"In the Still of the Night" is a song by Cole Porter, who wrote both the music and the lyrics. It was written for the MGM film Rosalie (1937), in which Nelson Eddy sang it, and was published the same year by Chappell & Co. Eddy reportedly found the song hard to sing and asked for a replacement, but Porter appealed to producer Louis B. Mayer, who kept it for its emotional impact.
The original recording was made by Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra, with a vocal refrain by Jack Leonard, on 8 September 1937 and released in October of that year. It charted at No. 3. Later that year Leo Reisman, with vocalist Lee Sullivan, charted at No. 9 with the song. Ella Fitzgerald recorded it on an LP of Porter standards, and the male ensemble Chanticleer's version was nominated for arranging at the 39th Grammy Awards. The song is described as a popular orchestral jazz standard.
