This song is so very 1970s - it's very earnest, and its theme is that making love is good. There were a lot of songs like that back then.
Jennifer Warnes (born 1947) was talented enough to be offered a record contract when she was seven; her father sensibly refused the offer. In her youth, she was offered an opera scholarship to Immaculate Heart College and briefly entered a convent after high school. She then became a folk singer, joined the cast of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, and played the female lead in the Los Angeles production of Hair.
"Right Time Of The Night" was written by Peter McCann, who has an entry of his own on this website. It reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #3 in Canada, making it to #1 on the Adult Contemporary charts in both countries. Ms. Warnes' primary focus after this was songs for movie soundtracks, and she won three Academy Awards for Best Original Song:
Ms. Warnes also had a longstanding friendship with Leonard Cohen. She recorded an album of his songs, Famous Blue Raincoat, in 1987. This included the original recording of "First We Take Manhattan". It has a very 1980s sound and features guitar from Stevie Ray Vaughan; it's pretty good but I prefer R.E.M.'s version. Ms. Warnes has been less active in recent years; her last album release was in 2018.
Created July 21, 2026.