View source for Strangers in the Night

{{Short description|1966 song by Bert Kaempfert}}
{{About|the song}}
{{Infobox song
| name          = Strangers in the Night
| cover         = Strangers_In_the_Night_-_Frank_Sinatra.jpg
| alt           = 
| type          = single
| artist        = [[Frank Sinatra]]
| album         = [[Strangers in the Night (Frank Sinatra album)|Strangers in the Night]]
| B-side        = Oh, You Crazy Moon
| released      = {{Start date|1966|04|12}}
| recorded      = {{Start date|1966|04|11}}
| studio        = [[United Western Recorders]]
| venue         = 
| genre         = [[Traditional pop]]
| length        = {{Duration|m=02|s=35}}
| label         = [[Reprise Records|Reprise]]<ref name="500 Number One Hits"/>
| composer      = [[Bert Kaempfert]]
| lyricist      =
* [[Charles Singleton (songwriter)|Charles Singleton]]
* [[Eddie Snyder]]<ref name="500 Number One Hits">
{{cite book
| first= Jo
| last= Rice
| year= 1982
| title= The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits
| edition= 1st
| publisher= Guinness Superlatives Ltd 
| location= Enfield, Middlesex
| page= 101
| isbn= 0-85112-250-7}}</ref>
| producer      = [[Jimmy Bowen]]<ref name="500 Number One Hits"/>
| prev_title    = [[It Was a Very Good Year]]
| prev_year     = 1965
| next_title    = [[Summer Wind#Frank Sinatra version|Summer Wind]]
| next_year     = 1966
| misc          = {{Audio sample
 | type = single
 | file = Frank sinatra strangers in the night.ogg
}}
}}

"'''Strangers in the Night'''" is a song composed by [[Bert Kaempfert]] with English lyrics by [[Charles Singleton (songwriter)|Charles Singleton]] and [[Eddie Snyder]].<ref name="500 Number One Hits"/> Kaempfert originally used it under the title "'''Beddy Bye'''" as part of the instrumental score for the movie ''[[A Man Could Get Killed]].''<ref name="500 Number One Hits"/> The song was made famous in 1966 by [[Frank Sinatra]].<ref name=telegraph>{{cite news|title=Eddie Snyder obituary |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/music-obituaries/8419821/Eddie-Snyder.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/music-obituaries/8419821/Eddie-Snyder.html |archive-date=January 12, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |date=March 31, 2011 |access-date=April 2, 2011}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name=pc22/>

Sinatra's recording of the song reached No. 1 on both the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] chart and the [[Adult Contemporary (chart)|Easy Listening]] chart,<ref>[[Joel Whitburn|Whitburn, Joel]] (1996). ''The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits'', 6th Edition (Billboard Publications)</ref> and it was also simultaneously a No. 1 on the [[UK Singles Chart]].<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums">{{cite book
| first= David
| last= Roberts
| year= 2006
| title= [[British Hit Singles & Albums]]
| edition= 19th
| publisher= Guinness World Records Limited 
| location= London
| isbn= 1-904994-10-5
| pages= 191–2}}</ref> The success of the song led to the release of the album ''[[Strangers in the Night (Frank Sinatra album)|Strangers in the Night]]'' which included the title song.  This release became Sinatra's most commercially successful album.

Sinatra's recording won him the [[Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance]] and the [[Grammy Award for Record of the Year]], as well as a [[Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s)|Grammy Award for Best Arrangement Accompanying a Vocalist or Instrumentalist]] for [[Ernie Freeman]] at the [[Grammy Awards of 1967]].<ref name=hyatt />

==Origin ==
The song was originally an instrumental theme tune from the soundtrack of the film ''[[A Man Could Get Killed]]'' written by German composer [[Bert Kaempfert]]. Part of the melody could be heard in the orchestral title song of the film as well as the end credits.  Music publisher Hal Fine played some tracks from the film to Frank Sinatra's producer [[Jimmy Bowen]], and Bowen indicated that Sinatra would record the theme tune titled "Beddy Bye" if lyrics were written for the song, and that the title needed to be changed.<ref name=leigh>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BBm6CgAAQBAJ&pg=PT508 |title= Frank Sinatra: An Extraordinary Life|first= Spencer |last=Leigh |date= 2015 |isbn=9780857160881 |publisher=McNidder and Grace Limited}}</ref><ref name=bronson>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RVFLAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA202 |title=The Billboard Book of Number One Hits |first= Fred |last=Bronson |date= 1997|isbn=9780823076413 |publisher=Billboard Books|page=202}}</ref>

