page_title: This Could Be the Night (1966 song)
section_title: Composition
hierarchical_section_title: This Could Be the Night (1966 song) / Composition
caption_attribution_description: Trade ad for Harry Nilsson's single "You Can't Do That".To better adapt it to his respective Wikipedia article, the ad was cropped and cleaned in a graphics editing program. The original can be viewed at the source below.
context_page_description: "This Could Be the Night" is a song recorded by the American band Modern Folk Quartet in late 1965 or early 1966. The lyrics describe a couple on the verge of conquering their inhibitions. Written in tribute to Beach Boys leader Brian Wilson, the song is one of three that were credited jointly to Harry Nilsson and Phil Spector, although Nilsson submitted that he was the sole writer on a 1966 copyright form.
  Spector produced MFQ's version in his Wall of Sound style, featuring a dense orchestration and a marching rhythm. He used it as the opening theme music for the 1966 rock concert film The Big TNT Show, for which he was the musical director and associate producer. The band itself does not appear in the film, but were originally planned to. MFQ was signed to Spector's label and wanted to release their recording as a single in hopes of breaking into the folk rock market, but according to music historian Barney Hoskyns, Spector instead abandoned the group to work on "River Deep – Mountain High". Their recording of "This Could Be the Night" was not commercially available until 1976, when it appeared on a Spector compilation album.
context_section_description: According to Spector biographer Mick Brown, Nilsson wrote "This Could Be the Night" as a tribute to Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys. Nilsson brought it to Spector, whose productions Wilson greatly admired. Nilsson and Spector are often listed as the songwriters, including by BMI, the performing rights organization.  However, Nilsson biographer Alyn Shipton notes that the song was copyrighted by Nilsson alone on March 30, 1966. It is one of three songs credited jointly to Nilsson and Spector, the other two being "Here I Sit" and "Paradise".
  Shipton describes the lyrics as expressing "the heady mixture of hope, desire, and fear experienced when a couple who have been dating for a while are on the point of finally conquering their inhibitions and making love for the first time." Wilson deemed it one of Nilsson's very best compositions and one of Spector's best productions, explaining "Well, the idea they've been dating and waiting and finally they made love … I love that message."
caption: Harry Nilsson in 1967
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