Into the Night (Benny Mardones song)

The song is unusual for being one of only 10 recordings to ever ascend to the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart twice. The chartings, in 1980 and 1989, were of two similar but separate recordings. Chubby Checker was first to do this with his cover of "The Twist", a single that went to No. 1 in September 1960 and again in January 1962.

"Into the Night" is a track that Mardones re-recorded many times:

• The original and best-known 1980 version, which can be found on the album Never Run, Never Hide, duration: 4:32.
• The 1989 version, released on Curb Records, which can be found on his self-titled album, duration: 4:22.
• The 2002 version, which can be found on the album A Journey Through Time, duration: 4:26.
• The 2002 acoustic version, also found on A Journey Through Time,[2] duration: 4:08.
• The 2019 version, retitled "Into the Night V3", produced by Joel Diamond, duration: 3:46. A new music video of this song can be found on Diamond's YouTube channel.[3] "Into the Night V3" was also remixed twice, by Dirty Werk and by Eric Kupper. These two versions are more influenced by dance than Mardones' usual soft rock trademark.[4]

Mardones originally released "Into the Night" in June 1980. The song peaked at No. 11 on the Hot 100 for two weeks in September 1980, logging 20 weeks on the chart before falling off in late October. Mardones was unable to duplicate the success of "Into the Night" and is considered a one-hit wonder.

In 1989, a "Where Are They Now?" Arizona radio segment spurred L.A. DJ Scott Shannon to add the song to his playlist, ultimately rocketing the song back onto the national charts, on May 6, 1989. Mardones' recording peaked this time at No. 20 the first week in July, adding 17 weeks to its previous run of 20, to add up to a total of 37 (nonconsecutive) weeks.

"Into the Night" was a hit on Adult Contemporary radio this time as well, where it spent 19 weeks and peaked at No. 20.[5]

The original song was performed in C minor, but shortly before his retirement in 2017, Mardones performed it in Bb minor to accommodate his aging voice.

Mardones made a music video for the song, but, as it predated MTV by a year, it was not widely broadcast.

The video opens with Mardones walking down a street and approaching a house. The song plays over the video, and the lyrics serve as Mardones' monologue. He is met at the door by a bearded man who tells him, "She's just 16 years old. Leave her alone." Mardones leaves and walks around to the back of the house, peering through a window at a girl sitting sullenly in her room. The video then cuts to Mardones at a pay phone, speaking to the girl on the other end of the line and professing his love. The video then cuts again to Mardones returning to the girl's house, carrying a rolled-up carpet. He crawls through her bedroom window, unrolls the magic carpet, and taking the girl's hand, they take flight into the night sky. The video closes with Mardones serenading the girl as they embrace; the scene finally fades to black as they kiss.

For many years the video was difficult to find in its entirety, although clips were featured in infomercials for Time-Life Soft Rock compilations.[6]

On July 2, 2016, a full version of the video was uploaded to YouTube.[7]

1980 Polydor recording

• Benny Mardones – lead vocals, background vocals
• Bobby Messano, Ron Bloom – guitar
• Kinny Landrum – keyboards
• Leigh Foxx – bass
• Sandy Gennaro – drums
• Robert Tepper – background vocals
• Barry Mraz – producer, engineer
• David Gottlieb, Paul Speck – assistant engineers
• Recorded at Quadradial Cinema Recording Studios, North Miami, FL

1989 Curb re-recording

• Michael Lloyd – producer, engineer
• Benny Mardones – vocals, backing vocals
• Dennis Belfield – bass
• Duane Evans – acoustic piano, clavinet, fender rhodes, synthesizer, backing vocals
• Ron Bloom – guitar
• Ron Krasinski – drums

2019 Silver Blue re-recording

• Benny Mardones – lead vocals
• Joel Diamond – producer

2019 Silver Blue remixes

• Benny Mardones – lead vocals
• Dirty Werk – remixer
• Eric Kupper – remixer

Nick Kamen covered the song for his 1987 debut album Nick Kamen.

In 1991, reggae singer Junior Tucker had a No. 46 Australian hit with the song, re-titled "16 (Into the Night)".[14]

In 1992, Taiwan's Harlem Yu released a cover version of the song on his album Harlem Music Station.

In 1995, Australian singer Peter Wilson released a cover of the song as a single.

In 1996, the group Fiji included a version of the song on their album Born and Raised.

In 2010, Usher released his own version, "Making Love (Into the Night)" on his album, Raymond v. Raymond.

The song was sampled by indie hip hop group Conrad Hilton on the song "Into the Night/Heat of the Night" and Decoy's version of "Into the Night", both of which feature Benny Mardones in the songs.

Rapper Triple J used the melody and interpolated "Into the Night" for his song "16 Years Old".[15]

American band Pure Bathing Culture interpolates part of the melody and refrain of "Into the Night" on their song "Scotty" from the 2013 album Moon Tides.

• List of 1980s one-hit wonders in the United States