In 1978, Donna Summer’s “Last Dance” marked the end of the night in discos across the United States. But back in the 1950s, there was a song that delivered that unmistakable message at every school dance or basement party. When the needle hit the vinyl of “Goodnite Sweetheart, Goodnite,” you knew the night was over. The Spaniels’ 1954 hit was written by lead vocalist Thornton James “Pookie” Hudson, a pioneer of doo wop music.
Doo wop was born in the early 1950s, when teenagers gathered to harmonize on city street corners in the United States. His a cappella the singing incorporated nonsense words to imitate musical instruments. The Spaniels, a group of high school students in Gary, Indiana, were among the first to use the doo-doo-doo riff in their songs. Pookie Hudson has been called the first true leader of a doo wop group, as he performed his solos into his own microphone, apart from the rest of the group.
First formed as Pookie Hudson and the Hudsonaires, the group included Gerald “Bounce” Gregory (bass), Opal Courtney (baritone), and tenors Ernest Warren and Willie Jackson. Hudson said the inspiration to change his name came from Gregory’s wife. Pookie said that when asked what he thought of the group, his response was that “they sounded like a bunch of dogs. So that’s how we ended up becoming the Spaniels.”
The Spaniels were the first group to sign with Vee-Jay Records, the first major black-owned label. Hudson said the lyrics came to him one night on a date because his girlfriend’s mother always told him, “It’s 3:00 in the morning and it’s time for you to go.”
Hudson, who wrote the song with Vee-Jay A&R man Calvin Carter, entered the studio on September 23, 1953 to record “Goodnite Sweetheart, Goodnite.” Hudson’s sweet tenor was supported by bassist Gerald Gregory’s soft low notes to create the unmistakable sound of the Spaniels.
As was often the case at the time, white singers would rush to cover a black group’s hit song; in this case, the McGuire Sisters’ version reached #7 on the pop charts and outsold the Spaniels’ original, which was largely restricted to black stations and audiences. For 30 years, Hudson made little from the song. The melody appeared in movies like american graffiti, three men and a baby and Dinnerbut it wasn’t until the 1990s that Hudson began receiving regular royalties from her song.
From 1977 to 1981, the vocal group Sha Na Na closed their popular television program each week with the song of the Spaniels. Bassist Jon “Bowzer” Bauman, who sang Gerald Gregory’s famous low notes, said that long past the doo woper era, the song still marked the end of the night. When Sha Na Na signed off with “Goodnite Sweetheart, Goodnite,” Bauman said, parents told their children, “He’s talking to you and you go to bed.”
