"This Could Be the Night" is a song recorded by the American band

Modern Folk Quartet The Modern Folk Quartet (or "MFQ") was an American folk music revival group that formed in the early 1960s. Originally emphasizing acoustic instruments and group harmonies, they performed extensively and recorded two albums. In 1965, as the Mode ...

(MFQ) in late 1965 or early 1966. The lyrics describe a couple on the verge of conquering their inhibitions. Written in tribute to

Beach Boys A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shell ...

leader Brian Wilson, the song is one of three that are credited jointly to

Harry Nilsson Harry Edward Nilsson III (June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994), sometimes credited as Nilsson, was an American singer-songwriter who reached the peak of his commercial success in the early 1970s. His work is characterized by pioneering vocal ov ...

and

Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (born Harvey Philip Spector; December 26, 1939January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followed decades later by ...

, although Nilsson submitted that he was the sole writer on a 1966 copyright form. Spector produced MFQ's version in his

Wall of Sound The Wall of Sound (also called the Spector Sound) is a music production formula developed by American record producer Phil Spector at Gold Star Studios, in the 1960s, with assistance from engineer Larry Levine and the conglomerate of session ...

style, featuring a dense orchestration and a marching rhythm. He used it as the opening theme music for the 1966 rock concert film '' The Big TNT Show'', for which he was the musical director and associate producer. MFQ was signed to Spector's label and wanted to release their recording as a single in hopes of breaking into the

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers s ...

market, but according to music historian

Barney Hoskyns Barney Hoskyns (born 5 May 1959) is a British music critic and editorial director of the online music journalism archive Rock's Backpages. Biography Hoskyns graduated from Oxford with a first class degree in English. He began writing about mus ...

, Spector instead abandoned the group to work on "

River Deep – Mountain High "River Deep – Mountain High" is a song by Ike & Tina Turner released as the title track to their 1966 studio album on Philles Records. Produced by Phil Spector and written by Spector, Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich. ''Rolling Stone'' ranke ...

" (1966). Their recording of "This Could Be the Night" was not commercially available until 1976, when it appeared on a Spector compilation album. Nilsson recorded the song several times, but only a 1967

demo Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to: Music and film *Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release * ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes * ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...

intended for

the Monkees The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was con ...

has been officially released. In 1989, MFQ's

Henry Diltz Henry Stanford Diltz (born September 6, 1938, in Kansas City, Missouri) is an American folk musician and photographer who has been active since the 1960s. Career Among the bands Diltz played with was the Modern Folk Quartet. While a member of ...

rerecorded the song as a solo artist, and in 1995, Wilson recorded the song for a Nilsson tribute album. Several other musicians have recorded their versions of the song, including

David Cassidy David Bruce Cassidy (April 12, 1950 – November 21, 2017) was an American actor, singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He was best known for his role as Keith Partridge, the son of Shirley Partridge (played by his stepmother, Shirley Jones), in t ...

Tatsuro Yamashita , occasionally credited as Tatsu Yamashita or Tats Yamashita, is a Japanese singer-songwriter and record producer, who is known for pioneering the style of Japanese Soft rock, adult-oriented rock/soft rock music. His most well-known song is "C ...

, and the

Flamin' Groovies Flamin' Groovies is an American rock band that formed in San Francisco in 1965, originally co-led by Roy Loney and Cyril Jordan. After the Groovies released three albums, on Epic ('' Supersnazz'') and Kama Sutra (''Flamingo'' and '' Teenage Hea ...

Composition

According to Spector biographer Mick Brown, Nilsson wrote "This Could Be the Night" as a tribute to Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys. Nilsson brought it to Spector, whose productions Wilson greatly admired. Nilsson and Spector are often listed as the songwriters, including by BMI, the performing rights organization. In '' The Big TNT Show'', Spector is credited as the sole author, while the song was copyrighted by Nilsson alone on March 30, 1966. It is one of three songs credited jointly to Nilsson and Spector, the other two being "Here I Sit" and "Paradise". Nilsson biographer Alyn Shipton describes the lyrics as expressing "the heady mixture of hope, desire, and fear experienced when a couple who have been dating for a while are on the point of finally conquering their inhibitions and making love for the first time." Wilson deemed it one of Nilsson's very best compositions and one of Spector's best productions, explaining "Well, the idea they've been dating and waiting and finally they made love … I love that message."

Recording

Hoping to break into the folk rock market, Spector befriended MFQ in 1965. The quartet had recently become a quintet (and shortened their name to MFQ) with the addition of drummer

Eddie Hoh Edward Hoh (October 16, 1944 – November 7, 2015) was an American rock drummer who was active in the 1960s. Although primarily a studio session and touring drummer, Hoh exhibited a degree of originality and showmanship that set him apart and se ...

and was pursuing a

Byrds The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole cons ...

