Last Night by The Mar-Keys

Album: Last Night! (1961)

Charted: 3

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Songfacts®:

Steve Cropper is best known for being the guitarist of the Stax Records house band, Booker T. & the M.G.'s. This instrumental from his former high school group was Cropper's first hit and it featured him playing keys. Cropper told Uncut: "I played organ because Smoochy Smith couldn't hold that note down and play that solo at the same time. I remember it like it was yesterday. I crouched down next to the organ and reached up to play that note."

"I'm convinced the reason this was a hit was because it was the first twist instrumental."
The Mar-Keys were formally named The Royal Spades. Their change of name referred to the marquee outside Stax studios, known as Satellite Records at the time.
This was the title track of Last Night!, the first LP released by the Stax label.
The song plays during the closing credits of the 2007 film Rush Hour 3.

Comments: 2

Big Loogey from West AfricaThis song was also the Intro for The NBA on CBS during the 70's
Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn August 14, 1961, the Mar-Keys performed "Last Night"* on the Dick Clark ABC-TV weekday-afternoon program 'American Bandstand'...
At the time the song was in it's second of two weeks at #3 on Billboard's Hot Top 100, that would also be it' peak position on the chart, and it spent 14 weeks on the Top 100...
It reached #2 on Billboard's Hot R&B Singles chart...
"Last Night" was featured in the 1988 movie "The Night Before" and the 2007 movie "Rush Hour 3"...
The group's next charted record would be titled "Morning After"...
Besides the above two records, they had two other Top 100 entries, "Pop-Eye Stroll" {#94 in 1962} and "Philly Dog" {#89 in 1966}...
* The B-side of "Last Night" was titled "Night Before"...
And of course all of the above songs are available on You Tube.

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