Joe Long

Bass singer and bass player Joe Long was a member of the Four Seasons from 1965 to 1975. In the fall of 1965, Nick Massi, a founding member of the group, quit suddenly. Massi was replaced temporarily by Charles Calello, the band's arranger, but Long (born Joseph LaBracio on September 5, 1941) was then brought in as a permanent replacement. It is not precisely clear when exactly the switch occurred, although Massi was still with the group for the hit "Let's Hang On!," recorded in about August 1965, while Calello appeared on the next single, "Working My Way Back to You," recorded in about November. Long was in place as of "Opus 17 (Don't You Worry 'Bout Me)," recorded in about March 1966. Thereafter, he lent his voice and his left-handed bass and rhythm guitar playing to the group on-stage and in the studio for the rest of their '60s heyday and on into their trough in popularity in the early '70s as original member Tommy DeVito left and original member Bob Gaudio retired from concert work, with other replacement bandmembers also coming and going while the group was renamed Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons to reflect the dominance of its sole remaining original member, lead singer Valli. In 1975, as the Four Seasons were on the verge of comeback, Long left the group, which went on to score with "Who Loves You" and "December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)" after his departure. He stayed in the music business for a time, then became an insurance agent in New Jersey.
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