'-inspired sound. Spector brought the group to Gold Star Studios in Hollywood to record the song. The session date(s) are unknown, but took place between late 1965 and no later than January 19, 1966. According to Brown, "Spector's production sounded as if it had been recorded in a school gynamsium—a vibrantly echoing mélange of chiming guitars, bells and exuberant, sunny harmonies".

described it as "pure Wall-of-Sound Beach Boys, light years from the sound

Terry Melcher Terrence Paul Melcher (born Terrence Paul Jorden; February 8, 1942 – November 19, 2004) was an American record producer, singer, and songwriter who was instrumental in shaping the mid-to-late 1960s California Sound and folk rock movements. His ...

was getting with the Byrds". Biographer Mark Ribowsky added that the "folk rocker" resembled a " Wagnerian folk march with Wall of Sound". MFQ's

recalled Wilson at the studio during the sessions: "we could see him in the recording booth, in his robe and slippers, sitting there playing our song over and over, for what seemed like hours".

Release history

"This Could Be the Night" was slated for release as MFQ's first single with the new lineup, but Spector became focused on

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the " Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue before ...

and "

" and "forgot all about the Modern Folk Quartet". Instead it was used as the theme to the rock concert film '' The Big TNT Show'', the 1966 follow-up to the ''

T.A.M.I. Show ''T.A.M.I. Show'' is a 1964 concert film released by American International Pictures. It includes performances by numerous popular rock and roll and R&B musicians from the United States and England. The concert was held at the Santa Monica Civ ...

''. The group's

Jerry Yester Jerome Alan Yester (born January 9, 1943) is an American folk rock musician, record producer, and arranger. Biography Yester was born in Birmingham, Alabama, United States, and grew up in Burbank, California. He formed a duo with brother ...

later commented, "I never forgave him for the thing with the ''TNT Show''

or which Spector was the musical director and associate producer Or or OR may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * "O.R.", a 1974 episode of M*A*S*H * Or (My Treasure), a 2004 movie from Israel (''Or'' means "light" in Hebrew) Music * ''Or'' (album), a 2002 album by Golden Boy with Miss ...

We were supposed to be in it, because we were on his label, for god's sake. But we ended up being the entertainment for everybody while they were setting up for the next band". The song was officially released for the first time on the 1976 British compilation album ''Phil Spector Wall of Sound Vol. 6 – Rare Masters Vol. 2''. Several later compilations include it, such as Spector's 1991 career retrospective box set, '' Back to Mono (1958–1969)''.

Harry Nilsson versions

Nilsson recorded a version of the song in the 1960s, which went unreleased. It was lost and forgotten until an acetate appeared in 2008 for sale on

eBay eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became ...

. In 1967, Nilsson recorded a solo piano/vocal

for

for their consideration in recording the song. Although they never recorded it, Nilsson's demo is included in '' The RCA Albums Collection'', a 2013 box set. In 1989, Nilsson contributed guest vocals on a re-recording of the song by MFQ's Diltz. In the early 1990s, Nilsson recorded a new studio version by himself with additional lyrics, but it remains unreleased.

Brian Wilson version

In 1973, '' Melody Maker'' reported that Wilson remembered most of the song "very clearly" while playing it on piano for his guests. The newspaper added, "Brian obviously got a buzz from singing it with differently harmonized bass lines and new riffs, and it was fascinating to hear how, even though he was only mucking about, the harmonies and rhythms were pure Brian Wilson. No one else could've been playing that piano." Wilson claimed that he had been attempting to get the lyrics from Spector to record a version with the pop duo American Spring, but Spector was "strangely reluctant" to give away the song. In 1995, Wilson recorded his version–with co-production by

Andy Paley Andrew Douglas Paley (born November 2, 1952) is an American songwriter, record producer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist who formed the Paley Brothers, a 1970s power pop duo, with his brother Jonathan Paley. Following their disbandment, And ...

–for the Nilsson

tribute album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

'' For the Love of Harry: Everybody Sings Nilsson''.

Cover versions

* 1975:

, '' The Higher They Climb'' * 1977: Vince Whirlwind, ''Bionic Gold'' * 1978:

, ''

Go Ahead! ''Go Ahead!'' is the third studio album by Japanese singer-songwriter Tatsuro Yamashita, released in December 1978. Overview "A masterpiece third solo album that marked the creativity of Yamashita's brilliant and versatile writing style which de ...

'' (later re-done in 1984's '' Big Wave'') * 1989:

, ''The Best of Rodney on the ROQ'' * 1993:

, ''Rock Juice'' * 1994:

Jeffrey Foskett Jeffrey Foskett (February 17, 1956) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer best known as a touring and studio musician for Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys since the 1980s. Foskett was described as the Beach Boys' "vice principal" ...

, ''Sunny's Off'' * 1995: Brian Wilson, '' For the Love of Harry: Everybody Sings Nilsson'' * 2003: Ed Rogers, ''Loosers, Schmoozers: A Tribute to Harry Nilsson''

References

{{Brian Wilson 1966 songs Songs written by Harry Nilsson Songs written by Phil Spector Song recordings produced by Phil Spector Song recordings with Wall of Sound arrangements Harry Nilsson songs Brian Wilson songs American folk rock songs David Cassidy songs Musical tributes to the Beach Boys