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"Don't You Know What the Night Can Do?"
Single by Steve Winwood
from the album Roll with It
B-side	"Don't You Know What the Night Can Do?" (instrumental)
Released	August 1988
Genre	Pop, rock
Length	4:25 (single remix) 6:54 (album version)
Label	Virgin
Songwriter(s)	Steve Winwood, Will Jennings
Producer(s)	Steve Winwood, Tom Lord-Alge
Steve Winwood singles chronology
"Put on Your Dancing Shoes" (1988) "Don't You Know What the Night Can Do?" (1988) "Holding On" (1988)

"Don't You Know What the Night Can Do?" is a song recorded by Steve Winwood for his album, Roll with It, released on Virgin Records in 1988. Released as a single, it peaked at number six on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and spent two weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

Background and use in Michelob commercial

Prior to the 1988 release of the "Don't You Know What the Night Can Do?" single, the song was used in a national TV commercial for Michelob. Though some critics at the time condemned Winwood for "writing songs for business interests" (i.e., "selling out"), Winwood denied that the song had been written for the commercial. In the 27 August issue of Billboard, Winwood's manager, Ron Weisner, said that Winwood granted Michelob use of the song to obtain tour sponsorship. In the 1 December issue of Rolling Stone, Weisner reiterated that the song was written before the deal with Michelob was struck. In a 1990 biography, Winwood explained: "When was finished, but before it came out, took the song they wanted, and very quickly shot the commercial. So what happened was the commercial came out before the album. Then the LP was released and the first single which was 'Roll With It'. Six weeks later the second single was due to be released which was the song they used for the commercial. They started putting the commercial on the TV before the single was out. It looked like I had written a beer jingle!"

Release and commercial reception

"Don't You Know What the Night Can Do?" was released in 1988 as the second international single from Roll With It. In the United States, the song peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming his 6th and last top 10 hit, and spent 11 weeks inside the Top 40. It reached number six on the Hot 100 Airplay chart and number eight on the Singles Sales chart. It also reached number two on the Adult Contemporary chart and spent two weeks atop the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The song peaked at number 46 in New Zealand and number 89 in the United Kingdom.

Track listing

7" Vinyl

Credits

• Steve Winwood – lead and backing vocals, keyboards, Fairlight programming
• Mike Lawler – additional keyboards
• John Robinson – drums
• Bashiri Johnson – percussion
• Tessa Niles – backing vocals
• Mark Williamson – backing vocals

Chart performance

References

1. ^ Moon, Tom (28 August 1988). "Rock Stars And The Ad Game: There's A Split In The Ranks Between Those Who Do Commercials And Those Who Don't". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on September 22, 2015. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
2. ^ DeCurtis, Anthony (1 December 1988). "From Mr. Fantasy to Mr. Entertainment". Rolling Stone (540). Wenner Media LLC: 46. ISSN 0035-791X.
3. Greenwald, Matthew. ""Don't You Know What the Night Can Do?" - Review". Allmusic (Rovi Corporation). Retrieved 20 May 2013.
4. ^ Welch, Chris (1990). Steve Winwood (1st ed.). New York: Perigee Trade. p. 20. ISBN 978-0399515583.
5. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits (8th ed.). New York: Billboard Books. p. 685. ISBN 978-0-8230-7499-0.
6. ^ "Steve Winwood - 'Don't You Know What the Night Can Do?'". Ultratop. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
7. ^ "The Official Charts Company: Steve Winwood - 'Don't You Know What the Night Can Do?'". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
8. "RPM 100 Singles" (PDF). RPM. 22 October 1988. p. 6. Retrieved 4 May 2022.

• Steve Winwood songs
• 1988 singles
• Pop ballads
• Rock ballads
• Songs with lyrics by Will Jennings
• Songs written by Steve Winwood
• 1988 songs
• Virgin Records singles
• Songs about nights