“Into The Night”

Between The Tracks

• Can a one hit wonder be a hit – twice? This is more than a rags-to-riches-to-rags-to-riches story. It’s about how one person’s kindness can make all the difference.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aWhn0Hc8ps

“Into The Night”

Benny Mardones

#11 Hot 100

September, 1980

𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮⁣
𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵⁣
𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭⁣
𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 f𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵⁣

     In 1946, Benny Mardones (Ruben Armand Mardones) was born in Cleveland, Ohio. When Benny was a baby, his father left the family and eventually settled back to his native Chile. The anger and emptiness of not having a father figure affected Benny deeply for the rest of his life. Once out of high school, he joined the Navy and served a tour in Vietnam. After an honorable discharge, he moved to New York City to become a singer/songwriter. By 1977, Mardones had a minor album hit 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘎𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴 (with guitar by Mick Ronson) and had written a few songs for Brenda Lee and Chubby Checker. Mardones soon became roommates with fellow songwriter Bobby Tepper while living in Spanish Harlem. A family of five was in the same apartment complex. The kids (15, 16 & 17) were always hanging out around the building and were quick friends of ‘Benny the Rockstar’. Mardones recalled in an interview with SongFacts:

    

     𝘚𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘐 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘢 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳. 𝘐 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘶𝘱, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘥𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 17-𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳-𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘶𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸.” 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯 𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘫𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸. 𝘐𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨, “𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯, 𝘸𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘞𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦, 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦,” 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘶𝘯 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 24-𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳-𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘶𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘵𝘦. 𝘐 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨’𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘐 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶.” 𝘖𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦, 𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵.

    

     Mardones remembered his own sense of loss and hurt because of his absentee father. He felt the kids needed something to look forward to after school and paid them well to run errands as well as clean his apartment. The 16 year old took the loss the hardest because she was closest to her dad. ⁣

 

　 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘴𝘰 𝘣𝘢𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘬, 𝘏𝘦𝘪𝘥𝘪, 𝘐’𝘮 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘐 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦,” 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘢 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳. 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴, 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺. 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢 𝘉𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘡𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘺…𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘬𝘦𝘺. 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘡𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘺 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘥𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬, 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 $50 𝘢 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵.

 

     One late night in 1980, Tepper and Mardones were working on songs for the first album Never Run, Never Hide for Polydor records. The recording sessions were in a week and both songwriters thought they already had their hit “It Might Have Been Love”. After opening the blinds, the two discovered it was already daylight. They had been toiling through the wee hours of the morning through numerous melodies with nothing to show for it.⁣

 

     𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦 [𝘏𝘦𝘪𝘥𝘪] 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘴, 16 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘭𝘥, 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘳𝘵, 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘴, 𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦, 16-𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨-𝘰𝘯-21. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵?” 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘣𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴. 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘩, 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦.” 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴, “𝘖𝘬𝘢𝘺, 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯, 𝘡𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘺,” 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳, 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘰𝘦𝘴, “𝘖𝘩, 𝘮𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥.” 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘏𝘦𝘺, 𝘉𝘰𝘣. 𝘚𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 16 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘭𝘥, 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦.” 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘉𝘰𝘣𝘣𝘺.” 𝘚𝘰 𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 (𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨), “𝘴𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 16 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘭𝘥, 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘺.” 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘨𝘰𝘵 (𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨), “𝘚𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘺𝘦𝘵.” 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘶𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴, “𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘧𝘭𝘺, 𝘐’𝘥 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯.” 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦 “𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵.” 𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺’𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴; 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴. “𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘵” – 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 16-𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳-𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭. ⁣

 

　 The melody to “Into The Night” has its roots firmly in late 70’s soft rock. It begins with an interplay between rhythm guitar and a latin-inspired minor piano riff. Mardones’ voice is soft and tender he speaks platonically to the subject, wanting a better life for her if things had been different. As the song progresses his intimate, heartfelt vocals (especially during the bridge) rise the emotion to a crescendo. Its a goosebumps moment during the final chorus:⁣

 

𝘖𝘩 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘧𝘭𝘺⁣
𝘐’𝘥 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘶𝘱⁣
𝘐’𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵⁣
𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦⁣
𝘓𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯⁣

 

　 When the single was released in June, “Into The Night” encountered some roadblocks. R&B radio stations refused to play it when it was discovered Mardones was white. Pop stations wouldn’t play it because it sounded like an older man dating a 16-year-old girl. Polydor sent out 3,000 letters to stations across the country, explaining the true history of the song and “Into The Night” was soon in rotation. When legendary New York DJ Scott Muni found the song, he invited Mardones to come sing on his WNEW-FM radio show 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘰𝘮 𝘓𝘪𝘯𝘦. Muni off-handedly asked if there really was a girl in the song’s story so Mardones invited Heidi to come to the studio with him:⁣

 

     𝘚𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘣𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘰𝘮 𝘓𝘪𝘯𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘤𝘰𝘵𝘵 𝘔𝘶𝘯𝘪 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 “𝘉𝘦𝘯𝘯𝘺 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘫𝘰𝘣𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴.” 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘺 “𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘴.” 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘞𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴.” ⁣

 

      “Into The Night” began its 20 week ascension on the pop charts. It reached #11 on the September Hot 100 for two weeks. Mardones was the first white artist in over ten years that had a Top Ten hit for Polydor. You couldn’t turn on a car radio without hearing that Summer’s anthem. Heidi had a remarkable turn of success as well. Mardones remembered: ⁣

     

     𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘱𝘰𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈-𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘠𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘊𝘪𝘵𝘺. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 18 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘭 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘚𝘢𝘯 𝘑𝘶𝘢𝘯, 𝘗𝘶𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘰 𝘙𝘪𝘤𝘰. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘚𝘢𝘯 𝘑𝘶𝘢𝘯, 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘶𝘴𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘥’𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸…𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘢𝘴, 𝘐 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘢 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴, “𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦.” 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺’𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 “𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵.” ⁣

     

     Mardones’ meteoric rise to fame unfortunately gave him more money than sense. He recalled:⁣ ⁣

   

      𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘣𝘶𝘮, 𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘙𝘶𝘯, 𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘏𝘪𝘥𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘺𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘩𝘰𝘭. 𝘞𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘥𝘰. 𝘉𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘪𝘵, 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘺 𝘢 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘨𝘦. 𝘋𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 (1981 𝘢𝘭𝘣𝘶𝘮) 𝘛𝘰𝘰 𝘔𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘛𝘰 𝘓𝘰𝘴𝘦, 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘵 𝘶𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴. 𝘞𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘔𝘪𝘢𝘮𝘪 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦. 𝘊𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬, 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘣𝘶𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥. 𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘔𝘪𝘢𝘮𝘪 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘧𝘧 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘸 𝘪𝘵. 𝘐 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯, 𝘐 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘸 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵. ⁣

    

     Polydor quickly dropped Mardones as an artist and was considered unsignable due to his tantrums and addiction. In 1985, Mardones’ son, Michael was born. That day, everything changed.

    

     𝘏𝘦 [𝘔𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘦𝘭] 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭, 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮. 𝘐 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘱 𝘪𝘵 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 – 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘩𝘶𝘨𝘦, 𝘣𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 – 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘥-𝘵𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴. 𝘐 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘩, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘪𝘱𝘦, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘸 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯. 𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘥𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘧𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦.”…𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘮𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦, 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘥𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘺 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘥.” 𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘥𝘢𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱. 𝘚𝘰 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴….𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘐 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘴, 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘮𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘥𝘳𝘶𝘨 𝘶𝘴𝘦. 𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘺.⁣

    

     Mardones continued to raise Michael as a single dad and began an unorthodox rehab program.⁣

 

     𝘚𝘰 𝘐 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘺, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘉𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘺 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘊𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘤, 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘏𝘢𝘻𝘦𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯, 𝘞𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘯, 𝘐 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘚𝘺𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘦. 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴…𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘐’𝘥 𝘨𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘯𝘰𝘸. 𝘚𝘰 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘯𝘰𝘸…𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘯. 𝘜𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺, 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘢 𝘩𝘶𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘣𝘶𝘮 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘙𝘶𝘯, 𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘏𝘪𝘥𝘦. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘛𝘰𝘰 𝘔𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘛𝘰 𝘓𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘣𝘶𝘮, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘵. ⁣

    

     The Syracuse citizens took Mardones under their collective wing, nurturing both himself and Michael. Mardones played at small area shows that showcased his intimate singing style but there was little interest beyond the Central New York area. An amazing second chance came in 1989 when a Phoenix DJ ran a popular “Where Are They Now?” segment about Mardones. Los Angeles DJ Scott Shannon was inspired by the piece and added “Into The Night” to his station’s playlist. Soon radio stations all over the US were adding the song. At the age of 33, Mardones’ song re-charted on the Top 40, peaking at #20. As the single climbed, Mardones realized he had no record deal behind it. ⁣

 

     𝘔𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘊𝘶𝘳𝘣 [𝘊𝘶𝘳𝘣 𝘙𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴] 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺. 𝘚𝘰 𝘐 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘪𝘵, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺….𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘐 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘊𝘶𝘳𝘣 𝘙𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴, 𝘑𝘰𝘯 𝘉𝘰𝘯 𝘑𝘰𝘷𝘪 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦. 𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘑𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 16 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘭𝘥. 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘉𝘦𝘯𝘯𝘺, 𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘺𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘗𝘰𝘭𝘺𝘥𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘐𝘳𝘸𝘪𝘯 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘨 [𝘗𝘰𝘭𝘺𝘥𝘰𝘳’𝘴 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵] 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘣𝘶𝘮.” 𝘑𝘰𝘯 𝘉𝘰𝘯 𝘑𝘰𝘷𝘪 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘢 𝘱𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘭 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥𝘸𝘪𝘥𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘣𝘶𝘮. 𝘜𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺, 𝘐’𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘊𝘶𝘳𝘣. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘫𝘰𝘣, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘦𝘭 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘦𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵. 𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘢𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴, 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵, 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥.⁣

    

　 After releasing several non-charting albums and maintaining a small but loyal fan base, Mardones had embraced his one hit wonder status. He also held a rare honor. “Into The Night” is one of only ten singles in Billboard history that has charted twice in the Top 20. The most recent double-hit was The Four Seasons’ “December 1963 (Oh What A Night)” which topped the charts in 1976 and made it to #14 in 1994. Mardones was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2000 an passed June 29, 2020 at the age of 73.⁣  Mardones’ kindness and energy influenced many people. It has come back around to save himself, too. He was a big local celebrity in Central New York which supported him during his rehab years and beyond. Roy Orbison once told him, “You have the greatest circle of friends of anybody I’ve ever met.” Mardones remembered:⁣

     𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘢 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘷𝘦, 𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦, 𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 – 𝘐 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦. 𝘈𝘴 𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦. 𝘐𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵. 𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦’𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦. 𝘐𝘧 𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨.

     Sources: SongFacts, Wikipedia