The Five Satins are one those doo-wop groups that are a household name.  Thanks in largest part to their great hit "In the Still of the Night."  That song tops many a doo-wop DJ's list of the all time great ballads, if not doo-wop songs.  Unfortunately, it was their only charting topping hit, although they did create some great music over the years.

The Five Satins, led by Freddy Parris, came out of New Haven, Connecticut.  Freddy Parris was in group known as the Scarlets which formed in 1953 while Freddy was a mere high school lad!  The Scarlets had one hit "Dear One" in 1954.  Later, Freddy Parris put together the Five Satins along with the following members - Al Denby, Ed Martin and Jim Freeman.  In 1955, Freddy Parris wrote "In the Still of the Night" which was actually recorded in the basement of a local church in New Haven.  The record came out on the Standard Records label in spring of 1956. Before the end of 1956 the song was sold to Ember and off it went into doo-wop history hitting #3 on the R&B charts and #25 on the pop charts.

While "In the Still of the Night" was making its way through our hearts and through the charts, Freddy Parris got inducted into the army of all things!  While serving in the army, Freddy rejoined the group and recorded their next single "To the Aisle" while stationed in Japan.  That song features Bill Baker on leads.  It did pretty well, hitting #25 on the R&B charts in the summer of 1957.  Parris returned from the army in 1958 and the group was re-formed with Richie Freeman, Sylvester Hopkins, West Forbes, and Lou Peeples.  They had one hit entitled "Shadows" in 1959.
 

The next year, in 1960, "In Still of the Night" was included on an oldies compilation by Art Laboe and it experienced a revival of sorts.  The group recorded "I'll Be Seeing You" but it did not do very well.  Freddy Parris labored during the rest of the 1960's to keep the group together with different members.  He continued to do this into 1970's playing oldies revival gigs in the US and Europe.  In 1970, the group appeared in the film, Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me and in 1973 they appeared in the film Let the Good Times Roll.

In 1974, the group signed a contract with Don Kirschner's "Kirschner Records" (the famed king of disco who brought us the Village People) and the Five Satins released a new single entitled "Two Different Worlds."  In 1976, perhaps in response to the growing interest in R&B and dance music, they tried something different by changing their name to Black Satin.  Black Satin put out a single entitled "Everybody Stand Up and Clap Your Hands (For the Entertainer)."  It was a modest hit on the R&B charts.

The Black Satin name did not stay long and before the end of the 1970's, they were back to being the Five Satins.  In a remarkable turn of events, in 1982, the Five Satins had a great comeback with a doo-wop medley entitled "Memories of Days Gone By." The single was released on Elektra Records and actually made it to number 71 on the pop charts - something no other original doo-wop group has been able to do.  During the 1980's and 1990's, the Five Satins have continued to thrill audiences with their great sound and they have performed continuously at revival shows in the US and Europe.