"Stay the Night" | |
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Single by Benjamin Orr | |
from the album The Lace | |
B-side | "That's the Way" |
Released | November 1986 |
Format | 7" |
Genre | Soft rock |
Length | 4:26 |
Label | Elektra 69506 |
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) |
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"Stay the Night" is a song by The Cars vocalist and bassist Benjamin Orr. It was included on his 1986 solo debut album The Lace, and released as a single in the end of 1986. "Stay the Night" reached #24 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the beginning of 1987, becoming Orr's only Top 40 hit as a solo artist.
Prior to recording his solo album, Orr had been a founding member, along with singer and songwriter Ric Ocasek, of The Cars. The Cars' first Top 40 hit, "Just What I Needed", featured Orr on lead vocals, as did their biggest hit, "Drive", from 1984's Heartbeat City.
Following The Cars' 1985 Greatest Hits release, the band split up to pursue solo projects, with both Orr and Ocasek releasing solo albums in 1986, lead guitarist Elliot Easton having released one in 1985. Weeks before "Stay the Night" entered the US Top 40, Ocasek himself was in the Top 40 with his own solo hit "Emotion in Motion". In both cases, those would become the only US Top 40 solo hit for both Cars members respectively.
The band reunited to record 1987's Door to Door, which produced "You Are the Girl", their last Top 40 single.
On the Radio & Records airplay chart the song debuted at #40 on the December 12, 1986 issue, after five weeks, it reached and peaked at #14 staying there for a week, the single stayed on the Top 20 of the chart for three weeks, and remained on it for nine.
Kirk Johnston released a licensed remake of "Stay The Night" on "Full Circle" 2014 EP produced by Mark Younger-Smith (Billy Idol, Charmed Life) and again on the Deluxe LP in 2016. Proceeds from the song are donated to PanCan "Pancreatic Cancer Action Network" in the honor and memory of Benjamin Orr. The song is available worldwide for digital download on iTunes Amazon Music and streaming on Spotify.