The writing of the lyrics, however, took a few months.<ref name=bronson /> Two sets of lyrics were produced but both were rejected. Lyrics were then added by [[Charles Singleton (songwriter)|Charles Singleton]] and [[Eddie Snyder]], which were accepted.<ref name=hyatt /> To write the lyrics, Singleton and Snyder took cue from the film where the principal actors [[James Garner]] and [[Melina Mercouri]] exchanged glances at a bar and became lovers by the end of the film.<ref name=leigh /> Snyder suggested that he also had a hand in writing the music, and that he, Singleton and Kaempfert spent two weeks perfecting the song.<ref name=telegraph /> The song was said originally to have been intended for [[Melina Mercouri]], who thought that a man's vocals would better suit the melody and therefore declined to sing it.{{Citation needed|date=November 2023}}

==Contested authorship==
A number of people have claimed authorship of the song.

In an interview with ''[[The New York Times]]'', [[Avo Uvezian]] discussed the origins of "Strangers in the Night", saying that he had composed the melody while he was in New York. He was introduced to Frank Sinatra via a mutual friend, and he presented to Sinatra the tune he composed titled "Broken Guitar" with lyrics written by someone else. Sinatra liked the tune but did not like the lyrics, and asked that they be rewritten. Studio songwriters were engaged to produce new lyrics, but Sinatra was said to hate the new lyrics, and announced: "I don't want to sing this." However, he was later persuaded to record the song as "Strangers in the Night".<ref name="nyt">{{cite news |last1=Wilson |first1=Michael |title=A Manhattan Theft Rooted in a Tale of Songwriting, Sinatra and Cigars |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/28/nyregion/a-manhattan-theft-rooted-in-a-tale-of-songwriting-sinatra-and-cigars.html |access-date=January 27, 2022 |work=The New York Times |date=December 7, 2015|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Uvezian said that Kaempfert was a friend of his, and before he had shown Sinatra the song, he had sent it to Kaempfert for publication in Germany. The melody was used in the film ''A Man Could Get Killed'', but with Kaempfert credited as the sole composer. Uvezian said that he was acknowledged by Kaempfert to be the composer of the song multiple times, including in a written letter.<ref name="nyt" />

The Croatian singer [[Ivo Robić]] is also said to be the original author of "Strangers in the Night", which he sold to Kaempfert.<ref name=telegraph /> In an interview on Croatian TV with Croatian composer Stjepan Mihaljinec, Robić said that he had composed a song "Ta ljetna noć" (''That Summer Night'') as an entry to the [[Split Festival]] in the former [[SFR Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]], where it was rejected. He sang a first few [[bar (music)|bars]] from that song that were identical to "Strangers in the Night".<ref name="robicaddmiting">{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUdPra9NGwo|title=Ivo Robic confirms authorship of Strangers in the night /Ivo Robić je autor pjesme Stranci u noći|publisher=[[Hrvatska radiotelevizija|Croatian_Radiotelevision]]|time=October 1, 1982}}</ref> Robić then sold the rights of this song to Kaempfert, who used it in the film.<ref name=telegraph /> Kaempfert later gave the German version of the song, "Fremde in der Nacht", for Robić to record.<ref name="robicaddmiting" /> Robić is not credited as a songwriter in his 1966 German recording of the song,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.offiziellecharts.de/titel-details-46619 |title=Ivo Robić: Fremde In Der Nacht|work=Offizielle Deutsche Charts }}</ref> nor his [[Croatian language|Croatian]] version titled "Stranci u noći" released the same year by the Yugoslav record company [[Jugoton]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.discogs.com/release/14326129-Ivo-Robi%C4%87-Stranci-U-No%C4%87i |title=Ivo Robić – Stranci U Noći |work=Discogs|date=1966 }}</ref>

