Throwback Thursday: The Dells - "Oh, What A Night"

Formed in a Harvey, Illinois high school in 1952 as a doo-wop/R&B group by founding members Marvin Junior, Verne Allison, Johnny Funches, Chuck Barksdale, and Mickey and Lucius McGill, under the name the El-Rays (later changed to The Dells), released their first recording in 1954, and two years later, had their first R&B hit with "Oh, What a Night". Produced by Bobby Miller and written by Junior and Funches, the original version of "Oh, What A Night" The Dells' on the Vee Jay label peaked at number four on the R&B singles chart. In 1969, another more refined version was released and reached number ten on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and number one on the Best Selling Soul singles chart. The 1969 version of "Oh, What A Night" was ranked #260 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.