Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons – December 1963 (Oh What A Night)

“December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)” – Single by the Four Seasons from the album Who Loves You.
Released: December 1975
Songwriters: Bob Gaudio, Judy Parker

The single was released in December 1975 and hit number one on the UK Singles Chart 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. Billboard ranked it as the No. 4 song for 1976. On April 10 the same year, it topped the RPM National Top Singles Chart in Canada. 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.

According to the co-writer and longtime group member Bob Gaudio, the song was originally set in 1933 with the title “December 5th, 1933,” and celebrated the repeal of Prohibition. Neither lead singer Frankie Valli nor co-writer (and later, Gaudio’s wife) Judy Parker were thrilled about the lyrics (and Valli objected to parts of the melody) so Gaudio redid the words and Parker redid the melody until all were content with the finished product. It ended up being a nostalgic love song, or as Valli put it more bluntly, “it was a song about losin’ your cherry.”

The lead singer on the first verse is Four Seasons drummer Gerri Polci – Frankie Valli comes in on the second verse. As well as sharing the lead in “December 1963,” Polci was the lead singer on the group’s third hit from the Who Loves You LP, “Silver Star,” which made #38 in the US.

Charted: No.1 in US No.1 in UK

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Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons - December 1963 (Oh What A Night)

Frankie Valli The Four Seasons - December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night) (Official Music Video)03:21

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