From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Tue Mar 26, 2002  1:17 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Fred Parris
 
FRED PARRIS (By Shaun Mather)

Born 26 March 1936, New Haven, Connecticut

Fred Parris was the founder and lead singer of the Five Satins, the East
Coast doo-wop group who hit the big time with one of the most engaging and
durable hits of the 1950's, the sublime In The Still Of The Night. The
story starts in New Haven in 1953 when Parris formed the Scarlets and
enjoyed a local hit with Dear One. By '54 Parris had formed the Five Satins
and two years later they cut In The Still Of The Night for Standard Records.
It was released to Ember and took off, finally reaching number 25 (no.3
R&B). Before they were able to take advantage of the single, Parris was
drafted to Japan, so Bill Baker sang lead on the follow-up, To The Isle
which again reached the R&B top 10. Parris returned to the fold in '58 and
enjoyed a small hit the following year with Shadows. In The Still Of The
Night returned to the charts in 1960 along with I'll Be Seeing You. The
intervening years have seen Parris lead various incarnations of the Five
Satins at oldies shows and they even reached the lower rungs of the pop
charts in 1982 with Memories Of Days Gone By on the Elektra label.

Recommended listening;
The Five Satins Sing Their Greatest Hits - Collectables