Oh, What a Night (song)

For the song by the Four Seasons, see December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night).

"Oh, What a Night"
Single by The Dells
from the album Love Is Blue
B-side	Believe Me
Released	August 1969
Format	7" single
Recorded	1969
Genre	Doo-wop/soul
Length	6:09
Label	Cadet Records
Writer(s)	Marvin Junior, Johnny Funches
Producer	Bobby Miller
Certification	Gold
The Dells singles chronology
"I Can't Do Enough" (1969) "Oh, What a Night" (1969) "On the Dock of the Bay" (1969)

"Oh, What a Night" is a song first recorded by the doo-wop group The Dells and released in 1956, originally under the title "Oh What a Nite". The Dells' recording peaked at number four on the R&B singles chart and was released on the Vee Jay Records label. Re-released in 1969, the song was refashioned as a soul song released on the Cadet label. "Oh, What a Night" was notably different than its original counterpart with an altered arrangement and tempo. The re-release reached number ten on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and number-one on the Best Selling Soul singles chart.^[1].

The song is said to have been inspired by a party, which had been held in The Dells' honor by some female friends of the group.^[2]

The 1969 version was ranked #260 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time^[3].

"Oh, What a Night" has been covered by Change on Sharing Your Love (1982), Tracey Ullman (1983), Lester Bowie (1986), The Moonlighters (1988), Nick Kamen (1988), Barbara Jones (1995), Donnie & the Del Chords (1999), Unisoghn (2001) and John Barrowman (2010).

Personnel

1950s version

• Lead vocals by Johnny Funches
• Background vocals by Johnny Funches, Marvin Junior, Michael McGill, Chuck Barksdale and Verne Allison

1960s version

• Lead vocals by Junior Marvin (Marvin Junior)
• Background vocals by Johnny Carter, Michael McGill, Chuck Barksdale and Verne Allison
• Spoken intro by Chuck Barksdale
• Produced by Bobby Miller

References

1. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 154. 
2. ^ The Dells
3. ^ "The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". RollingStone.com. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6596105/oh_what_a_night. Retrieved 2008-08-15. 

External links

• Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee page
• Songfacts: "Oh What a Nite" page
• Song review and list of albums the song appears on
• Change - Sharing Your Love (1982)
• Change information, Bio, Discography and Tracklists

Preceded by "Share Your Love with Me" by Aretha Franklin

Billboard Best Selling Soul Singles number-one single September 27, 1969

Succeeded by "I Can't Get Next to You" by The Temptations