I don’t remember how or why, but for some reason the Four Seasons came into my head today and they took up residence there, demanding to be noticed.  My head is a frightening place these days, and I don’t really know why they even wanted to be there, but they did.  Now, the Four Seasons have done many songs that I love … Who Loves You, My Eyes Adored You, Opus 17, Let’s Hang On! … but how to choose?  Eenie, Meenie, Minie … Oh What a Night!

This song, written by original Four Seasons keyboard player Bob Gaudio and his future wife Judy Parker, produced by Gaudio, and included on the group’s album, Who Loves You, hit #1 on the charts in the U.S., UK and Canada (notice, John Fioravanti that I did not leave you out this time!)

Gaudio wrote the tune with a young songwriter named Judy Parker, who later became his wife. Originally, it was called “December 5th, 1933,” and was a joyful ode to the repeal of Prohibition. That lyric didn’t fly, so Gaudio gave it a more universal theme: a guy, a girl, and one special night.

The group had to play down the sexual overtones in this song to appease conservative radio stations (go figure), but lead singer Frankie Valli later admitted that the song was about a guy having sex for the first time.

A dance remix by the Dutch producer/DJ Ben Liebrand hit #14 US in 1994, introducing the song to a new generation. The remix stayed in the Top 40 for a stunning 20 weeks, and if combined with the 15 weeks the original spent on the chart, the song has had the longest stay on the Top 40. Valli, however, is not a fan of the new version. He told Billboard: “I’ll never like it better than when it was pure.”  Frankly, I am not a fan of the remix either, which is why you don’t see it here, but you can find it here if you’re interested.  For me … the original has a beat that just can’t be … beat!

Dec ’63 (Oh What A Night)
The Four Seasons

Oh, what a night
Late December back in ’63
What a very special time for me
As I remember, what a night

Oh, what a night, you know I didn’t even know her name
But I was never gonna be the same
What a lady, what a night
Oh, I, I got a funny feelin’ when she walked in the room
Oh my, as I recall it ended much too soon

Oh what a night, hypnotizin’ mesmerizing me
She was ev’rything I dreamed she’d be
Sweet surrender, what a night
I felt a rush like a rollin’ ball of thunder
Spinnin’ my head around n’ takin’ my body under

Oh, what a night
Oh, I, I got a funny feelin’ when she walked in the room
Oh my, as I recall it ended much too soon

Oh, what a night
Why’d it take so long to see the light
Seemed so wrong, but now it seems so right
What a lady, what a night

I felt a rush like a rollin’ ball of thunder
Spinnin’ my head around n’ takin’ my body under
Oh what a night
Oh what a night
Oh what a night
Oh what a night

Songwriters: Bob Gaudio / Judy Parker
Dec ’63 (Oh What A Night) lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC