Basslines #3: Joe Long’s slightly sinister bassline is so spectacular that someone in the studio had the sensible idea of leaving it alone for the intro of this classic tune. It’s the perfect preface to the song’s opening line: “Beware of his promise… “

I have to confess that when I think of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, it’s all about his piercing falsetto and the group’s harmonies. Pretty much the last thing I’m thinking about is their musicianship.

In fact I had no idea they were a fully-fledged band; perhaps If I had seen the Jersey Boys musical I would have known the group was formed in Newark, New Jersey, by a singer and three musicians in 1960.

That’s when two members of a novelty act called The Four Lovers –  singer Francis Castelluccio (Valli) and guitarist Tommy DeVito – joined keyboardist Bob Gaudio from another band, The Royal Tees, and Valli’s friend Nick Macioci (aka Massi) on bass.

They struck gold almost instantly with the chart-topping single Sherry, and followed it up with three more – Big Girls Don’t Cry, Walk Like A Man, and Rag Doll – before the arrival of Long after the departure of Massi in 1965.

A classically trained musician, he had studied with the principal double-bass player of the New York Philharmonic but he had to abandon hopes of an orchestral career after severely damaging his hand in an accident at the Singer sewing machine factory where he worked.

After reconstructive surgery, his hand was no longer strong enough for him to play the upright bass, forcing him to switch to a Fender electric bass and exchange classical music for the emergent rock’n’roll.

Their success continued throughout the Sixties, with an astonishing 39 US hit singles and an even more remarkable 21 albums.

The Night arrived long after the hits dried up, though Valli always blamed its failure to chart when released in 1972 on a lack of promotion from the Motown subsidiary they were signed to.

Its revival three years later was thanks to its popularity on the UK’s Northern Soul scene, where its driving bass-led beat made it a dancefloor favourite, and because it had not been a hit. 

Ironically, it reached the Top Ten when its underground success in the clubs led to a re-release in 1975, thus ending its prized status as a “rare groove.”

The Night was revived when Lene Lovich covered it in 1979 and again in 1982 by Soft Cell, who planned it to be their second single, only to change it to Tainted Love. Not the worst idea they ever had.

Long died in 2021 after complications from Covid, seven months after DeVito died of the same thing.