"Tonight's the Night" is a song by the American girl group

the Shirelles The Shirelles were an American girl group formed in Passaic, New Jersey, in 1957. They consisted of schoolmates Shirley Owens (later Shirley Alston Reeves), Doris Coley (later Doris Kenner-Jackson), Addie "Micki" Harris (later Addie Harris McF ...

, from their 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 Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereo ...

and was released as the pre-album's second single in 1960. In 2010, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' listed it as one of

the 500 greatest songs of all time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring song ranking compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2 ...

Production

"Tonight's the Night" was cowritten by the Shirelles' lead singer Shirley Owens, as well as Luther Dixon. 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 Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an American singer, actor, and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, from 1943 until 1987 ...

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, alternatively billed as Nat "King" Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and Traditional pop, pop ...

, and

Pat Boone Patrick Charles Eugene Boone (born June 1, 1934) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, author, television personality, radio host and philanthropist. He sold nearly 50 million records, had 38 Top 40 hits, and has acted in many films. Boone ...

. It also marks the debut of Composer

Horace Ott Horace Ott (born April 15, 1933) is an American jazz and R&B composer, arranger, record producer, conductor and pianist. He is noted for his work since the late 1950s with a wide variety of artists, including The Shirelles, Don Covay, Nina Si ...

Critical Reception

Richie Unterberger of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

positively wrote "The title track" is Excellent.

Theme and Style

"Tonight's the Night" deals with "Romantic Surrender" and "Soulful yearning"; it tells of a woman who is both expectant and hesitant regarding her first sexual experience, the degree of enthusiasm has been described as similar to that shown in

Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer, songwriter, and musician who was a central and pioneering figure of rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texa ...

's " Oh, Boy!". Owens' vocals are described as full of "desire and vulnerability", as well as with a sense of "innocence and striving"; the effect is from her singing almost out of tune. The strings in the song are similar to " There Goes My Baby", although Dixon notes that it was influenced by Brazilian Baião. ''

'' also notes the Latin style, with numerous instances of

syncopation In music, syncopation is a variety of rhythms played together to make a piece of music, making part or all of a tune or piece of music off-beat (music), off-beat. More simply, syncopation is "a disturbance or interruption of the regular flow of ...

Release

The single was released in April 1960, as the B-side to "The Dance Is Over". "The Dance is Over" did not make the Billboard Hot 100 chart. In September 1960, "Tonight's the Night" first appeared on the chart, eventually peaking at number 39. By 1961 it had reached

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status (500,000 copies sold). 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". 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. The Chiffons' cover eventually peaked at 76, becoming their first hit.

Chart history

Legacy

'' 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 "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring song ranking compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2 ...

'' list. It was the lower-ranked of two Shirelles songs; "

Will You Love Me Tomorrow "Will You Love Me Tomorrow", sometimes known as "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow", is a song written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King. It was first recorded in 1960 by the Shirelles for their album '' Tonight's the Night''; released as a singl ...

" was ranked 126th. The song "The Dance is Over" was sampled by indie pop band

TV Girl TV Girl is an American indie pop band from San Diego, California, consisting of lead vocalist Brad Petering, drummer Jason Wyman, and keyboardist Wyatt Harmon. The band released its first three EPs in 2010 and a mixtape in 2012. It followed th ...

on their song "Lovers Rock", from '' French Exit''.

Personnel

*Lead vocals: Shirley Owens *Backing vocals: Doris Coley, Beverly Lee, Addie "Micki" Harris

References

;Footnotes ;Bibliography * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tonight's The Night (Song) 1960 songs The Shirelles songs Songs written by Luther Dixon Scepter Records singles 1960 singles