In 1967, French composer Michel Philippe-Gérard (more commonly known as Philippe-Gérard) claimed that the melody of "Strangers" was based on his composition "Magic Tango", which was published in 1953 through [[Chappell & Co.]] in New York.<ref>{{cite news |title=Court Told Music Hit Plagiarized: French Composer Asks $400,000 For Sinatra Record |newspaper=Toledo Blade |date=December 7, 1968 |page=4}}</ref> Royalties from the song were thus frozen<ref name="billboard april 1967">{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oCIEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA52 |title=Charge Is Holding Up 'Strangers' Royalties |magazine=Billboard |date=April 15, 1967 |page=52}}</ref> until a court in Paris ruled in 1971 that there was no plagiarism, stating that many songs were based on "similar constant factors".<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3wgEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA50|title=Writer Loses 'Strangers' Case |magazine=Billboard |date=April 17, 1971 |page=50}}</ref>

==Recording and release==
A number of artists recorded the song before [[Frank Sinatra]], including [[Bobby Darin]] who recorded the song on March 23, 1966, [[Jack Jones (American singer)|Jack Jones]] on April 8, as well as [[Al Martino]].<ref name=leigh /><ref name=hyatt>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8ZxHAAAAMAAJ |title=The Billboard Book of Number One Adult Contemporary Hits|first= Wesley|last= Hyatt |pages=41, 44 |date= 1999|isbn=0823076938 |publisher=Billboard Books}}</ref> Bowen, Sinatra's producer, however, was unaware that Fine had given the song for others to record, and was surprised when he came across Jones who informed him that he would be recording the song and that it would be released within days.<ref name=hyatt /> Bowen quickly contacted [[Ernie Freeman]] to come up with an arrangement for Frank Sinatra to record "Strangers in the Night" to beat Jones to the song's release.<ref name=bronson />

Bowen already had booked a session at the [[United Western Recorders]] on [[Sunset Boulevard]] with a 35-piece orchestra for 7&ndash;10 pm, on April 11, 1966. The studio session was originally intended for [[Dean Martin]] to record songs for an album including "[[(Open Up the Door) Let the Good Times In|Let the Good Times In]]", and Bowen asked Martin to come in an hour later as Martin tended to record quickly.<ref name=leigh />  [[Hal Blaine]] was the drummer at the recording;<ref>Hartman, Kent, ''The Wrecking Crew: The Inside Story of Rock and Roll’s Best-Kept Secret'', Thomas Dunne Books, St. Martin’s Press, New York, 2012, pp.133-134</ref> according to Blaine, he reused the drum beat from "[[Be My Baby]]" by [[the Ronettes]] in a slower and softer arrangement.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mattingly |first1=Rick |title=Hal Blaine |url=https://www.pas.org/about/hall-of-fame/hal-blaine |website=www.pas.org |publisher=Percussive Arts Society |access-date=March 25, 2021}}</ref> Also present among the musicians was [[Glen Campbell]], who was brought in the last minute to play rhythm guitar in his first session with Sinatra. As Campbell could not read sheet music, he spent the first take listening to the melody instead of playing, which prompted Sinatra to yell out at him if he was sleeping.<ref name=leigh />

One of the most memorable and recognizable features of the record is Sinatra's [[Scat singing|scat improvisation]] of the melody (on take two) with the syllables "doo-be-doo-be-doo" as the song fades to the end.<ref name=pc22>{{Gilliland |url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc19775/m1/ |title=Show 22 - Smack Dab in the Middle on Route 66: A skinny dip in the easy listening mainstream. [Part 1] |show=22 |track=3}}</ref> For the CD ''[[Nothing but the Best (album)|Nothing but the Best]],'' the song was remastered and the running time is 2:45 instead of the usual 2:35. The extra ten seconds is just a continuation of Sinatra's scat singing.

The song features a half-tone key change around 2/3 of the way into song, which created a problem when Sinatra could not adjust to the key change. According to Bowen, he resolved the issue by asking Sinatra to sing until the just before the key change, stopped, then gave him a bell tone so he could sing the next section in the new key.<ref name=hyatt />

Sinatra arrived at 8 pm and the recording was completed by 9 pm.<ref name=bronson /> Bowen then spent the night splicing the two parts of the recording together, before mixing and mastering the tape. The following day, couriers with the recording by Sinatra in [[Acetate disc|acetate]] that gave the highest quality sound flew out by plane and delivered the record to radio stations in all top 50 markets to play before Jones' recording arrived.<ref name=hyatt /><ref name=friedwald>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DNM2DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT775 |title= Sinatra! The Song Is You: A Singer's Art|first1= Will |last1=Friedwald|first2= Tony|last2= Bennett |date= May 2018|isbn=9781613737736 |publisher=Chicago Review Press}}</ref>

