Song Lyric Sunday was created by Helen Vahdati from This Thing Called Life One Word at a Time and author Jim Adams from A Unique Title For Me is our current guest host. For complete rules or to join in the fun, click here.

The theme for Song Lyric Sunday this week is “Desire/Lust/Romance/Passion.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Its lusty, rebellious vibe has made Into the Night a favorite for decades, but I still get creeped out sometimes by the pervy feel with the opening line, “She’s just 16 years old, leave her alone, they said.”   Mardones said the 16-year-old girl he’s singing about was named Heidi, and she lived in his apartment in Spanish Harlem. Their relationship was purely platonic, however, as Benny looked after Heidi and her family after her father left. Benny would pay her $50 a week to walk his basset hound, Zanky.

Fun Facts:

• • When this song became a hit, Benny Mardones suddenly found himself with a great deal of money and fame, which he didn’t handle very well. He developed a cocaine addiction and got in the habit of drinking a bottle of whiskey every night. He recorded the album Too Much To Lose the next year, but when it came time to tour and promote it, he was in Miami, wasted out of his mind. His momentum was stopped cold and his record company, Polydor, lost interest.
  • Mardones originally released Into the Night in June 1980. The song peaked at No. 11 on the Hot 100 for two weeks in September 1980, logging 20 weeks on the chart before falling off in late October. Mardones was unable to duplicate the success of Into the Night 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, 1989. Mardones’ recording peaked this time at No. 20 the first week in July, adding 17 weeks to its previous run of 20, to add up to a total of 37 (nonconsecutive) weeks.

Enjoy!

See my Song Lyric Sunday selection for Nesie’s Place!

~~~

Disclaimer: I have no copyrights to the song and/or video and/or hyperlinks to songs and/or videos and/or gifs above. No copyright infringement intended.