Late at night, sitting at a piano in the camp’s day room, he began shaping the chords and lyrics inspired by young love and longing. As he later recalled, there is only one “first time,” and that feeling fueled the song’s sincerity. Later that year, Parris and The Five Satins recorded the track in the basement of St. Bernadette’s Church in New Haven, Connecticut. With minimal equipment and the natural acoustics of the cold basement, they captured a sound that felt raw and timeless.
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Parris later said he believed the church setting gave the song a special blessing. Though the song peaked modestly at No. 24 on the Billboard Hot 100, its influence far outlasted its chart run—and even Parris’s relationship with Marla.

Over the decades, it became a staple of school dances, films, and romantic moments, later covered by artists such as The Beach Boys and Boyz II Men. What began as a personal love story became a universal anthem, proving that simple emotions, honestly expressed, can live forever through music.