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Biography
Refimprove|date=August 2010Infobox musical artist | name = The Five Satins| image = FredParris1.jpg| caption = Fred Parris in 2007| image_size = | background = group_or_band| alias =| origin = New Haven, Connecticut , United States | instrument =| genre = Doo-wop | occupation =| years_active = 1954–present| label =| associated_acts =| website = http://www.fivesatins.net| current_members = Fred Parris Richie Freeman Eugene Dobbs Nadina Perry| past_members = Lou Peebles Larry DiSalvi Stanley Dortch Ed Martin Jim Freeman Al Denby Tommy Killebrew Jessie Murphy Bill Baker Sylvester Hopkins Wes Forbes Corky Rogers Jimmy Curtis Nate Marshall| notable_instruments = The Five Satins are an United States|American doo-wop group, best known for their 1956 million-selling song , " In the Still of the Night (1956 song)|In the Still of the Night ."
Career
The musical ensemble|group , formed in New Haven, Connecticut , consisted of leader Fred Parris, Lou Peebles, Stanley Dortch, Ed Martin and Jim Freeman in 1954. With little success, the group reorganized, with Dortch and Peebles leaving, and new member Al Denby entering. The group then recorded " In the Still of the Night (1956 song)|In the Still of the Night ", which was originally released as the A-side and B-side|b-side to the single (music)|single , "The Jones Girl". The single was initially issued on the tiny local "Standord" label and after some local Connecticut sales, it was released the following year on the New York label "Ember", and "In the Still of the Night" ended up charting at number three on the Rhythm and blues|R& B record chart|chart and number 25 on the pop charts. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a music recording sales certification|gold disc .cite book | first= Joseph | last= Murrells | year= 1978 | title= The Book of Golden Discs | edition= 2nd | publisher= Barrie and Jenkins Ltd | location= London | page= 81 | isbn= 0-214-20512-6 Parris entered the United States Army|Army soon after, and the group reorganized again, with Martin, Freeman, Tommy Killebrew, Jessie Murphy and new lead Bill Baker. This lineup hit with another highly successful song, Billy Dawn Smith's " To the Aisle ".
Upon Parris' return from the Army, a new lineup was assembled, consisting of Parris, Lou Peebles (who was in a previous incarnation of the Five Satins), Sylvester Hopkins, Richie Freeman and Wes Forbes. The group would be briefly known as "Fred Parris and the Scarlets", until the Baker-led group split up. At this point, they reverted to the Five Satins name, but had little success on the charts.
By the early 1970s the group was Parris, Peebles, Richie Freeman, Jimmy Curtis and Corky Rogers, and they continued recording into the 1980s, with Parris, Richie Freeman, Curtis and Nate Marshall. Meanwhile, Bill Baker started his own Five Satins group in 1981, with former Satin Sylvester Hopkins and Hopkins' brothers Arthur "Count" Hopkins, Sr. and Frank. By the late 1980s, this group consisted of Baker, Harvey Potts, Jr., Anthony Hofler and Octavio DeLeon.
Fred Parris and Richie Freeman continue to perform. Bill Baker died in 1994. http://www.findagrave.com/php/famous.php? page=cem& FScemeteryid=1626143 Findagrave.com
Awards and recognition
In 2003, the Five Satins were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame .
Present day
One of the original members of the Five Satins now works in the cafeteria at the University of New Haven . Jim Freeman lives in Norwalk, Iowa and owns a pest control company. Wes Forbes is a psychologist in the State of California , currently employed with Alliant International University as a Training Director. Richie Freeman is the house sound engineer at NY's famed http://www.iridiumjazzclub.com/ Iridium jazz club.
Fred Parris and Richie Freeman are still actively performing occasionally with the Five Satins. The lineup now also includes Eugene Dobbs, originally the lead singer and founder of Nu-Cullers http://www.nucullers.com Nucullers.com and Nadina Perry.
They are supported by musicians Pat Marafiote (keyboards), Jerry Langley (bass) and James Moore (drums).
The group performs regularly throughout the Northeast and they continue to actively record new material.
References
Reflist
External links
http://www.fivesatins.net Five Satins Home Page
http://www.vocalgroup.org/inductees/the_five_satins.html 'The Five Satins' Vocal Group Hall of Fame Page
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi? page=gr& GRid=13419074 Bill Baker gravesite
http://www.tsimon.com/satins.htm Tom Simon's article on The Five Satins
DEFAULTSORT:Five Satins, The Category:Musical groups established in 1954 Category:American vocal groups Category:Doo-wop groups Category:Cub Records artists Category:Musical quintets Category:Article Feedback 5
