FIFTY YEARS AGO we were humming along to the hits of 1976. Some have magnificently stood the test of time; others have not. Join us on Memory Lane as we review them on their golden anniversaries.
Last week’s chart topper, Forever and Ever, was quickly displaced by the rather more magnificent December 63 (Oh What a Night) by the very much more magnificent Four Seasons. December reached the top spot on 17th February 1976.
The song came organically from the band itself. Guitarist Bob Gaudio and Judy Parker, whom he later married, wrote it. Frankie Valli, who usually took lead vocals, sang the bridge. At the record company’s suggestion, Gerry Polci, the group’s drummer, to do the lead vocals this time (Valli was producing solo material and the record company wanted the Four Seasons to sound different from his solo work). Bassist Don Ciccone added a falsetto, and Valley took on the backing vocals.
December appeared on the Four Seasons’ 1975 album Who Loves You. This is strange. For a group to be so unafraid of punctuation that they put brackets in the title December 63 (Oh What a Night), to turn punctuation-shy and produce an album called Who Loves You without a question mark is puzzling to 21st century scholars. But the 1970s had enough hangover from the anarchic 1960s to make it not matter, we assume.
The song was originally intended to celebrate 5th December 1933, the day Prohibition ended. The band liked the music, but not the theme. Parker stepped forward and wrote some new lyrics, celebrating the first encounter of two lovers – technically generic ones, but probably her and Gaudio, though technically they met in 1973, not 1963. There’s that poetic licence of the times again.
December had a good bit of success, reaching number one in the UK and the USA – and Canada and South Africa. It managed to evoke the 1960s while still having a strong 1970s disco vibe. Many admired the catchy tune, others loved the lyrics and the universal experience of which they told, and others loved the production.
The Four Seasons hold a number of records for sales and time spent in the charts.
Sadly it was the group’s last number one. The group continued to tour, with some personnel changes. A tour which began in 2024 was extended to 2026, with no formal end in sight.
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