Saturday Night at the Movies (song)

Not to be confused with Kissin' in the Back Row of the Movies.

"Saturday Night at the Movies"
Single by the Drifters
from the album The Good Life with the Drifters
B-side"Spanish Lace"
Released1964
Recorded1964
StudioAtlantic (New York City)
GenreSoul, doo-wop
Length2:26
LabelAtlantic
Songwriter(s)Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil
Producer(s)Bert Berns
The Drifters singles chronology
"I've Got Sand in My Shoes"
(1964) 		"Saturday Night at the Movies"
(1964) 		""The Christmas Song" / "I Remember Christmas""
(1964)

"Saturday Night at the Movies" is a song written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil and performed by American vocal group the Drifters with Johnny Moore as vocalist. The song was arranged and conducted by Teacho Wiltshire and produced by Bert Berns.

The song was released as a 1964 single, peaking at number 18 on the US Billboard Hot 100.[1] In the United Kingdom, the song peaked at number 35. The song charted again in the UK in March 1972 when reissued as a double A-side with "At the Club", peaking at number three on the UK Singles Chart.[2]

Personnel

The song was recorded on August 4, 1964, at Atlantic Studios in New York City.

Charts

Chart (1964–1965) Peak
position
UK Singles (OCC)[3] 35
US Billboard Hot 100 18
US Top 50 in R&B Locations (Cash Box)[4] 8
Chart (1972) Peak
position
UK Singles (OCC) 3

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[5] Silver 200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Other versions

  • Inger Öst recorded the song with lyrics in Swedish by Green as På nian på lördag, releasing it as a single in January 1968, with Öppna ditt hjärta (Open Your Heart) acting as a B-side.[6]
  • In 1991, a version was featured in the horror movie Popcorn by Ossie D and Stevie G.
  • In 1996, a version was featured as track 5 on the album Take Two, the second and final studio album by English pop-duo Robson and Jerome. It also features on both of the duo's compilation albums, titled "Happy Days - The Best Of" and "The Love Songs".
  • In 2002, the song was recorded by Swedish band Barbados on the album Världen utanför.[7]
  • In 2008, Swedish band Drifters recorded the song on the album Tycker om dig: Svängiga låtar från förr.[8]
  • In 2013, British vocal group The Overtones recorded the song on their album, also called Saturday Night at the Movies.[9]
  • In 2017, English singer Joe McElderry recorded the song on his #10 album, also titled Saturday Night at the Movies.

References

  1. ^ "1964". Retrohits. 1964. Retrieved October 19, 2014.
  2. ^ "Drifters". Every Hit. 2013. Retrieved October 19, 2014.
  3. ^ "The Drifters". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
  4. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 173.
  5. ^ "British single certifications – Drifters – Saturday Night at the Movies". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  6. ^ Information at Svensk mediedatabas
  7. ^ Information at Svensk mediedatabas
  8. ^ Information at Svensk mediedatabas
  9. ^ The Overtones - Saturday Night At The Movies, 2013, retrieved June 8, 2023