Early Songs About The Night

Early Songs About The Night

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Posted 2023-03-17 by Steven Gfollow
Following on from my columns about songs about the day ( early and recent ), I decided I should really do songs about the night as well. And so it was off to my music collection and thus we have part 1…

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Now, going through the rather hugely enormous list I had (500-plus songs), this was a tough group to narrow down, so your favourite might well not be here. But I also decided any songs that mentioned both day and night deserve their own column, and because I did daydreams , there will also be a separate column for nightmares to come. Also, no songs about Christmas or that mention days of the week; I had to cut this down somehow! Finally, this covers pre-1982, so making it early songs.

So, usual rules apply, and these will apply across both night columns – one song per artist, one version of each song, I need to like the song.

Get ready for some interesting tracks.

Early songs about the night!

Before I hit the column proper, how about some classical music?
'Night On A Bare Mountain' written by Modest Mussorgsky

This classical piece (also known as 'Night On Bald Mountain')became popular to modern audiences through the film Fantasia , but it is great enough to stand on its own. The actual date it was written is rather nebulous, but it seems to have been composed between 1850 and 1865.

The column!
'Twisting The Night Away' by Sam Cooke (1960)

Starting with a classic bit of early soul, Sam Cooke jumping on the twist bandwagon produced one of the better twist songs released.
'The Night Has A Thousand Eyes' by Bobby Vee (1962)

Maybe considered cheesy by today's standards, there is something almost innocent in this track about a guy knowing his girl is not true to him.
'Here Comes The Night' by Them (1965)

An interesting track from the middle of the 60s when things were starting to get weird, but it still has that blues basis that singer Van Morrison so loved.
'Let's Spend The Night Together' by The Rolling Stones (1967)

Famously censored on the Ed Sullivan Show, this song told the world that The Rolling Stones were going to sing about things a little more adult than their predecessors.
'Nights In White Satin' by The Moody Blues (1967)

This has been called the first prog rock song, and it is hard to deny that. Such a beautiful piece of music with Justin Hayward's voice at the forefront.
'Strangers In The Night' by Frank Sinatra (1968)

And let's do a tonal shift and hit Ol' Blue Eyes. How could I leave this all-time jazz classic out? One of Sinatra's best, he just takes ownership of the song.
'The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down' by The Band (1969)

Maybe better in the live version, the studio version is still an amazing track by the band that had started life as the Hawks, then became Bob Dylan's backing band before striking out on their own.
'Black Night' by Deep Purple (1970)

One of Deep Purple's first hits, the keyboards and guitar playing working so well together from the get-go. It started here, and continues to this day.
'The Night Chicago Died' by Paper Lace (1974)

Yes, we go for some bubble-gum pop as well, but the song about Al Capone is such an earworm I couldn't leave it out.
'Whatever Gets You Thru the Night' by John Lennon (1974)

One of Lennon's more upbeat solo tracks, this song just says you can do whatever you want to do. Elton John plays piano and does backing vocals as well.
'Night Moves' by Bob Seger And The Silver Bullet Band (1976)

I had a few Seger songs to choose from, and I chose this one. It is a touching song about two youngsters going to the next phase of their love and life.
'Hot Summer Night' by Meat Loaf (1977)

Also known as 'You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth', this is one of the highlights from the classic Bat Out Of Hell album.
'Because The Night' by Patti Smith (1978)

Written with and originally recorded by Bruce Springsteen, Patti Smith really takes the song and amps it up with her passionate delivery. Great cover version. Cover? She did co-write it...
'Summer Nights' by John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John (1978)

This is probably going to get me some laughter, but this is one of the pivotal tracks from one of the highest-grossing musicals ever. And it has Olivia in it.
'Such A Night' by Racey (1979)

An album I've covered before, this is one of the fun party-based tracks from Smash And Grab.
'We Belong To The Night' by Ellen Foley (1979)

Ellen Foley had so many good songs, as well as being Meat Loaf's backing singer and vocal foil for a while, but this is the only track that bothered the charts. Shame.
'You Shook Me All Night Long by AC/DC (1980)

Another classic album gives us this, the song that introduced the Brian Johnson era of AC/DC, and made us realise that life would go on without Bon Scott.
'I Love A Rainy Night' by Eddie Rabbitt (1981)

This is considered a country song, but to me, it is a bit of rock pop about a guy who likes the rain because it hides his tears.
'Long Night' by The Angels (1981)

Another band I had a few choices from, but I have a personal connection to this track, so I went for this one. Great song from the Adelaide band .
'Spend The Night' by Cheetah (1981)

I liked this song when I first heard it but didn't understand what it meant until about 1986. I was such a sheltered child. And a great rocking way to end this list.
20 (plus one) early songs about the night. Quite a bit of interesting music and, yes, I know I could have included some more disco, especially by the Bee Gees, but as I have mentioned in the past, very few disco songs do it for me. Still, I hope you found something here to enjoy.

Part two to come!
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82831 - 2023-06-11 06:34:55

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