February 17, 2010

Frankie Valli on ‘The Midnight Special’ Singing ‘Swearin’ to God’!

February 17th, 2010


Here’s Frankie Valli’s mid-70′s appearance on “The Midnight Special” with The Four Seasons. “Swearin’ to God,” co-written by Bob Crewe and Denny Randell, peaked at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the summer of 1975.

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14 Comments »

  1. So great! And, “The Midnight Special”…..what a blast from the past.

    Comment by Rose — February 17, 2010 @ 6:22 pm

  2. Loved it!! Nothing like going down memory lane!!
    There will not be another Frankie Valli..oh that voice!!

    Comment by sharon wardlow — February 17, 2010 @ 8:56 pm

  3. This is one of my all time favorite songs. Hearing it live is wonderful.

    Comment by Linda/Tiggerbelle — February 17, 2010 @ 11:58 pm

  4. Great video with Frankie Valli in top form! The left-handed bass player to the left of Frankie Valli looks like the legendary Joe Long, but unfortunately the camera does not provide a close-up to confirm if it is, in fact, “the fifth season” (not counting Bob Crewe, of course).

    Comment by Len Gersten — February 18, 2010 @ 12:59 am

  5. Loved this! Can’t wait to see Frankie here in Houston on the 25th.

    Comment by gladys — February 18, 2010 @ 7:22 am

  6. That’s Joe Long on bass guitar.
    This must have been one of Joe’s last appearances with the group as I believe he left in 1975 ?
    Can anyone provide any further details re Joe’s last performance with FV&4S.

    Comment by Brian — February 18, 2010 @ 7:38 am

  7. Fantastic !!!! I remenber watching the original broadcast run of this show ! I was annoyed because the network faded out before you could hear the end of Swearin To God ! Also that show featured Silence Is Golden, I’ve got love for you Ruby, Warsaw Concerto and Frankie introduced Who LOves You !!
    I think Will you Love me tomorrow/Rag Doll and My Eyes Adored You were also featured.
    Any chnace of seeing the entire show ?

    Great Memories !! I still own the original 45 of all the 7os hits !

    Solo.

    Comment by Mr. Grant Solo — February 18, 2010 @ 8:52 am

  8. Through the years & adding to the memories of the 70″s this video & Frankie singing one of my favorite songs during his solo career “SWEARIN’ TO GOD” such a pretty up beat song & hearing it live is wonderful.

    Especially if its in NEW YORK CITY (CENTRAL PARK) & in the set of songs he sings/this one lights up the sky! Me and my brother Bobby loved the sound on stage with this song….

    One of my favorite solo albums is “CLOSEUP” this song is on the album, along with “MY EYES ADORED YOU” And several other beautiful songs. AWESOME!!!
    Produced by Bob Crewe & Bob Gaudio 1975.

    “SWEARIN’ TO GOD” Is also on this album (Special Limited Edition) FRANKIE VALLI HITS 1978 & more. FABULOUS!!!

    These #2 albums as I mentioned have this beautiful song on them & its Frankie’s Solo career,and as Jackie Gleason would say “How sweet it is”….

    ciao

    Comment by Patti-Massi-Candeliere — February 18, 2010 @ 11:31 pm

  9. The left handed playing by Joe Long and the right handed playing by Don Ciccone give the video another level of symmetry.

    Comment by Ted Hammond — February 19, 2010 @ 3:15 pm

  10. Seeing this video makes me curious as to when Joe actually left the performing band.

    My guess is that it was sometime during the fall of 75.

    Joe was apparently part of the “Who Loves You” single recording, but not on the other tracks of the forthcoming album?

    Comment by Ray — February 20, 2010 @ 8:15 am

  11. I believe that to be the case Ray. While I don’t have an exact date, I last saw Joe Long perform live in concert in August of 1975. If memory serves me, he then appeared with Don Ciccone and the rest of the then constitued Four Seasons when Frankie was a co-host on the Mike Douglas show for a week in September of 1975. Also, Joe has confirmed that he was on “Who Loves You” (and did the marvelous bass guitar work) but did not participate on any of the other cuts from the “Who Loves You” album.

    Comment by David Cace — February 20, 2010 @ 1:32 pm

  12. GREAT TO SEE FRANKIE WITH JOE LONG AND DON CICCONE, A GREAT HIT FOR FRANKIE AND A 1975 BIG HIT…………DISCOS PLAYED IT ALL THE TIME……

    Comment by JIM PETRECCA — February 23, 2010 @ 4:00 pm

  13. I fimally found the episode guide at tv.com.

    Here is the link. It was originally 7-4-75. But they did repeat “Who Loves You” on 9-5-75.

    http://www.tv.com/the-midnight-special/host-frankie-valli/episode/206200/summary.html?tag=ep_guide;summary

    The 7-4-75 episode did indeed also include Orleans singing “Dance With Me”. I must have seen it then because I recall both songs in the same episode, but I also recall the 9-5-75 episode with WLY.

    Comment by Ted Hammond — February 23, 2010 @ 10:20 pm

  14. WOW, this is certainly a treat. I was only 7 years old when this was recorded, so i didnt get to see this. Having seen him in the 90′s and today, it is real to finally begin to see 1970′s footage…awesome.

    Comment by Jallex — March 31, 2010 @ 9:21 pm

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