(Last Night) I Didn't Get to Sleep at All

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"(Last Night) I Didn't Get to Sleep at All"
Single by The 5th Dimension
from the album Individually & Collectively
B-side"The River Witch"
ReleasedMarch 1972
GenrePop
Length3:10
LabelBell
Songwriter(s)Tony Macaulay
Producer(s)Bones Howe
The 5th Dimension singles chronology
"Together Let's Find Love"
(1971) 		"(Last Night) I Didn't Get to Sleep at All"
(1972) 		"If I Could Reach You"
(1972)

"(Last Night) I Didn't Get to Sleep at All" is a song written by Tony Macaulay and performed by The 5th Dimension with instrumental backing from L.A. session musicians from the Wrecking Crew.[1] The song appeared on the band's album Individually & Collectively,[2] produced by Bones Howe and arranged by Bill Holman.[3] The song was a top 10 hit for the group in the U.S., and their sixth and final platinum record.

Composition and recording[edit]

Tony Macaulay began work on the song while in Tokyo for the World Popular Song Festival of 1972. He met fellow attendees the Carpenters and was inspired to write a song emulating their hit "We've Only Just Begun" (Macaulay: "I liked the feel of that, the shuffle feel of it"). Macaulay recalls that due to changing time zones "I was awake all night and sleeping all day [in Tokyo]. So I just got up in the night and I wrote it". Although he was having sleepless nights in Tokyo, it was the melody rather than the lyrics that he wrote there. The lyrics were completed after Macaulay's return to London "in a taxi stuck in a traffic jam ... in about an hour going from one side of London to another".

Macaulay sent a demo of the song to the Carpenters. "They said they loved it and they'd do it. [Later] I got a phone call about 2 o'clock in the morning that woke me up (they hadn't figured out the time change between here and America). They said 'Oh, we can't record it because it mentions sleeping pills and they are drugs and we don't mention drugs.' So I got up in the middle of the night and rewrote the last verse without the sleeping pills." However, Macaulay was not happy with the change to the lyric, so when Bones Howe contacted him the next week, Macaulay pitched "(Last Night)..." for the 5th Dimension, who recorded it with the sleeping pill reference intact.[4]

The lead vocals on the 5th Dimension's recording are performed by Marilyn McCoo.

Chart performance[edit]

In the United States, the song reached No. 2 on the adult contemporary chart, No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and No. 28 on the Billboard R&B chart in 1972.[5] It became the group's sixth and final platinum record. In Canada, it spent a week at No. 6 on the RPM 100 in July 1972.

Other media[edit]

Canadian apocalyptic black comedy film Last Night takes its title from the song, which is also featured on the soundtrack. At one point during the film, the song is heard playing over the radio as part of a "Top 100 Songs" countdown prior to the destruction of the world.

Certifications[edit]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[11] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Other versions[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Hartman, Kent (2012). The Wrecking Crew. St. Martin’s Griffin. pp. 261–263. ISBN 978-1-250-03046-7.
  2. ^ "The 5th Dimension - Individually & Collectively". Discogs.com. 18 May 1972. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  3. ^ "The 5th Dimension - (Last Night) I Didn't Get To Sleep At All / The River Witch". Discogs.com. 18 May 1972. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  4. ^ "Gary James' Interview With Songwriter Tony Macaulay". ClassicBands.com. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  5. ^ a b c "(Last Night) I Didn't Get to Sleep at All (song by The 5th Dimension) • Music VF, US & UK hits charts". Musicvf.com. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  6. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1972-07-01. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
  7. ^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  8. ^ "Contact Support". Cashboxmagazine.com. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  9. ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1972/Top 100 Songs of 1972 | Music Outfitters". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  10. ^ "Cash Box YE Pop Singles - 1972". Tropicalglen.com. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  11. ^ "American single certifications – Fifth Dimension – Last Night I Didn't Get to Sleep at All". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  12. ^ Vikki Carr, The First Time Ever (I Saw Your Face), AllMusic, Retrieved December 23, 2013
  13. ^ Johnny Mathis, The First Time Ever (I Saw Your Face), AllMusic, Retrieved December 23, 2013
  14. ^ The Reels, Beautiful, ;Discogs.com, Retrieved December 23, 2013
  15. ^ Guys 'n' Dolls, Singles, AllMusic, Retrieved December 23, 2013
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