Joseph Louis LaBracio (September 5, 1932 – April 21, 2021), known professionally as Joe Long, was an American musician best known as the bass guitarist for the Four Seasons.

Life and career

Long was a classically trained musician who studied with Alfonse Strazza, the principal bassist for the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

. However, a severe hand injury forced Joe to give up the rigors of playing classical bass and switch to the Fender bass guitar. He then began listening more to

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

music and became a bass player for several local New Jersey rock bands before joining the Four Seasons in 1965 as a replacement for

Charles Calello Charles Calello (born August 24, 1938) is an American arranger, composer, conductor, record producer, and singer born in Newark, New Jersey. Calello attended Newark Arts High School and the Manhattan School of Music, in New York City. His track r ...

, who temporarily replaced

Nick Massi Nick Massi (born Nicholas E. Macioci, September 19, 1927 – December 24, 2000) was an American bass singer, songwriter, and bass guitarist for The Four Seasons. Biography Born in Newark, New Jersey, Nicholas "Massi" Macioci was first taught to ...

. Long continued to record, perform and tour with The Four Seasons through the mid-1970s. After leaving the group, Long formed the rock 'n roll group LaBracio and later the

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

band Jersey Bounce. In a 2007 interview, Long stated "I still play an occasional gig. And, I have done a few recording sessions with Tommy (DeVito). For the most part, though, I am retired." Long died from complications of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

on April 21, 2021, during the

COVID-19 pandemic in New Jersey The COVID-19 pandemic reached the U.S. state of New Jersey with the first confirmed case occurring in Bergen County on March 2, 2020, and testing positive on March 4. , 1.63 million cases were confirmed in the state, incurring 26,795 deaths. On ...

References

External links

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Joe Long Tribute Evening, Baldoria's, New York City 5/28/06

The Jersey Boys 2006 Tony Award Winner for Best Musical

Jersey Boys Blog Exclusive Interview 11/20/07 (Part1)

Jersey Boys Blog Exclusive Interview 11/20/07 (Part3)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Long, Joe 1932 births 2021 deaths 20th-century American bass guitarists 20th-century American male musicians American male bass guitarists American rock bass guitarists American people of Italian descent The Four Seasons (band) members Guitarists from New Jersey Jersey Shore musicians People from Elizabeth, New Jersey Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in New Jersey