The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
A NIGHT, STILLED
But despite postponing their big blowout birthday bash, Five Satins singer Fred Parris and his wife, Emma, still managed to celebrate the day — and each other
Fred and Emma Parris were going to throw a big blow-out, a double birthday celebration, last March 21 at American Legion Post 88 on Dixwell Avenue in Hamden.
“We had a lot of special surprises planned for people,” Emma said wistfully. “We had songs lined up and a band to get people rocking.”
But then, just before the party date, COVID-19 hit Connecticut. The Parris’ party became one of the first casualties of the virus. They had to call off their celebration.
“It was a heartbreaker,” she said. “We had a list of 110 guests who were expected.”
I was honored to be among those on that list and I had eagerly accepted their kind invitation. I had held onto the card and wondered about a new date.
Fred Parris and I go way back, but not as far as that historic day in February 1956 when he and the other members of the Five Satins walked into the basement of St. Bernadette Roman Catholic Church in the Morris Cove neighborhood of New Haven to record a song Parris had written while on guard duty for the U.S. Army: “In the Still of the Night.”
Twenty-four years later, after that song had become one of the most perennially requested oldies of all time, my editor at the New Haven Register suggested I look up the former Satins and see how they were doing. My quest quickly led to Parris, who granted me a long, detailed interview. That was 40 years ago.
We kept in touch. After he and Emma married 14 years ago I realized she is every bit as sweet and friendly as Fred. She is quite generous, mailing out Five Satins tote bags, pens and other souvenirs.
When I called them last week to see how they are faring in these nutty, scary, unpredictable times, Fred reminded me: “The last time I saw you was at Hamden High School! It was really hot!”
Yes, it was so hot that he and his band, who had been scheduled to play outside in a park on that July night in 2013, moved the show into the Hamden High School auditorium.
But it was hot there, too. Midway through the concert Fred started to sway, and not to the rhythm of the song. He collapsed and had to be taken out of the school on a stretcher to a waiting ambulance. I remember seeing him being wheeled out and it was not a pleasant sight. We were all relieved that he turned out to be fine.
Still, this was a reminder that, as Fred told me last week, “I’m no kid.” (He is 84). That’s why he and Emma are being so careful these days, as COVID-19 is hitting older folks particularly hard.
When I proposed that I interview them on the deck of their Hamden home while keeping a mask on and maintaining a safe distance, they accepted. But the next day Emma called and apologetically said they just couldn’t do it. They didn’t think it would be safe.
Fred got on the phone and said, “We’ve had no company here. We only go out to the food store, and I stay in the car. After I said ‘yes’ yesterday, I was thinking: ‘Now why did I do that?’”
But they did agree to a phone interview and to pose outside their front door, provided that our photographer Peter Hvizdak kept his proper distance.
One of the first things they told me about during our talk last Wednesday afternoon was how the double birthday celebration idea arose.
“Fred’s birthday is in March and mine is in December, on the 16th,” Emma said. “Fred said to me: ‘Gee honey, it’s a shame you never get to celebrate your birthday because it’s the week before Christmas.’ And I said, ‘It’s true. Even as a kid I didn’t. I have never really had a birthday party.’ So Fred said, ‘Why don’t we do a celebration together?’”
After they had to postpone it, they had hoped to reschedule the gala for a few months later. But now, with the virus maintaining its hold on the country, Emma sadly told me, “It doesn’t look like it’s going to happen this year.”
As we talked about the prospect of a celebration happening next year, Fred tossed off his “I’m no kid” line.
And yet Emma immediately interjected: “The numbers say one thing but he’s a young guy at heart.”
She referred to the two of them as “the dynamic duo” but they admitted they don’t get out much these days.
“It is very concerning to be in this kind of situation,” she said. “We have some home projects that need to be done but we’re afraid to ask people to come over to do the work.”
“We’re doing what we’re supposed to do,” Fred said. “A lot of people aren’t doing that. I’m watching those beach scenes in Florida and California on TV. I can’t believe what people are doing.”
Fred said he spends much of his time these days listening to music. “Everything! All kinds of stuff. I do listen to the Five Satins sometimes but not the songs most people know.”
Frankie Durazzo, who was the drummer in Fred’s band the last time he performed in 2017, was at the Parris home last Wednesday, working in Fred’s studio.
“He’s hooking things up,” Fred said. “Since we had that tornado (it struck their house in May 2018) I forgot how to work the system.”
Durazzo got on the phone to tell me: “I’ve had the privilege of listening to some of Fred’s older songs. The three-part harmonies are outrageous! He is a musician’s musician. He is a jazz artist.” Durazzo added, “Fred was rapping before people were rapping.”
Durazzo particularly likes Fred’s song “Supersonic Woman.” Speaking of Fred and Emma’s relationship, Durazzo said, “She’s the kick behind the foot. ‘Supersonic Woman’ is Emma.”
When I asked Fred if he foresees doing future public performances, he said:
“My age tells me no. I’ve been doing it a long time, you know.”
Emma noted: “He’s done this for over 60 years! That’s a significant milestone.”
Fred told me he has no regrets. But then he added, “I think I could have done better. There are a lot of things I would have changed if I could. I would have liked to have gotten more knowledge, taken more music lessons. I did have piano lessons but I was a kid. I said I’d rather play baseball!”
Looking back on his life, Fred said, “It would really make a nice movie. I’ve had people approach me about it. I just never got around to it.”
Emma spoke up: “I say this with love. Sometimes my husband will say ‘not now.’ And I tell him, ‘Fred, you’ve got to take advantage of it now.’”
“A lot of people don’t realize this,” she said, “but there’s a little bit of shyness about Fred. He’s very modest. Fred doesn’t like to toot his own horn.”
“It’s out of key!” Fred said, and they both laughed.
When I asked what lessons they’ve learned from the pandemic, Emma said: “For me, with my family not being close by, it reinforces the importance of being able to get together. It’s been devastating not being able to enjoy our families. But our kids don’t want us to go out. One of our sons dropped off hand sanitizers and masks. When this thing hit, it was like the tornado again.”
Fred, always the upbeat musical guy, cut in with this: “Like Frank Sinatra said, ‘That’s life.’”