Question: Could a song about the end of Prohibition called “December 5th,1933” be a hit? Bob Gaudio of the Four Seasons thought so when he wrote it, but Frankie Valli and Bob’s wife, Judy, did not.

They urged Bob to turn it into a song about a young man remembering his first love affair, so he did–keeping his romance with Judy in mind. He also changed the title to “December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night!)”

Interestingly, Bob didn’t sing on the song.—he played keyboards–but Even MORE interesting was the fact that Frankie Valli didn’t sing lead! Drummer Gerry Polci did, and Don Ciccone sang the falsetto parts. Frankie, however, could be heard during the bridge and in the background vocals.

Released in “Late December, 1976,” (perhaps on purpose?), the song was a monster hit in 1977, reaching the Top 10 in 10 countries, including #1 in the U.S., U.K., Canada and South Africa.

It was the last #1 for the Four Seasons as a group, but Oh, what a “Great Song it was!

–Mike Cook