Tonight's the Night (The Shirelles song)

"Tonight's the Night" is the title and lead track from the Shirelles' 1961 album Tonight's the Night. Written by Luther Dixon and Shirley Owens, the song dealt with a woman's feelings before losing her virginity and was released as the pre-album's second single in 1960. In 2010, Rolling Stone listed as one of the 500 greatest songs of all time.

"Tonight's the Night"
Single by The Shirelles
from the album Tonight's the Night
B-side"The Dance Is Over"
Released1960
FormatVinyl record (7" 45 RPM)
Recorded1960
Bell Sound Studios, New York, New York, U.S.
GenreR&B, Pop
Length2:00
LabelScepter
Songwriter(s)Luther Dixon
Shirley Owens
Producer(s)Luther Dixon
The Shirelles singles chronology
"Dedicated to the One I Love"
(1959)		 "Tonight's the Night"
(1960)		 "Will You Love Me Tomorrow"
(1960)
Audio sample
The introduction to The Shirelle's version, with the strings and Owens' vocals clearly heard
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Production

"Tonight's the Night" was cowritten by The Shirelles' lead singer Shirley Owens, as well as Luther Dixon.[1] It was the first production for the band by Dixon, who was booked for the band by Florence Greenberg after having worked with Perry Como, Nat King Cole, and Pat Boone.[2] It also marks the debut of composer Horace Ott.[3]

Critical reception

Richie Unterberger of AllMusic positively wrote "The title track" is excellent.[4]

Theme and style

"Tonight's the Night" deals with "romantic surrender" and "soulful yearning";[5] it tells of a woman who is both expectant and hesitant regarding her first sexual experience,[2] the degree of enthusiasm has been described as similar to that shown in Buddy Holly's "Oh, Boy!.[6] The emotional content is reflected in Owens' vocals, which are described as full of "desire and vulnerability",[2] as well as with a sense of "innocence and striving"; the effect is from her singing almost out of tune.[6] Of course, this analysis is purely conjecture of the authors, and is not actually fact-based.

The strings in the song are similar to "There Goes My Baby", although Dixon notes that it was influenced by Brazilian Baião.[2] Rolling Stone also notes the Latin style, with numerous instances of syncopation.[5]

Release

The single was released in September 1960.[5] By 1961 it had reached gold status (500,000 copies sold).[1] According to Greil Marcus, the song was shocking when it was released for its frank depiction of "a woman ... aware of her mind and body".[7]

Soon after its release, it had to compete with a cover by The Chiffons (not the New York later group on Laurie Records with several hits, this was a Los Angeles Chiffons group), which used a similar arrangement and style.[2] The Chiffons' cover eventually peaked at 76, becoming their first hit.[8]

Chart history
Chart (1960) Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100[9] 39
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs[10] 14

Legacy

Rolling Stone selected "Tonight's the Night" as the 409th best song of all time in their 2010 update to The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list. It was the lower-ranked of two Shirelles songs; "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" was ranked 126th.[5]

Personnel

References
Footnotes
  1. Peneny, The Shirelles.
  2. Zak 2010, p. 224.
  3. Billboard 1968, Ott Clicking.
  4. Unterberger, Richie (15 October 2016). "Tonight's the Night song". AllMusic. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  5. Rolling Stone 2010, 500 Songs, p. 101.
  6. Turner 2003, p. 426.
  7. Marcus 1994 - 1995, Legends: The Shirelles.
  8. Warner 2004, p. 257.
  9. Whitburn 2007.
  10. Whitburn 2005.
Bibliography
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