Wikipedia

Set the Night to Music

For the Roberta Flack album, see Set the Night to Music (album).

"Set the Night to Music" is a song written by Diane Warren and recorded by Starship for their LP, No Protection (1987). It became a major hit for Roberta Flack in 1991. Starship's original version became a Top 10 hit on the U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, reaching number nine in the spring of 1988,[1] and also charted minorly in Canada.[2] The song appeared at the end credits of the 1988 fantasy-comedy film Vice Versa starring Judge Reinhold and Fred Savage.

"Set the Night to Music"
Single by Starship
from the album No Protection
B-side"I Don't Know Why"
ReleasedFebruary 1988
GenreAdult contemporary
Length4:12
LabelRCA
Songwriter(s)Diane Warren
Producer(s)Peter Wolf
Starship singles chronology
"Beat Patrol"
(1987) 		"Set the Night to Music"
(1988) 		"Wild Again"
(1988)
"Set the Night to Music"
Single by Roberta Flack
from the album Set the Night to Music
B-side"Natural Thing"
ReleasedSeptember 1991
GenreSoul, adult contemporary
Length4:39
LabelAtlantic
Songwriter(s)Diane Warren
Producer(s)Arif Mardin
Roberta Flack singles chronology
"Shock to My System"
(1989) 		"Set the Night to Music"
(1991) 		"You Make Me Feel Brand New"
(1992)

Cash Box said of the Starship version that "punctuated by lush strings and acoustic guitars, it's as warm and appealing a ballad as they have ever put on record."[3]

Roberta Flack cover

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Roberta Flack covered "Set the Night to Music" as a duet with Maxi Priest. The song is the title track to Flack's album Set the Night to Music (1991).

Flack's rendition reached number six on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and number nine in Canada.[4] The song was a bigger Adult Contemporary hit, reaching number two in the U.S. and number one in Canada.[5]

Personnel

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  • Roberta Flack – lead vocals
  • Robbie Kondor – keyboards, programming, arrangements
  • Sammy Merendino – drum programming
  • Errol "Crusher" Bennett – percussion
  • Arif Mardin – string arrangements and conductor
  • Gene Orloff – concertmaster
  • Jerry Barnes – backing vocals
  • Katreese Barnes – backing vocals
  • Maxi Priest – lead vocals

Charts

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Weekly charts

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Starship
Chart (1988) Peak
position
Canada RPM Top Singles[6] 92
US Billboard Adult Contemporary[7] 9

References

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  1. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 120.
  2. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. April 23, 1988. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
  3. ^ "Single Releases" (PDF). Cash Box. February 20, 1988. p. 8. Retrieved 2022-12-21.
  4. ^ RPM Top Singles, November 23, 1991
  5. ^ RPM Adult Contemporary, December 7, 1991
  6. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. April 23, 1988. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
  7. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 120.
  8. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (pdf ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  9. ^ RPM Top Singles, November 23, 1991
  10. ^ RPM Adult Contemporary, December 7, 1991
  11. ^ "Roberta Flack Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
  12. ^ "Roberta Flack Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
  13. ^ "Roberta Flack Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
  14. ^ RPM 100 Hit Tracks of 1991 Archived December 8, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
  15. ^ "Image : RPM Weekly". Library and Archives Canada. 17 July 2013.
  16. ^ "1992 The Year in Music" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 104, no. 52. December 26, 1992. p. YE-38. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
  17. ^ Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 1992[permanent dead link‍]
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