Due to the rush-release of Sinatra's record, Jones' version failed to chart. Jones' recording became instead the B-side to "[[The Impossible Dream (The Quest)|The Impossible Dream]]", which followed Sinatra's "Strangers in the Night" as No. 1 on the Easy Listening (AC) chart.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8ZxHAAAAMAAJ |title=The Billboard Book of Number One Adult Contemporary Hits|first= Wesley|last= Hyatt |page=45 |date= 1999|isbn=0823076938 |publisher=Billboard Books}}</ref> Darin's recording was never released, while Martino was out of the country and could not promote the song when Sinatra's version was released.<ref name=hyatt />

==Reception==
The song first entered [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] on chart dated May 7, 1966,<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_igEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA20 |title=Hot 100 |magazine=Billboard |date=May 7, 1966 |page=20}}</ref><ref>Billboard, {{start date and age|1966|4|23}}, p. 18</ref> reaching No. 1 on July 2, 1966, in the US. It also reached the top of the  [[Adult Contemporary (chart)|Easy Listening]] chart, where it was No. 1 for seven weeks. It also reached No. 1 in seven other countries, including the UK for three weeks.<ref name=hyatt />

The single sold 60,000 copies in Brazil,<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/60s/1966/CB-1966-10-08.pdf|title=International - Brazil|magazine=[[Cash Box]]|via=World Radio History|page=58|date=October 8, 1966|accessdate=August 7, 2021}}</ref> 600,000 copies in France,<ref name="millionsellingbook">{{cite book|title=Million selling records from the 1900s to the 1980s : an illustrated directory|url=https://openlibrary.org/works/OL120558W/Million_selling_records_from_the_1900s_to_the_1980s|first=Joseph|last=Murrells|year=1985|publisher=Arco Pub.|quote=Combined U.S./British sales were over a million ... France (over 600,000 sold)|isbn=0668064595|page=231}}</ref> combined it sold a million copies in United States and United Kingdom<ref name="millionsellingbook"/> and over 2 million worldwide.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/60s/1966/Billboard%201966-11-26.pdf|title=Frank, Fisher: A Win Parley at Las Vegas|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|author=Don Gigilio|via=World Radio History|page=28|date=November 26, 1966|accessdate=August 7, 2021}}</ref>

"Strangers in the Night" was Sinatra's first number one on the Hot 100 in 11 years and it remained on the charts for 15 weeks. Sinatra, however, despised the song, calling it at one time "a piece of shit" and "the worst fucking song that I have ever heard."<ref>Summers, Anthony; Swan, Robbyn. ''Sinatra: The Life.'' Random House Digital, Inc., New York, 2006, [https://books.google.com/books?id=-dAKzGzfeOgC&q=%22Irving+Weiss%22  p. 334.]</ref> Joe Smith, then head of [[Reprise Records]], said "[Sinatra] thought it was about two fags in a bar!" <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2015/10/frank-sinatra-the-chairman-excerpt| title=Frank Sinatra's "I've Got You Under My Skin": The Full Story| publisher =Vanity Fair| date =October 22, 2015|access-date =August 26, 2023|quote="Besides the title song, which was a massive hit (though Frank hated it—"He thought it was about two fags in a bar!" said Joe Smith, the head of Warner-Reprise)..."}}</ref> Dean Martin had teased Sinatra when the song was being released, saying that he turned down the song because "it's about two faggots".<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BBm6CgAAQBAJ&pg=PT511 |title= Frank Sinatra: An Extraordinary Life|first= Spencer |last=Leigh |date= 2015 |isbn=9780857160881 |publisher=McNidder and Grace Limited}}</ref> In concert, Sinatra had on many occasions sung the lines "Love was just a glance away, a warm embracing dance away" as "a lonesome pair of pants away".<ref name=friedwald />

