Set the Night to Music (with Maxi Priest)

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For the Roberta Flack album, see Set the Night to Music (album).

"Set the Night to Music" is a song written by Diane Warren and recorded by Starship for their LP, No Protection (1987). It became a major hit for Roberta Flack in 1991. Starship`s original version became a Top 10 hit on the U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, reaching number nine in the spring of 1988,[1] and also charted minorly in Canada.[2] The song appeared at the end credits of the 1988 fantasy-comedy film Vice Versa starring Judge Reinhold and Fred Savage.

Cash Box said of the Starship version that "punctuated by lush strings and acoustic guitars, it`s as warm and appealing a ballad as they have ever put on record."[3]

Roberta Flack cover

Roberta Flack covered "Set the Night to Music" as a duet with Maxi Priest. The song is the title track to Flack`s album Set the Night to Music (1991).

Flack`s rendition reached number six on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and number nine in Canada;[4] it was her final charting Billboard Hot 100 hit. The song was a bigger Adult Contemporary hit, reaching number two in the U.S. and number one in Canada.[5]

Personnel

• Roberta Flack – lead vocals
• Robbie Kondor – keyboards, programming, arrangements
• Sammy Merendino – drum programming
• Errol "Crusher" Bennett – percussion
• Arif Mardin – string arrangements and conductor
• Gene Orloff – concertmaster
• Jerry Barnes – backing vocals
• Katreese Barnes – backing vocals
• Maxi Priest – lead vocals

Charts

Weekly charts

Starship