also sampled by Conrad Hilton's (indie hip hop group) "Into The Night/Heat Of The Night" and Decoy's version of "Into The Night", both of which feature Benny Mardones in the songs.
Usher
released a reinterpolation of the song, "Making Love (Into the Night)" on his Raymond vs. Raymond
album.
Rapper Triple J used the melody of this song using different lyrics for his song "16 Years Old".
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
by American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
pop singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
Benny Mardones
Benny Mardones
Benny Mardones is an American pop singer and songwriter who is best known for his hit single "Into the Night", which hit the Top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart twice, in 1980 and again in 1989.-Career:...
, from his album Never Run, Never Hide
Never Run, Never Hide
Never Run, Never Hide was an album released in 1980 by pop-rock singer/songwriter Benny Mardones. It included his only major hit, "Into The Night", which peaked at number 11 in 1980, and re-charted nine years later, in 1989....
, and re-released in 1989.
It is unusual for being one of only 10 recordings to ever ascend to the top 20 of the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Hot 100 chart twice. The chartings, in 1980 and in 1989, were of the same recording. Chubby Checker
Chubby Checker
Chubby Checker is an American singer-songwriter. He is widely known for popularizing the twist dance style, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard's R&B hit "The Twist"...
was first to do this with his cover of "The Twist"
The Twist (song)
"The Twist" is a twelve bar blues song that gave birth to the Twistdance craze. The song was written and originally released in 1959 by Hank Ballard and the Midnighters as a B-side but his version was only a moderate 1960 hit, peaking at 28 on the Billboard Hot 100...
, a single that went to #1 in September 1960 and again in January 1962. Other artists to achieve the feat include the Contours
The Contours
The Contours were one of the early African-American soul singing groups signed to Motown Records.The group is best known for its Billboard Top 10 hit, "Do You Love Me," a million-selling song that peaked twice in the Top 20....
, who charted "Do You Love Me
Do You Love Me
"Do You Love Me" is a 1962 hit single recorded by The Contours for Motown's Gordy Records label. Written and produced by Motown CEO Berry Gordy, Jr., "Do You Love Me?" was the Contours' only Top 40 single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States. Notably, the record achieved this feat...
" in 1962 and 1988, and the Righteous Brothers
The Righteous Brothers
The Righteous Brothers were the musical duo of Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield. They recorded from 1963 through 1975, and continued to perform until Hatfield's death in 2003...
, who charted "Unchained Melody
Unchained Melody
"Unchained Melody" is a 1955 song with music by Alex North and lyrics by Hy Zaret. It has become one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century, by some counts having spawned over 500 versions in hundreds of different languages....
" in 1965 and 1990.
Benny Mardones originally released "Into the Night" in June 1980. The song peaked at #11 on the Hot 100 for two weeks in September 1980, logging 20 weeks on the chart before falling off in late October.
In 1989, a Where Are They Now? Arizona radio segment spurred L.A. DJ Scott Shannon
Scott Shannon
Michael Scott Shannon is a radio disc jockey, current co-host of the "Scott and Todd in the Morning" show on WPLJ, host of The True Oldies Channel, and the official voice of The Sean Hannity Show.-Early Radio Career:...
to add the song to his playlist, ultimately rocketing the song back onto the national charts, on May 6, 1989. Mardones' recording peaked this time at #20 the first week in July, adding 17 weeks to its previous run of 20, to add up to a total of 37 (nonconsecutive) weeks, breaking the record set by Laura Branigan
Laura Branigan
Laura Ann Branigan was an American singer-songwriter and actress of Italian and Irish ancestry. She is best known in the United States for her 1982 Platinum-certified hit "Gloria" and in Europe for the number-one single "Self Control"...
with her single "Gloria
Gloria (Laura Branigan song)
"Gloria" is a pop song originally written and composed in Italian by Umberto Tozzi and Giancarlo Bigazzi, which -with English lyrics written by Trevor Veitch- became an international hit for Laura Branigan in 1982-83, selling more than two million singles in the US alone.-Origins:Umberto Tozzi...
", which charted for 36 (consecutive) weeks from July 1982 to March 1983, for the longest-charting single of the 1980s by a solo artist.
"Into the Night" was a hit at Adult Contemporary radio this time as well, where it spent 19 weeks, and also peaked at #20. Mardones re-recorded the song in 1989 for a new, self-titled album on the Curb Records
Curb Records
Curb Records is a record label started by Mike Curb originally as Sidewalk Records in 1963...
label; this second recording drew some radio attention but did not chart.
Usher
Usher (entertainer)
Usher Terry Raymond IV , who performs under the mononym Usher, is an American singer-songwriter, and actor. He is considered around the world to be the reigning King of R&B. Usher rose to fame in the late 1990s with the release of his second album My Way, which spawned his first Billboard Hot 100...
samples this song in a song entitled Making Love (Into the Night), on his Raymond v. Raymond album.
Music video
Mardones made a music video for the song, but, as it pre-dated MTVMTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
by a year, it was not widely broadcast.
The video opens with Mardones walking down a street and approaching a house. The song plays over the video, and the lyrics
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
serve as Mardones' dialogue
Dialogue
Dialogue is a literary and theatrical form consisting of a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people....