The song received the [[Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance]] and the [[Grammy Award for Record of the Year]], as well as a [[Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s)|Grammy Award for Best Arrangement Accompanying a Vocalist or Instrumentalist]] for [[Ernie Freeman]] at the [[Grammy Awards of 1967]].<ref name=hyatt /> It also received the award for [[Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song|best original song]] at the [[24th Golden Globe Awards]].<ref name=telegraph />

In 2008, "Strangers in the Night" was inducted into the [[Grammy Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.grammy.com/awards/hall-of-fame-award#s|title=GRAMMY Hall Of Fame &#124; Hall of Fame Artists &#124; GRAMMY.com|website=grammy.com}}</ref>

==Charts==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}

===Weekly chart===
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! scope="col"| Charts (1966)
! scope="col"| Peak<br />position
|-
! scope="row" | Argentinian Singles Chart<ref name="hitsoftheworld">{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8CgEAAAAMBAJ&dq=frank+sinatra+strangers+on+the+night+copies+sold+billboard&pg=PA43-IA15|title=Hits of the World|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|via=Google Books|page=42|date=October 15, 1966|accessdate=August 7, 2021}}</ref>
|1
|-
! scope="row" | Australian Singles Chart<ref name="hitsoftheworld4">{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EREEAAAAMBAJ&dq=frank+sinatra+strangers+on+the+night+sweden+billboard&pg=PA57|title=Hits of the World|magazine=Billboard|publisher=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|via=Google Books|page=57|date=August 20, 1966|accessdate= August 7, 2021}}</ref>
|1
|-
{{single chart|Austria|1|artist=Frank Sinatra |song=Strangers in the Night|rowheader=true}}
|-
{{single chart|Flanders|1|artist=Frank Sinatra |song=Strangers in the Night|rowheader=true}}
|-
{{single chart|Wallonia|1|artist=Frank Sinatra |song=Strangers in the Night|rowheader=true}}
|-
! scope="row" | Brazilian Singles Chart<ref name="hitsoftheworld"/>
|1
|-
{{single chart|Canadatopsingles|3|artist=Frank Sinatra |chartid=5705|rowheader=true}}
|-
! scope="row" | Danish Singles Chart (DGGIF)<ref name="hitsoftheworld2">{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iiIEAAAAMBAJ&dq=frank+sinatra+strangers+on+the+night+copies+italy+billboard&pg=PA57|title=Hits of the World|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|via=Google Books|page=57|date=November 12, 1966|accessdate= August 7, 2021}}</ref>
|6
|-
! scope="row" | French Singles Chart<ref name="hitsoftheworld3">{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UQ8EAAAAMBAJ&dq=frank+sinatra+strangers+on+the+night+norway+billboard&pg=PA32|title=Hits of the World|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|via=Google Books|page=32|date=October 1, 1966|accessdate= August 7, 2021}}</ref>
|1
|-
! scope="row" | Greek Singles Chart<ref name="hitsoftheworld2"/>
|6
|-
! scope="row" | Hong Kong Singles Chart<ref name="hitsoftheworld4"/>
|5
|-
{{single chart|Ireland2|1|song=Strangers in the Night|rowheader=true}}
|-
! scope="row" | Israeli Singles Chart<ref name="hitsoftheworld4"/>
|3
|-
! scope="row" | Italian Singles Chart ([[Musica e Dischi]])<ref name="hitsoftheworld"/>
|1
|-
! scope="row" | Mexican Singles Chart (Audiomusica)<ref name="hitsoftheworld4"/>
|3
|-
{{single chart|Dutch40|2|artist=Frank Sinatra |song=Strangers in the Night|rowheader=true}}
|-
{{single chart|Norway|5|artist=Frank Sinatra |song=Strangers in the Night|rowheader=true}}
|-
! scope="row" | Philippines Singles Chart<ref name="hitsoftheworld3"/>
|1
|-
! scope="row" | Singapore Singles Chart<ref name="hitsoftheworld4"/>
|9
|-
! scope="row" |[[Productores de Música de España|Spanish Singles Chart]]<ref>{{cite book|last=Salaverri|first=Fernando|title=Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002|edition=1st|date=September 2005|publisher=Fundación Autor-SGAE|location=Spain|isbn=84-8048-639-2}}</ref>
|align="center"|1
|-
! scope="row" | Swiss Singles Chart<ref name="hitsoftheworld"/>
|1
|-
{{single chart|UKsinglesbyname|1|artist=Frank Sinatra|artistid= 15791|rowheader=true}}
|-
{{single chart|Billboardhot100|1|artist=Frank Sinatra|chartid=302382|rowheader=true}}
|-
{{single chart|Billboardadultcontemporary|1|artist=Frank Sinatra|rowheader=true}}
|-
{{single chart|West Germany |1|artist=Frank Sinatra |song=Strangers in the Night|songid=8633|rowheader=true}}
|-
|}
{{col-2}}

