"December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)" is a song originally performed by
the Four Seasons, written by original Four Seasons
keyboard
Keyboard may refer to:
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Music
* Musi ...
player
Bob Gaudio
Robert John Gaudio (born November 17, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer, and the keyboardist and backing vocalist of the pop/rock band the Four Seasons. Gaudio wrote or co-wrote and produced the vast majori ...
and his future wife Judy Parker, produced by Gaudio, and included on the group's album, ''
Who Loves You
''Who Loves You'' is an album by The Four Seasons. It was released in 1975 on Warner/Curb Records.
Background
The record introduced the new Four Seasons lineup which now included John Paiva (guitar), Don Ciccone (bass), Lee Shapiro (keyboards) ...
'' (1975).
The song features drummer
Gerry Polci
Gerry Polci (born June 9, 1952) is an American singer and musician who was a member of the American Rock music, rock and Pop music, pop Musical ensemble, band The Four Seasons (band), The Four Seasons.
Polci played and sang in the band variously ...
on lead vocals, with
Frankie Valli
Francesco Stephen Castelluccio (born May 3, 1934), better known by his stage name Frankie Valli, is an American singer, known as the frontman of the Four Seasons beginning in 1960. He is known for his unusually powerful lead falsetto voice.
...
, the group's usual lead vocalist, singing the bridge sections and backing vocals and bass player
Don Ciccone
Donald Joseph Ciccone (February 28, 1946 – October 8, 2016) was an American singer, songwriter and musician. He was a founding member of the pop group the Critters, singing their biggest hits "Younger Girl" and "Mr. Dieingly Sad". The latter ...
singing the falsetto part.
Song origins
According to the co-writer and longtime group member Bob Gaudio, the song's lyrics were originally set in 1933 with the title "December 5th, 1933," and celebrated the repeal of
Prohibition
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...
,
but the lyrics were changed at the urgings of
Frankie Valli
Francesco Stephen Castelluccio (born May 3, 1934), better known by his stage name Frankie Valli, is an American singer, known as the frontman of the Four Seasons beginning in 1960. He is known for his unusually powerful lead falsetto voice.
...
and lyricist Parker to reposition the song as a nostalgic remembrance of a young man's first affair with a woman, and, more specifically, Gaudio's courtship with his wife, Judy Parker.
Reception
The single was released in December 1975 and hit number one on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
on February 21, 1976.
It repeated the feat on the US
''Billboard'' Hot 100 on March 13, 1976, remaining in the top spot for three weeks and one week on ''
Cash Box
''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...
''. ''Billboard'' ranked it as the
No. 4 song for 1976. On April 10 the same year, it topped the ''
RPM
Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines.
Standards
ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...
'' National Top Singles Chart in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. It was the final Four Seasons' song to reach number one, although Valli would have one final chart-topper as a solo act in 1978 with the theme song to the film ''
Grease''.
''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' said that it has "the flavor and fun of '60s rock with a disco feel," and praised the
production
Production may refer to:
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and the lead and harmony vocals as well."
''
Cash Box
''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...
'' said it has "one of the sweetest melody lines you'll have heard throughout 1975" and that the song is "easy enough to sing along to, combined with an unforgettable
bass line
Line most often refers to:
* Line (geometry), object with zero thickness and curvature that stretches to infinity
* Telephone line, a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system
Line, lines, The Line, or LINE may also refer to:
Arts ...
."
Ben Liebrand remix
In 1988, Dutch DJ and producer
Ben Liebrand
Ben Liebrand () (born 27 September 1960 in Nijmegen, the Netherlands) is a Dutch dance music DJ and remixer. He has produced for artists such as Forrest and MC Miker G & DJ Sven and remixed tracks by artists such as Alexander O'Neal, Salt-N- ...
remixed the song and re-released it as a single. In 1993, Curb Records, who released the original version of the song, picked up the 1988 remix and released it to the U.S. market. The 1993 re-release spent 27 weeks on the Hot 100 (matching the chart life of the original 1975 single). The peak position of the remix version was #14. Adding together the two 27-week chart runs for the 1975 original single and the remixed version (for a combined total of 54 weeks, two more weeks than a full year) gave the song the longest tenure ever on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 music chart up to that time. This remixed version has a duration of five minutes.
Music video
A
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
was produced to accompany the original 1975 release.
Personnel
*
Gerry Polci
Gerry Polci (born June 9, 1952) is an American singer and musician who was a member of the American Rock music, rock and Pop music, pop Musical ensemble, band The Four Seasons (band), The Four Seasons.
Polci played and sang in the band variously ...
– drums, co-lead and backing vocals
*
Frankie Valli
Francesco Stephen Castelluccio (born May 3, 1934), better known by his stage name Frankie Valli, is an American singer, known as the frontman of the Four Seasons beginning in 1960. He is known for his unusually powerful lead falsetto voice.
...
– co-lead vocals
*
Don Ciccone
Donald Joseph Ciccone (February 28, 1946 – October 8, 2016) was an American singer, songwriter and musician. He was a founding member of the pop group the Critters, singing their biggest hits "Younger Girl" and "Mr. Dieingly Sad". The latter ...
– bass, co-lead and backing vocals
*
John Paiva – electric guitar
*
Lee Shapiro
Lee Shapiro (1949–1987) was an American documentary filmmaker. His one feature-length film, ''Nicaragua Was Our Home'', was released in 1986. It was filmed in Nicaragua among the Miskito people, Miskito Indians who were then fighting against Nica ...
– keyboards, synthesizers, horn and string arrangements
*
Bob Gaudio
Robert John Gaudio (born November 17, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer, and the keyboardist and backing vocalist of the pop/rock band the Four Seasons. Gaudio wrote or co-wrote and produced the vast majori ...
– piano
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
All-time charts
Certifications
Clock version
British
pop-
dance
Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
act
Clock
A clock or a timepiece is a device used to measure and indicate time. The clock is one of the oldest human inventions, meeting the need to measure intervals of time shorter than the natural units such as the day, the lunar month and the ...
released a
dance
Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
cover of "Oh What a Night" in August 1996. It peaked at number 13 in both Ireland and in the UK; in the latter country, it stayed at its peak for four nonconsecutive weeks.
Track listings
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Other covers
The French singer
Claude François
Claude Antoine Marie François (; 1 February 1939 – 11 March 1978), also known by the nickname Cloclo, was a French pop singer, composer, songwriter, record producer, drummer and dancer. François co-wrote the lyrics of "Comme d'habitude" (c ...
also recorded a version of this song called "Cette année-là".
Singers of musical
Belles belles belles
''Belles belles belles'' is a French jukebox musical written by Jean-Pierre Bourtayre and Daniel Moyne, based on the songs of French singer Claude François (1939-1978). The musical arrangements are by Carolin Petit. It was the first French jukeb ...
covered the Claude François' song.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:December, 1963 (Oh, What A Night)
1975 singles
1976 singles
1994 singles
1996 singles
Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles
Cashbox number-one singles
UK Singles Chart number-one singles
Number-one singles in South Africa
RPM Top Singles number-one singles
The Four Seasons (band) songs
Clock (dance act) songs
Songs about nostalgia
Songs written by Bob Gaudio
Song recordings produced by Bob Gaudio
Disco songs
1975 songs
Warner Records singles
Curb Records singles
MCA Records singles
Songs about nights