How did 'Nights In White Satin' happen to become a hit in 1972??

Jim,

5N prefix and mention of Phonogram means a reissue single for that one, not issued until after the '72 edition; might be stereo, might also be mono, not sure about "Nights," but the 5N "Tuesday Afternoon" is stereo, whereas the original '68 45 is mono, same with NIWS.

If you have the version without any orchestral sounds and only Pinder's Mellotron, you've got the original single mix; if you have the mix with orchestra(it'll still be mono), you've got the 2nd version also issued in '72.

 

I really was 3 at the time...

 

Any "5N" pressing of this single is a reissue pressed in 1974 or later. The London Group of labels changed its prefix when all the record companies raised the list price of 45s in the middle of 1974. So if you see a "5N" prefix on a London Rolling Stones 45, it's a reissue.

That said, I've seen so many label variations of this that I have no idea what to think any more!

 

You should also point out for those who were also not 3 years old in 1971...that it was also when FM radio was attracting the more "serious" rock audience. FM jocks all over the country were jumping on it. Back then, it was becoming a "turntable" hit. The A&R folks at Deram re-released it. With the FM airplay already moving they didn't have to push it too much. That's what happens with most re-releases.

 

Thanks, Ed and Tim.

 

Actually, the times were listed as 3:06 (though the uber-edited, radio-orientated version, by my calculations, timed out at 3:15) and 4:26. First pressings from early 1968 listed the "Redwave" credit, and was changed shortly thereafter to "Justin Hayward." I have two types of pressings from Columbia pressing plants; one from Pitman, NJ which listed the 4:26 time though it was the 3:15 edit used and the B-side "Cities" shown with open spacing; the other, from Terre Haute with somewhat different label copy artwork by the Pitman plant, with the time of "Nights" shown as 3:06, "Cities" shown with closed spacing, and both sides having a "-3" suffix after the master numbers on the label. Also, Terre Haute pressings showed the "Nights" title shifted slightly to the right as related to the rest of that section (as would also be the case with all Columbia pressings of Tom Jones's "I'll Never Fall In Love Again" on Parrot 45-PAR-40018), whereas Pitman "Nights" copies had everything centered at the bottom.

Also, the initial 1968 pressings listed the publisher as Essex Music Inc., whereas by 1972 it had become TRO-Essex Music Inc. B-side publisher was initially shown as "Tyler Publ. Co. BMI"; I.I.N.M., the post-1972 pressings indicated "Cities" was also published by TRO-Essex.

And on Columbia pressings, the catalogue prefix at the time of first release was "45-DEM-." 5N- did indeed take effect in July of 1974; if the time was 3:06 on the label of pressings from before 1980, then the pressing was from Terre Haute, Ind. (Pitman copies and pressings from other plants apparently showed 4:26.)

Also, if there was a stereo (promo) copy at the time, Columbia pressings would've likely shown the catalogue number as "45-DES-85023."

 

A stereo promo copy? Not likely, but "Ride My See Saw," issued later in '68, had one, while the only stereo US stereo 45 of the "Tuesday Afternoon" edit was a 5N reissue on Deram, unless there's a stereo DJ edition I missed, which is of course possible.

 

Guys,

The original single was released in late 1967 before charting in 01/68. I remember buying the 45. The mix used on this single release is a dedicated Mono mix, which I refer to as the "1967 mix" since we know it executed in 1967. The 1972 single mix was a then newly executed Stereo mix, which to my ears, sounds different than the LP mix we hear on "Classic Rock" Radio. Headphones do reveal mix differences. Both single mixes should end "cold". Although, I do remember the fade mix was played on the Radio in 1972 as well. I believe this was the LP mix, faded down, which may have been released in '72 before a new single mix was executed as the track was just becoming a "hit" yet again. The fade mix is not as desriable as the "cold" mix ending mixes. A few stations would also play the full LP mix with the spoken outro, of course, as an alternative. Personally, I like all of the mixes but the power of the original 1967 mix is hard to pass on. I have used these (3) mixes on my project discs...

Bob

 

I have a worn, 1968 Heyward/Essex/-3/Pitman pressing and the listed time is 4:20 as Tim reported. I'm not very familiar with the 45 version since every AM Top 40 station I worked for from 1968 on always played the LP version.

GM

 

There is a shorter edit, but my stock 45's--both the '68 & '72--run around 4:20, and the Lp mix, released in '72, was faded to run around the same time as the original 45 mix.

Obviously, the original "Nights" mix was a dedicated mono mix; no doubt about it! It's the recording in its true original sound, without any orchestral overdubs whatsoever.

Funny, though, while the Lp mix was the one I heard in '72 on FM radio, on AM it was always the '68 mix, which remember, was also issued in '72. When the single got airplay again and moved up the charts, the original mix was the stock 45 sent to stores...at first. The Lp mix was also pressed up and put out, also, which is how we came to have two seemingly identical 45's with different mixes on them.

Incidentally, "Nights" was issued in the UK in the fall of '67, but not until 1968 in the US, with both 45 & DOFP charting as of the 5/4/68 Billboard.

And for those of you who have never heard Brooklyn Bridge's 1970 remake...be thankful!

 

For the record, my 45 was 4:20 as well. This exact Mono mix is on the Rhino, The British Invasion - The History Of British Rock, Vol. #8 CD.

Bob