===Year-end charts===
{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
!Chart (1966)
!Rank
|-
!scope="row" | Australia (AMR)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.top100singles.net/2013/11/amr-top-singles-of-1966.html#show|title=Top 100 Singles: AMR Top Singles of 1966|website=Top 100 Singles}}</ref>
|align="center"| 11
|-
!scope="row"|Belgium ([[Ultratop|Ultratop 50]] Flanders)<ref>{{cite web|title= Jaaroverzichten 1966 |publisher= [[Ultratop]]. Hung Medien |access-date= July 15, 2014 |url= http://www.ultratop.be/nl/annual.asp?year=1966 |language= nl}}</ref>
|align="center"|1
|-
!scope="row" |Canada (''[[CHUM Chart|CHUM]]'') <ref>{{cite web|url=https://chumtribute.com/top66of66.jpg|title=Top 66 of 1966 |website=CHUM tribute}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|39
|-
!scope="row" |Canada (''RPM'') <ref>{{cite web|url=http://hitsofalldecades.com/chart_hits/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2811&Itemid=49|title=Top 216 Hits of 1966 |website=hitsofalldecades.com }}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|25
|-
!scope="row"|Netherlands ([[Dutch Top 40]])<ref>{{cite web|title= Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1966 |publisher= [[Dutch Top 40]] |access-date= July 15, 2014 |url= http://www.top40.nl/bijzondere-lijsten/top-100-jaaroverzichten/1966 |language= nl}}</ref>
|align="center"|3
|-
!scope="row"| Japan Foreign Hits (''Billboard'')<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mSkEAAAAMBAJ&pg=RA1-PA16|title=Foreign Hits In Japan 1960-1969|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|page=J-32|date=December 19, 1970}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|5
|-
!scope="row"|South Africa<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Top 20 Hit Singles of 1966|url=http://www.rock.co.za/files/sahits_1966.html|encyclopedia=The South African Rock Encyclopedia}}</ref>
|align="center"|3
|-
!scope="row"| UK Singles<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.uk-charts.co.uk/index.php/charts/1960-s/184-1966/236-top-100-1966|title=Top 100 1966 |website=UK-charts}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|2
|-
!scope="row"|US [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]]<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hSIEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA34|title=Top Records of 1966 |magazine=Billboard |date=December 24, 1966 |page=34}}</ref>
|8
|-
!scope="row"|US ''[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cashbox]]''<ref>{{cite web |url=https://tropicalglen.com/Archives/60s_files/1966YESP.html|title=The Cash Box Year-End Charts: 1966 |magazine=Cash Box |date=December 24, 1966 }}</ref>
|4
|-
|}
{{col-end}}

==Certifications==
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|artist=Frank Sinatra|title=Strangers in the Night|award=Silver|relyear=2005|certyear=2024|id=6317-823-1|access-date=February 2, 2024}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|streaming=true|noshipments=true}}

==Personnel==
According to the AFM contract sheet, the following musicians played on the track.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wreckingcrewfilm.com/afmcontracts/Sinatra,Frank_StrangersInTheNight.pdf |title=Strangers In The Night AFM Contract|publisher=[[American Federation of Musicians]] |website=The Wrecking Crew |accessdate=January 1, 2023}}</ref>

