Last Night (Mar-Keys song)
Encyclopedia
"Last Night" is an instrumental
recorded by The Mar-Keys
. It reached #3 on the US charts in 1961 and appeared on the first LP
recorded by the Stax
label.
Written by Charles Axton
, Floyd Newman, Gilbert C. Caple, Jerry Lee Smith, and Chips Moman
. The tune was covered by Georgie Fame
on his 1966 Sweet Things album. It was also memorably cover
ed by the jazz
ensemble The Bum Notes
for the closing credits of BBC
sitcom Bottom
in the early 1990s, and was used as the backing music to "viaduct", a game played on the Chris Moyles
radio show.
According to Steve Cropper, in an interview with Paul Nassari of the Sunday Mail newspaper (Adelaide, Australia), "Jerry Lee ‘Smoochy’ Smith came up with the piano riff that was played on organ. Since [producer Chips] Moman didn’t want a guitar on it for whatever reason, I wound up playing the hold-down on the organ on the root note.
“It hurts me in the Mar-Keys history when people say I wasn’t in the Mar-Keys because there’s no guitar on Last Night but I have to differ with them."
) as the play-by-play announcer would give a preview to the game featured.
It featured in the 1988 Keanu Reeves
film The Night Before
.
In the early 1990s a cover version by Adrian Edmondson
's band The Bum Notes
was used for the closing credits of the BBC
sitcom Bottom
, which starred Edmondson and Rik Mayall
.
It also appeared in the 1998 film Blues Brothers 2000
, re-recorded by the Blues Brothers Band and during the closing credits of 2007 film Rush Hour 3
.
Instrumental
An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
recorded by The Mar-Keys
The Mar-Keys
The Mar-Keys, formed in 1958, were an American studio session band for the Stax label from Memphis, Tennessee, in the 1960s. As the first house band for the label, their backing music formed the foundation for the early 1960s Stax sound.-Career:...
. It reached #3 on the US charts in 1961 and appeared on the first LP
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
recorded by the Stax
Stax
Stax can refer to:* StAX, Streaming API for XML. An API for reading and writing XML in Java.* Stax Earspeakers, a Japanese brand of electrostatic earspeakers* Stax Records, an American record company...
label.
Written by Charles Axton
Packy Axton
Charles "Packy" Axton was an American rhythm and blues tenor saxophone player and bandleader, who was a member of The Mar-Keys and later The Packers....
, Floyd Newman, Gilbert C. Caple, Jerry Lee Smith, and Chips Moman
Chips Moman
Lincoln Wayne "Chips" Moman is an American record producer, guitarist, and songwriter. As a record producer, Moman is known for recording Elvis Presley, Bobby Womack, Carla Thomas, and Merrilee Rush, as well as guiding the career of the Box Tops in Memphis, Tennessee during the 1960s...
. The tune was covered by Georgie Fame
Georgie Fame
Georgie Fame is a British rhythm and blues and jazz singer and keyboard player. The one-time rock and roll tour musician, who had a string of 1960s hits, is still a popular performer, often working with contemporaries such as Van Morrison and Bill Wyman.-Early life:Fame took piano lessons from the...
on his 1966 Sweet Things album. It was also memorably cover
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
ed by the jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
ensemble The Bum Notes
The Bum Notes
The Bum Notes are/were a jazz ensemble featuring British actor Adrian Edmondson. Their music was used in the BBC sitcom Bottom, which was co-written and starred Edmondson along with co-star Rik Mayall. The memorable end-credit sequence, featuring silhouettes of Edmondson and Mayall fighting and...
for the closing credits of BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
sitcom Bottom
Bottom (TV series)
Bottom was a British sitcom television series that originally aired on BBC2 between 1991 and 1995. It was written by comic duo Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson who star as Richie and Eddie, two flatmates living on the dole in Hammersmith, London...
in the early 1990s, and was used as the backing music to "viaduct", a game played on the Chris Moyles
Chris Moyles
Christopher David Moyles is an English radio and television presenter and author, who currently presents The Chris Moyles Show on BBC Radio 1 and Chris Moyles' Quiz Night on Channel 4....
radio show.
According to Steve Cropper, in an interview with Paul Nassari of the Sunday Mail newspaper (Adelaide, Australia), "Jerry Lee ‘Smoochy’ Smith came up with the piano riff that was played on organ. Since [producer Chips] Moman didn’t want a guitar on it for whatever reason, I wound up playing the hold-down on the organ on the root note.
“It hurts me in the Mar-Keys history when people say I wasn’t in the Mar-Keys because there’s no guitar on Last Night but I have to differ with them."
Usage in films and television programs
This music was used during telecasts of the NBA on CBS in the '70s (roughly around 1975-761975-76 NBA season
The 1975–76 NBA season was the 30th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Boston Celtics winning the NBA Championship, beating the Phoenix Suns 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals.-Notable occurrences:...
) as the play-by-play announcer would give a preview to the game featured.
It featured in the 1988 Keanu Reeves
Keanu Reeves
Keanu Charles Reeves is a Canadian actor. Reeves is perhaps best known for his roles in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Speed, Point Break and the science fiction-action trilogy The Matrix...
film The Night Before
The Night Before (film)
The Night Before is a 1988 film starring Keanu Reeves and Lori Loughlin. Reeves plays Winston Connelly, the so-called high school nerd and vice president of the Astronomy club. Loughlin plays Tara Mitchell, the pretty and popular head cheerleader who also happens to be the local police chief's...
.
In the early 1990s a cover version by Adrian Edmondson
Adrian Edmondson
Adrian Charles "Ade" Edmondson is an English comedian. He is probably best known for his comedic roles in the television series The Young Ones and Bottom , for which he also wrote together with his long-time collaboration partner Rik Mayall.-Early life:Edmondson, the second of four children, was...
's band The Bum Notes
The Bum Notes
The Bum Notes are/were a jazz ensemble featuring British actor Adrian Edmondson. Their music was used in the BBC sitcom Bottom, which was co-written and starred Edmondson along with co-star Rik Mayall. The memorable end-credit sequence, featuring silhouettes of Edmondson and Mayall fighting and...
was used for the closing credits of the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
sitcom Bottom
Bottom (TV series)
Bottom was a British sitcom television series that originally aired on BBC2 between 1991 and 1995. It was written by comic duo Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson who star as Richie and Eddie, two flatmates living on the dole in Hammersmith, London...
, which starred Edmondson and Rik Mayall
Rik Mayall
Richard Michael "Rik" Mayall is an English comedian, writer, and actor. He is known for his comedy partnership with Ade Edmondson, his over-the-top, energetic portrayal of characters, and as a pioneer of alternative comedy in the early 1980s...
.
It also appeared in the 1998 film Blues Brothers 2000
Blues Brothers 2000
Blues Brothers 2000 is a 1998 American musical comedy film that is a sequel to the 1980 film The Blues Brothers. Directed by John Landis, the film featured Dan Aykroyd and John Goodman, with cameos by many musicians.-Plot:...
, re-recorded by the Blues Brothers Band and during the closing credits of 2007 film Rush Hour 3
Rush Hour 3
Rush Hour 3 is a 2007 martial arts/action-comedy film, and the third installment in the Rush Hour film series, starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker, that began with the 1998 film Rush Hour and continued with the first sequel Rush Hour 2 in 2001. The film was officially announced on May 7, 2006,...
.