Fred Parris, the frontman for the doo-wop group The Five Satins, has died at the age of 85.
According to the group’s official Facebook page, Parris died after a “brief illness”.
“The Five Satins family is devastated by this loss but appreciative of having shared Fred’s music with thousands of fans and friends,” part of the announcement read. Details on memorial plans were not available, although they are expected to be shared in due course.
Parris wrote and sang the band’s most famous hit, ‘In The Still Of The Night’, which has been covered by Boyz II Men and The Beach Boys, among others. The doo-wop classic has also featured in films including Dirty Dancing, The Buddy Holly Story and The Irishman.
The late singer grew up in New Haven, Connecticut and wrote the lyrics for ‘In The Still Of The Night’ while he was on guard duty at a US Army base near Philadelphia.
He later recorded the song in the basement of a church in 1956 while on leave in his hometown.
The song returned to the Billboard Hot 100 on three separate occasions (in 1956, 1960 and 1961). ‘In The Still Of The Night” is sometimes stylised as ‘In The Still Of The Nite” to avoid confusion with a 1937 Cole Porter song with the same title.
Parris continued to perform throughout the years, fronting groups such as Fred Parris And The Restless Hearts and Black Satin.