# Benny Mardones
**Benny Mardones** (born Ruben Armand Mardones, 1946) was an American pop and rock singer and songwriter best known for the hit "Into the Night," which reached the [Billboard charts](https://www.edgepedia.org/billboard-charts) in three different decades through three separate recordings, a feat Billboard recognized in its own history books.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | Ruben Armand Mardones, 1946, in Cleveland, Ohio; father Ruben Mardones Sr. was from Santiago, Chile[1](https://www.legacy.com/legacy/notable-deaths/benny-mardones) |
| Died | June 29, 2020, at his home in Menifee, California, age 73, from complications of Parkinson's disease[1](https://www.legacy.com/legacy/notable-deaths/benny-mardones) |
| Signature song | "Into the Night," from the 1980 album *Never Run, Never Hide*, co-written with Robert Tepper[2](https://songtell.com/benny-mardones/into-the-night) |
| Chart feat | Hit the Billboard charts with the same song three times, on different recordings, labels, decades, and centuries, including a 1989 revival triggered by an Arizona radio station[1](https://www.legacy.com/legacy/notable-deaths/benny-mardones) • [3](https://parade.com/entertainment/benny-mardones-into-the-night-piano-riff-greatest-one-hit-wonders) |
| Nickname | "The Voice," earned in 1980 for his vocal range and passionate performances[1](https://www.legacy.com/legacy/notable-deaths/benny-mardones) |
| Honors | Ranked No. 3 in Brent Mann's book *99 Red Balloons and 100 Other All-Time Great One-Hit Wonders*; announced as a posthumous inductee of the California Music Hall of Fame in 2025[3](https://parade.com/entertainment/benny-mardones-into-the-night-piano-riff-greatest-one-hit-wonders) • [4](https://www.bennymardones.com/) |
| Survivors | Wife Jane, son Michael, and sister Louise[1](https://www.legacy.com/legacy/notable-deaths/benny-mardones) |
## Early life and family
Mardones was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1946, the son of Ruben Mardones Sr., a Chilean from Santiago, and Betty Smith. His parents had two sons, Louis and Ruben Armand, before separating, and his father disappeared from his life; Mardones did not meet him until he was 22, when his girlfriend overheard men in a bar discussing a "Rubén Mardones" and connected him to Benny's father[5](https://www.biobiochile.cl/noticias/espectaculos-y-tv/celebridades/2024/05/18/benny-mardones-el-cantante-de-origen-chileno-que-tuvo-uno-de-los-one-hit-wonder-mas-tocado-en-eeuu.shtml). Ruben Mardones Vignes, whose mother had French origins, was among about 80 Chileans who answered [Charles de Gaulle](https://www.edgepedia.org/charles-de-gaulle)'s 1940 call to fight for France in the Second World War; wounded, he emigrated to the United States after the liberation of France, where he studied at a dance academy, met the dancer [Fred Astaire](https://www.edgepedia.org/fred-astaire), and met Betty Smith[5](https://www.biobiochile.cl/noticias/espectaculos-y-tv/celebridades/2024/05/18/benny-mardones-el-cantante-de-origen-chileno-que-tuvo-uno-de-los-one-hit-wonder-mas-tocado-en-eeuu.shtml).
Mardones was raised in Savage, Maryland, and later moved to [Syracuse, New York](https://www.edgepedia.org/syracuse-new-york), where he became the city's "Hometown Hero." He joined the Navy right after high school and served in the [Vietnam War](https://www.edgepedia.org/vietnam-war)[1](https://www.legacy.com/legacy/notable-deaths/benny-mardones).
## "Into the Night"
**The song's origin.** Mardones wrote "Into the Night" with Robert Tepper while working on material in Miami for the 1980 album *Never Run, Never Hide*. In interviews, Mardones recalled spending most of one night working out the song's main riff, built around a latin-inspired minor piano line; the following morning, an encounter with a teenage neighbor helped inspire the story[3](https://parade.com/entertainment/benny-mardones-into-the-night-piano-riff-greatest-one-hit-wonders) • [2](https://songtell.com/benny-mardones/into-the-night).
The subject of the lyrics, a sixteen-year-old named Heidi, lived in Mardones' apartment building in Spanish Harlem. Mardones explained in interviews that the song described a neighborhood family of five dealing with the father's abandonment rather than a romantic infatuation; he said he wanted to sing about shelter and escape for the children next door[2](https://songtell.com/benny-mardones/into-the-night). When radio host Muni asked whether there really was a girl in the song, Mardones invited Heidi to the studio with him[6](https://dnamemphis.com/into-the-night/).
