"Endless Night" is a song written by rock musician

Graham Parker Graham Thomas Parker (born 18 November 1950) is an English singer-songwriter, who is best known as the lead singer of the British band Graham Parker & the Rumour. Life and career Early career (1960s–1976) Parker was born in Hackney, East L ...

and performed by Graham Parker and

the Rumour The Rumour were an English prog rock new wave rock band active in the late 1970s and early 1980s. They are best known as the backup band for Graham Parker, whose early records (from 1976 to 1980) were credited to Graham Parker & the Rumour. ...

for their 1980 studio album ''

The Up Escalator ''The Up Escalator'' is an album by Graham Parker and the Rumour, released on 23 May 1980 by Stiff Records as LP (SEEZ 23) and as cassette (ZSEEZ 23). In the USA, the album was released by Arista. Released after Parker's successful 1979 album ' ...

''. Originally written for the 1980 film '' Cruising'', "Endless Night" features lyrics about aging in rock 'n' roll. The song notably featured backing vocals from musician and Parker fan

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...

. "Endless Night" was released as a single in Germany and Australia. It has since seen praise from critics, who name it a highlight of ''The Up Escalator''.

Background and lyrics

"Endless Night" was one of two songs originally written by Parker for ''

Squeezing Out Sparks ''Squeezing Out Sparks'' is the fourth studio album by English singer-songwriter Graham Parker and his band the Rumour. The album was released in March 1979. Although the Rumour were not credited on the cover, their name was included on the album ...

'' producer

Jack Nitzsche Bernard Alfred "Jack" Nitzsche ( '; April 22, 1937 – August 25, 2000) was an American musician, arranger, songwriter, composer, and record producer. He came to prominence in the early 1960s as the right-hand-man of producer Phil Spector, a ...

to use in the soundtrack for the 1980 movie '' Cruising'', alongside "Devil's Sidewalk". Ultimately, legal issues prevented Nitzsche from using the songs and both songs were instead included on ''The Up Escalator''. Parker said, "I kept playing those songs and I kept thinking they were alright you know. So I'm glad I got them back." Lyrically, "Endless Night" tackles the effects of aging in the rock music industry.

Geoffrey Himes Geoffrey Himes is an American music critic who has written weekly for ''the Washington Post'' since 1977. He also wrote for '' No Depression'' as a contributing editor in its first print era in the late 1990s to the early 2000s and has written for ...

of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' noted that the song "sums up the dilemma of aging rock-'n'-roll radicals" and grapples "with the problem of how to preserve the passion of rock 'n' roll youth in the face of eroding age and corroding society" in lyrics such as "''I had the energy but outgrew it/ The identity but saw through it/ I had the walk but got trampled/ Had the taste; it was sampled/ lf only I could find the switch/ That turns on the endless night.''" Parker later said of aging in rock,

Recording

"Endless Night" features a guest appearance from

. Springsteen had been a fan of Parker, once naming him the only performer that he would pay to see. Producer

Jimmy Iovine James Iovine ( ; born March 11, 1953) is an American entrepreneur, former Music executive, record executive, and media proprietor. He is the co-founder of Interscope Records and became chairman and CEO of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Interscop ...

invited Springsteen to visit the studio during the recording of ''

'' and Iovine suggested that Springsteen contribute backing vocals. On his website, Parker described Springsteen as "courteous and hard working" during the recording. Parker recalled, "Yeah, he just came in once and heard stuff, and he was really enthusiastic. He's a major fan of some of my early stuff and Jimmy

ovine Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to dom ...

just said, 'We should get him for backing vocals,' and I said, 'Fine, yeah, great' and that was it, pretty simple, really." Springsteen also provided vocals on "Paralyzed". Parker later spoke positively of Springsteen's music, explaining in a 2019 interview, "When I first heard ''

Born to Run ''Born to Run'' is the third studio album by the American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released on August 25, 1975, by Columbia Records. Co- produced by Springsteen with his manager Mike Appel and the producer Jon Landau, its recordin ...

'' I had just got a record deal and I thought those ads might have a point about finding the future of rock. It sounded like

the Ronettes The Ronettes were an American girl group from Washington Heights, Manhattan, New York City. The group consisted of the lead singer Veronica Bennett (later known as Ronnie Spector), her older sister Estelle Bennett, and their cousin Nedra Ta ...

with a giant rock'n'roll band, recorded in the underground subways of New York City. I thought it was unbeatable, a stone-cold classic. My music is much gnarlier; not popular like his." Parker has yet to perform with Springsteen live.

Release and reception

"Endless Night" was first released as the first song on the second side of ''The Up Escalator'' in May 1980. In the United States, the song was released as the B-side to "No Holding Back", the album's second single. While it was not released in the UK or US, "Endless Night" was released as a single in Germany and Australia, though it did not chart in either country. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

s Debra Rae Cohen said that the song's "sloppiness" and "haphazardness — and the just-singing-along irrelevance of Springsteen's harmonies — give the song a heady vulgarity and spontaneous exuberance that the rest of 'The Up Escalator''totally lacks." Himes praised how "lyrics burst out of Parker's throat like the punches of a street fighter" on the track and lauded the performance of the Rumour, writing that the band "propels the song with a kick worthy of

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

". Mark Deming of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

named the song as an example of "A-list material" on ''The Up Escalator'' and described it as "passionate".

References

{{authority control 1980 singles 1980 songs Graham Parker songs Stiff Records singles Arista Records singles