. He is met at the door by a bearded man who tells him, "She's just 16 years old. Leave her alone." Mardones leaves and walks around to the back of the house, peering through a window at a girl sitting sullenly in her room. The video then cuts to Mardones at a pay phone, speaking to the girl on the other end of the line and professing his love. The video then cuts again to Mardones returning to the girl's house, carrying a rolled-up carpet. He crawls through her bedroom window, unravels the magic carpet
Magic carpet
A magic carpet, also called a flying carpet, is a legendary carpet that can be used to transport persons who are on it instantaneously or quickly to their destination.-In literature:...
, and taking the girl's hand, they take flight into the night sky. The video closes with Mardones serenading the girl as they embrace, the scene finally fading to black as they kiss.
Though difficult to find in its entirety, clips from the video have been featured in infomercials for Time-Life
Time-Life
Time–Life is a creator and direct marketer of books, music, video/DVD, and multimedia products. Its products are sold throughout North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia through television, print, retail, the Internet, telemarketing, and direct sales....
Soft Rock compilations.
Chart performance
| Chart (1980) | Peak position |
Total weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Canadian Singles Chart | 12 | 13 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 29 | 11 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 11 | 20 |
| Chart (1989) | Peak position |
Total weeks |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 20 | 17 |
| U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart | 23 | ? |
Personnel
1980 Polydor recording- Barry Mraz - Producer, Engineer
- Benny MardonesBenny MardonesBenny Mardones is an American pop singer and songwriter who is best known for his hit single "Into the Night", which hit the Top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart twice, in 1980 and again in 1989.-Career:...
- Vocals, Vocals (Background), Main Performer - Bobby Messano - Guitar
- Kinny Landrum - Keyboards
- Robert TepperRobert TepperRobert Tepper is an American singer, best known for his hit song "No Easy Way Out" from the Rocky IV motion picture soundtrack.Born in Bayonne, New Jersey, Tepper moved to New York where he became a staff writer...
- Vocals (Background) - Ron Bloom - Guitar
- Sandy GennaroSandy GennaroSandy Gennaro is an American professional rock and roll drummer.Gennaro grew up in Staten Island, New York. He has played with Cyndi Lauper, Joan Jett, Michael Bolton, and The Monkees. Sandy was a member of the Pat Travers Band and more recently has toured with Bo Diddley...
- Drums
1989 Curb re-recording
- Michael Lloyd - Producer, Engineer
- Benny MardonesBenny MardonesBenny Mardones is an American pop singer and songwriter who is best known for his hit single "Into the Night", which hit the Top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart twice, in 1980 and again in 1989.-Career:...
- Vocals, Vocals (Background) - Dennis Belfield - Bass
- Duane Evans - Piano, Vocals (Background)
- Ron BloomRon BloomFrom February 2009 to August 2011, Ron Bloom served as a senior official in the Obama Administration. From February 2011 to August 2011, Bloom served at the White House as the Assistant to the President for Manufacturing Policy...
- Guitar - Ron Krasinski - Drums
Other versions
Nick KamenNick Kamen
Nick Kamen is an English male model, songwriter and musician, and brother of session guitarist Chester Kamen and artist Barry Kamen.-Career:...
covered the song for his 1987 debut album Nick Kamen.
In 1991, Ragga
Ragga
-Origins:Ragga originated in Jamaica during the 1980s, at the same time that electronic dance music's popularity was increasing globally. One of the reasons for ragga's swift propagation is that it is generally easier and less expensive to produce than reggae performed on traditional musical...
singer Junior Tucker
Junior Tucker
Leslie Tucker, known as Junior Tucker , is a Jamaican reggae singer, who started his career in secular music, but who now sings Christian reggae...
had a European hit and a #46 Australian hit
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
with the song, retitled "16 (Into The Night)". Taiwan's Harlem Yu
Harlem Yu
Harlem Yu was born 28 July 1961. He is a Taiwanese Golden Melody Award singer-songwriter. He was the first artist to experiment with the style of R&B and rap in Chinese music. He has released 14 studio albums. He contribution to the Asian music industry has earned him the reputation of 'God of...
released a cover version of the song in 2009 in his 3-disc greatest hits compilation.
The song was also sampled by Conrad Hilton's (indie hip hop group) "Into The Night/Heat Of The Night" and Decoy's version of "Into The Night", both of which feature Benny Mardones in the songs.
Usher
Usher (entertainer)
Usher Terry Raymond IV , who performs under the mononym Usher, is an American singer-songwriter, and actor. He is considered around the world to be the reigning King of R&B. Usher rose to fame in the late 1990s with the release of his second album My Way, which spawned his first Billboard Hot 100...
released a reinterpolation of the song, "Making Love (Into the Night)" on his Raymond vs. Raymond
Raymond vs. Raymond
Raymond v. Raymond is the sixth studio album by American R&B recording artist Usher, released March 26, 2010. Production for the album took place during 2008 to 2010 and was handled by several producers, including Jermaine Dupri, The Runners, Ester Dean, Polow da Don, RedOne, Jim Jonsin, Danja,...
album.
Rapper Triple J used the melody of this song using different lyrics for his song "16 Years Old".