*[[Bill Miller (pianist)|Bill Miller]] and [[Michel Rubini]] - pianos
*[[Al Casey (rock guitarist)|Al Casey]], [[Bill Pitman]], [[Glen Campbell]] and [[Tommy Tedesco]] - guitars
*[[Chuck Berghofer]] - bass
*[[Hal Blaine]] - drums
*[[Emil Richards]] and Eddie Brackett Jr. - percussion
*Sid Sharp, Leonard Malarsky, William Kurasch, Ralph Schaeffer, [[Israel Baker]], Arnold Belnick, Jerome Reisler, Robert Sushel, John DeVoogt, Bernard Kundell, Tibor Zelig, Gerald Vinci, William Weiss, James Getzoff, [[Harry Bluestone]] and Victor Arno - violins
*Harry Hyams, Joseph DiFiore, Darrel Terwilliger and Alexander Neiman - violas
*Joseph Saxon, Jesse Ehrlich, Emmet Sargeant and Armand Kaproff - cellos
*[[Vincent DeRosa]], Henry Sigismonti, Gale Robinson and Richard Perissi - French horns
*[[Bill Green (musician)|Bill Green]] and Andreas Kostelas - flutes

==In popular culture==
{{trivia|section|date=March 2024}}

The name of cartoon dog character [[Scooby-Doo (character)|Scooby-Doo]] is derived from the scat in the song. [[CBS television]] executive [[Fred Silverman]] listened to the song in 1968 while on a [[red-eye flight]] to a development meeting for ''[[Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!]]'' and was inspired by the scat.<ref>{{cite news |title=Fred Silverman, TV executive came up with 'Scooby-Doo,' and championed 'All in the Family,' has died |url=https://www.latimes.com/obituaries/story/2020-01-30/fred-silverman-all-in-the-family-dead |work=Los Angeles Times |date=January 30, 2020}}</ref>

Sinatra's improvised scat at the end of the song became a meme in philosophy, thus: <br />
"To be is to do" — Socrates.<br />
"To do is to be" — Jean-Paul Sartre.<br />
"Do be do be do" — Frank Sinatra.<br />

[[Kurt Vonnegut]] quoted this as bathroom graffiti in his novel ''[[Deadeye Dick]]''. There are many variations.<ref>“To Be Is To Do” “To Do Is To Be” “Do Be Do Be Do”, Quote Investigator, September 16, 2013, online at https://quoteinvestigator.com/2013/09/16/do-be-do/</ref>

==Other versions==
Around 200 versions of the song had been released by 1967.<ref name="billboard april 1967" /> Kaempfert himself released an instrumental version soon after Sinatra's version was released, and it reached No. 8 on the AC chart.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SxIEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA20 |title=Billboard Top 40 Easy Listening |magazine=Billboard |date=July 15, 1967 |page=20}}</ref> [[Bette Midler]] released a version in 1976, which reached No. 45 on the AC chart.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/bette-midler/chart-history/asi/ |title= Bette Midler: Adult Contemporary |magazine=Billboard }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{MusicBrainz track|name=Strangers in the Night|id=246e0a67-621b-4193-a10a-2f6201ebb0c3}}

{{Frank Sinatra}}
{{Frank Sinatra singles}}
{{Connie Francis}}
{{Bette Midler singles}}{{Bert Kaempfert}}
{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for "Strangers in the Night"
|titlestyle = background: lightblue
|list1 =
{{Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song}}
{{Grammy Award for Record of the Year 1960s}}
{{Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance}}
}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strangers in the Night}}
[[Category:1966 songs]]
[[Category:1966 singles]]
[[Category:Songs with music by Bert Kaempfert]]
[[Category:Songs written by Eddie Snyder]]
[[Category:Songs written by Charles Singleton (songwriter)]]
[[Category:Frank Sinatra songs]]
[[Category:Connie Francis songs]]
[[Category:Bette Midler songs]]
[[Category:Andy Williams songs]]
[[Category:Santo & Johnny songs]]
[[Category:Connie Talbot songs]]
[[Category:Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles]]
[[Category:Cashbox number-one singles]]
[[Category:Film theme songs]]
[[Category:UK singles chart number-one singles]]
[[Category:Number-one singles in Germany]]
[[Category:Irish Singles Chart number-one singles]]
[[Category:Number-one singles in Italy]]
[[Category:Best Original Song Golden Globe–winning songs]]
[[Category:Grammy Award for Record of the Year]]
[[Category:Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance]]
[[Category:Grammy Award for Best Arrangement, Instrumental and Vocals]]
[[Category:1960s jazz standards]]
[[Category:Song recordings produced by Jimmy Bowen]]
[[Category:Reprise Records singles]]
[[Category:Canadian-American Records singles]]
[[Category:Songs involved in plagiarism controversies]]