**Chart history.** After its release in June 1980 the single met resistance, including R&B radio stations that refused to play it when they learned Mardones was white; Polydor then sent 3,000 letters to stations across the country explaining the song's true history, and "Into the Night" entered rotation[6](https://dnamemphis.com/into-the-night/). "Into the Night" reached No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1980 and No. 20 in 1989[7](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/benny-mardones-mn0000139604) • [10](https://www.mikecurb.com/book/pdfs/P122-139_Discography5-online.pdf).
The 1989 revival began when an Arizona radio station put the original recording back into rotation after a "Where Are They Now?" feature about Mardones; listeners responded, other stations followed, and the song improbably returned to the Billboard Hot 100 nearly nine years after its first run[3](https://parade.com/entertainment/benny-mardones-into-the-night-piano-riff-greatest-one-hit-wonders). The track also appeared on his self-titled 1989 release[7](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/benny-mardones-mn0000139604).
**Third charting and later recordings.** In 2019, producer Joel Diamond, who had given Mardones his first record deal with White Whale Records decades earlier, arranged for him to re-record "Into the Night 2019" to catch the new wave of radio interest; two club remixes by Dirty Werk and Eric Kupper followed, and in January 2020 the five-time Grammy winner Rudy Perez wrote a Spanish lyric and performed it with Mardones as a [Spanglish](https://www.edgepedia.org/spanglish) duet[1](https://www.legacy.com/legacy/notable-deaths/benny-mardones) • [8](https://www.bennymardones.com/news.html). Billboard memorialized the result as the same song charting three different times with different recordings, labels, decades, and centuries[1](https://www.legacy.com/legacy/notable-deaths/benny-mardones). The obituary issued by Diamond also notes that despite the "one-hit wonder" label, the song had been played over 8 million times and remained one of the most frequently played rock tunes in America[1](https://www.legacy.com/legacy/notable-deaths/benny-mardones).
## Later career and Syracuse following
Mardones struggled with substance abuse during his career, which led to his being dropped by his label[2](https://songtell.com/benny-mardones/into-the-night). By 1987 he was a Syracuse phenomenon, selling out the Landmark Theatre without a record deal, and his comeback album *Benny Mardones* on [Curb Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/curb-records) included "Into the Night"[9](https://classicbands.com/BennyMardonesInterview.html). His later work took on an emotional, spiritual quality; the song "Bless a Brand New Angel" was written for a young fan who died of cancer[7](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/benny-mardones-mn0000139604).
## Death
Mardones died peacefully at his home in Menifee, California, on June 29, 2020, with his wife Jane at his side, from complications of [Parkinson's disease](https://www.edgepedia.org/parkinsons-disease). He had donated his body to Parkinson's research after death. Radio host [Delilah](https://www.edgepedia.org/delilah-radio-host), and [Tommy Mottola](https://www.edgepedia.org/tommy-mottola), former chairman and CEO of Sony Music, who called him "one of the best voices since Daryl Hall," were among those paying tribute[1](https://www.legacy.com/legacy/notable-deaths/benny-mardones).
## References
1. [Benny Mardones Obituary, Legacy.com](https://www.legacy.com/legacy/notable-deaths/benny-mardones)
2. ["Into the Night" by Benny Mardones, Songtell](https://songtell.com/benny-mardones/into-the-night)
3. [1980 Benny Mardones Hit, Built Around a Haunting Piano Riff, Parade](https://parade.com/entertainment/benny-mardones-into-the-night-piano-riff-greatest-one-hit-wonders)
4. [Benny Mardones official site](https://www.bennymardones.com/)
5. [Benny Mardones: el cantante de origen chileno, BioBioChile](https://www.biobiochile.cl/noticias/espectaculos-y-tv/celebridades/2024/05/18/benny-mardones-el-cantante-de-origen-chileno-que-tuvo-uno-de-los-one-hit-wonder-mas-tocado-en-eeuu.shtml)
6. ["Into The Night", DNA Memphis](https://dnamemphis.com/into-the-night/)
7. [Benny Mardones Biography, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/benny-mardones-mn0000139604)
8. [Benny Mardones News](https://www.bennymardones.com/news.html)
9. [Gary James' Interview With Benny Mardones, ClassicBands.com](https://classicbands.com/BennyMardonesInterview.html)
10. [P122 139 Discography5 Online.pdf, mikecurb.com](https://www.mikecurb.com/book/pdfs/P122-139_Discography5-online.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Individual musical biographies › Pop and R&B singer-songwriters › Adult contemporary, 1970s and 1980s*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license