Tonight's the Night (The Shirelles song)
| "Tonight's the Night" | ||||
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| Single by The Shirelles | ||||
| from the album Tonight's the Night | ||||
| B-side | "The Dance Is Over" | |||
| Released | 1960 | |||
| Format | Vinyl record (7" 45 RPM) | |||
| Recorded | 1960 Bell Sound Studios, New York, New York, U.S. |
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| Genre | R&B, Pop | |||
| Length | 2:00 | |||
| Label | Scepter | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
Luther Dixon Shirley Owens |
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| Producer(s) | Luther Dixon | |||
| The Shirelles singles chronology | ||||
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| Audio sample | ||||
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The introduction to The Shirelle's version, with the strings and Owens' vocals clearly heard
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"Tonight's the Night" is the title and lead track from The Shirelles' 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 and was released as the pre-album's second single in 1960. In 2010 Rolling Stone listed as one of the best songs of all time.
"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, Nat King Cole, and Pat Boone. It also marks the debut of composer Horace Ott.
Richie Unterberger of AllMusic positively wrote "The title track" is excellent.
"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's "Oh, Boy!. The emotional content is reflected in Owens' vocals, which 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.Rolling Stone also notes the Latin style, with numerous instances of syncopation.
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Wikipedia