"Into the Night" is a song by American pop rock singer Benny Mardones from his album Never Run, Never Hide. Inspired by an impoverished family Mardones met during the writing of the album, the lead single became a two-time top 20 hit and a signature tune in Mardones' catalogue.
Overview
"Into the Night" is about a man in his thirties who is in love with a 16 year old but cannot be with her because of her age. In an interview with YouTuber Professor of Rock[2] before his passing, Mardones recounted the song's origins as dating back to the writing process for the Never Run, Never Hide album. He and songwriter Robert Tepper went to Miami and lived in an apartment while working on songs.
Mardones' neighbors included a family of five: a mother, a father who worked in set design, and three teenagers (two girls and a boy). One day, the father walked out, leaving the family destitute. Mardones, wanting to help in any way he could, started paying the teens for odd jobs such as walking his dog or picking up groceries. The dog-walker was 16-year-old Heidi. One morning, after Mardones had spent most of the night working on the main riff from "Into the Night," Heidi, dressed for school in a rather mature fashion, came up to walk the dog. According to Mardones, when Tepper made a stray remark after she left, Mardones shut him down, saying "Pal, she's just 16 years old, leave her alone."
Mardones tells of taking that line and running with it, slowly spinning the tale of this family across lyrics such as "It's like having a dream / Where nobody has a heart" highlighting the struggles of the father in set design, and the main chorus being about bringing the family out of poverty. Mardones went on to cite the song's success and subsequent radio interviews done with Heidi to clear up the controversy as what helped lift the family out of their poverty. Through the exposure, Heidi would meet and ultimately marry the son of a Puerto Rico-based real estate mogul. Heidi's husband brought the family to Puerto Rico to live with the couple, and gave the brother a job in his company.
In the Professor of Rock interview, Mardones also sheds light on his powerful vocal performance. The singer cut the lead vocal in three takes, impressing album producer and longtime Styx engineer Barry Mraz. The notorious howling instrumental bridge was originally a guide vocal for a saxophonist, but upon completion, Mraz told the singer "We won't be using a saxophone on this record."[3]
The song is unusual for being one of only ten recordings to ever ascend to the top 20 of the BillboardHot 100 chart twice, in 1980 and 1989. [4]Chubby Checker was first to do so with his cover of "The Twist", a single that went to No. 1 in September 1960 and again in January 1962.
"Into the Night" was re-recorded multiple times by Mardones:
The original and best-known 1980 version, from Never Run, Never Hide (Duration: 4:32)
The 1989 version, released on his self-titled album from Curb Records to capitalize on the original's renewed success. (Duration: 4:22)
Mardones originally released "Into the Night" in June 1980. The song peaked at No. 11 on the Hot 100 for two weeks that September, logging 20 weeks on the chart before falling off in late October. Mardones was unable to duplicate "Into the Night"'s success 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. This time, it peaked at No. 20 the first week in July, adding 17 weeks to its previous run of 20, for 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.[8]
The original recording was in C minor. Shortly before his 2017 retirement, Mardones performed it in B minor to accommodate his aging voice.
Controversy
The controversial opening lyric has led the song to be cited as one of many problematic songs adult men have written and performed about wanting to have sex with teenage girls.[9] Along with songs such as blues standard "Good Morning, Little School Girl", "Young Girl" by Gary Puckett & the Union Gap, "Christine Sixteen" by Kiss, "Seventeen" by Winger and "Jailbait" by Ted Nugent, "Into the Night" has been interpreted as a song dealing in the sexualization of teenage girls by adult men. In these songs, where "young girls are deemed appropriate sex objects",[10] men describe fantasies of statutory rape. The lyrical controversy dates back to the song's release, in which radio stations were originally hesitant to play the song due to the opening line. It wasn't until Mardones' label Polydor sent out a letter detailing his account of the song's origins that stations began playing the song.[11]
Music video
Mardones made a music video for the song, but, as it predated MTV by a year, it was not widely broadcast. It opens with Mardones walking down a street and approaching a house. The song plays over the video, and the lyrics serve as Mardones's monologue. He is met at the door by a bearded man who sings the opening line: "She's just 16 years old / Leave her alone." Mardones walks to the back of the house, peering through a window at a young 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 cuts again to Mardones returning to the girl's house, carrying a rolled-up carpet. He crawls through her bedroom window and unrolls the magic carpet. As Mardones takes the girl's hand, they take flight into the night sky. The video closes with Mardones serenading the girl as they embrace; the scene 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-LifeSoft Rock compilations.[12] On July 2, 2016, a full version of the video was uploaded to YouTube.[13]
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)".[20]
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.
In 2020, Julio Iglesias Jr. and Benny Mardones, before his passing, recorded the song as a duet for Julio's album, Under The Covers, released in 2022. The recording is dedicated in memory of Mardones.
Sampling
The song was sampled by indie hip hop group Conrad Hilton on the song "Into the Night/Heat of the Night"[citation needed] and Decoy's version of "Into the Night",[citation needed] 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".[21]
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.
This song was sampled by Usher for his 2010 song "Make Love Into the Night" on the album Raymond v. Raymond.
^Baron, Paula (June 2011). "Enter the Imaginarium: The Mirror, the Object and the Feminist Project". The Australian Feminist Law Journal. 34: 43–61 – via ProQuest.
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