| "Sherry" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by The Four Seasons | ||||
| from the album Sherry & 11 Others | ||||
| B-side | "I've Cried Before" | |||
| Released | August 1962 [1] | |||
| Recorded | July 1962 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:32 | |||
| Label | Vee-Jay | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Bob Gaudio | |||
| Producer(s) | Bob Crewe | |||
| The Four Seasons singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Sherry" is a song written by Bob Gaudio and recorded by The Four Seasons.
According to Gaudio, the song took about 15 minutes to write and was originally titled "Jackie Baby" (in honor of then-First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy). [5] In a 1968 interview, Gaudio said that the song was inspired by the 1961 Bruce Channel hit "Hey! Baby". [6]
At the studio, the name was changed to "Terri Baby", and eventually to "Sherry", the name of the daughter of Gaudio's best friend, New York DJ Jack Spector. One of the names that Gaudio pondered for the song was "Peri Baby", which was the name of the record label for which Bob Crewe worked, named after the label owner's daughter.
The single's B-side was "I've Cried Before". Both tracks were included in the group's subsequent album release, Golden Hits of the 4 Seasons (1963). [7]
In 2023, "Sherry" was selected for preservation in the United States National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." [8]
| Chart (1962) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia | 3 |
| Canada [9] [10] | 1 |
| New Zealand (Lever Hit Parade) [11] | 1 |
| UK [12] | 8 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 [13] | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard R&B [14] | 1 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI) [15] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
"Sherry" drew the attention of WPOP in Hartford, Connecticut, a radio station known for its aggressive seeking out of new hit records; WPOP overnight host Joey Reynolds soon placed the record into heavy rotation. [16] Shortly thereafter, "Sherry" became the band's first nationally released single and their first number one hit, reaching the top of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 on September 15, 1962. It remained at number one for five consecutive weeks, and number one on the R&B charts for one week. [17] "Sherry" became the first single by The Four Seasons to go to number one on the R&B charts.
The song appears on the soundtrack album of the films; Stealing Home (1988) and The Help (2011), [20] as well as a television episode of Two and a Half Men.
In The Marvelous Wonderettes , Missy takes the lead on the song with the Wonderettes singing backup. At the climax of the song, Missy hits a Phantom of the Opera-esque high note.
As with most of the Four Seasons' hit records, "Sherry" is included in the Four Seasons musical biopic Jersey Boys , with Reynolds's stunt being used to lead into the song. (Reynolds went uncredited in the musical and was replaced by the fictional disc jockey Barry Belson, a fact that Reynolds resented. [21] )
The Four Seasons is an American vocal quartet formed in 1960 in Newark, New Jersey. Since 1970, they have also been known at times as Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.
"Candy Girl" is the title of a hit single recorded in 1963 by the Four Seasons. Written by Larry Santos, it is the first original Four Seasons single composed by neither Bob Gaudio nor Bob Crewe. The writer, Larry Santos, would become a chart artist in his own right with 1976's "We Can't Hide It Anymore". A stereo version was released in 1975, on The Four Seasons Story album.
Gaetano "Tommy" DeVito was an American musician. He was best known as a founding member, vocalist, and lead guitarist of rock band the Four Seasons.
"December, 1963 " is a song originally performed by the Four Seasons, written by original Four Seasons keyboard player Bob Gaudio and his future wife Judy Parker, produced by Gaudio, and included on the group's album Who Loves You (1975).
"Bye, Bye, Baby " is a popular song written by Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio. The Four Seasons' version of the song made it to No. 1 in Canada and No. 12 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1965. On the original issue of the single, the title was "Bye Bye Baby". However, on the album, The 4 Seasons Entertain You, and on later issues of the song, the name was changed to the longer, more familiar one. The song is about saying goodbye, not because the person is unloved but rather because the relationship is adulterous.
Robert Stanley Crewe was an American songwriter, dancer, singer, manager, and record producer. Crewe co-wrote and produced a string of Top 10 singles with Bob Gaudio for the Four Seasons.
"Big Girls Don't Cry" is a song written by Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio and originally recorded by the Four Seasons. It hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on November 17, 1962, and, like its predecessor "Sherry", spent five weeks in the top position but never ranked in the Billboard year-end charts of 1962 or 1963. The song also made it to number one, for three weeks, on Billboard's Rhythm and Blues survey. It was also the quartet's second single to make it to number one on the US R&B charts.
"Can't Take My Eyes Off You" is a 1967 song written by Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio, and first recorded and released as a single by Gaudio's Four Seasons bandmate Frankie Valli. The song was among his biggest hits, earning a gold record and reaching No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 for a week, making it Valli's biggest solo hit until he hit No. 1 in 1975 with "My Eyes Adored You".
"The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine (Anymore)" is a song written by Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio.
"Walk Like a Man" is a 1963 song written by Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio and originally recorded by the Four Seasons. The song is sung from the perspective of a man whose girlfriend has been belittling him, and who takes his father's advice to "walk like a man" and leave the relationship in order to preserve his dignity. The song was a #1 hit in the United States for the Four Seasons. A 1985 cover version by Divine was a top 40 hit in several European countries.
"Rag Doll" is a popular song written by Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio. It was recorded by the Four Seasons and released as a single in 1964.
"My Eyes Adored You" is a 1974 song written by Bob Crewe and Kenny Nolan. It was originally recorded by The Four Seasons in early 1974. After the Motown label balked at the idea of releasing it, the recording was sold to lead singer Frankie Valli for $4000. After rejections by Capitol and Atlantic Records, Valli succeeded in getting the recording released on Private Stock Records, but the owner/founder of the label, Larry Uttal, wanted only Valli's name on the label. It is from the album Closeup. The single was released in the US in November 1974 and topped the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1975. "My Eyes Adored You" also went to number 2 on the Easy Listening chart. Billboard ranked it as the No. 5 song for 1975.
The Four Lovers was a band formed in 1956 which was the result of vocalist Frankie Valli joining The Variatones in 1954. The Four Lovers achieved minor success before a name change to The Four Seasons in 1960. During those five years, the group members also included Nicolas DeVito, Hugh Garrity, Charles Calello (bass), Nick Massi, Bob Gaudio, and Philip Mongiovi (drums).
The Wonder Who? was a nom de disque of The Four Seasons for four single records released from 1965 to 1967. It was one of a handful of names used by the group at that time, including Frankie Valli and The Valli Boys. Wonder Who? recordings generally feature the falsetto singing by Valli, but with a softer falsetto than on "typical" Four Seasons recordings.
This is a list of singles and some albums recorded and released by Frankie Valli and/or The Four Seasons in their various guises since 1953. This list includes only commercially released singles on which Valli or some configuration of the group was credited with performing or producing. Promotional-only releases and extended play records (EPs) are omitted from this list.
"Who Loves You" is the title song of a 1975 album by The Four Seasons. It was composed by Bob Gaudio and Judy Parker and produced by Gaudio. It reached number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1975.
"Silver Star" is the lead song on the Four Seasons album Who Loves You. As was the case of all the songs on the LP, it was written by Bob Gaudio and Judy Parker and produced by Gaudio. Drummer Gerry Polci sang lead. Frankie Valli's contribution was limited to harmony vocals, since he was gradually losing his hearing in the 1970s due to otosclerosis. An operation restored most of Valli's hearing in the 1980s.
"You're the Apple of My Eye" is a song written by Otis Blackwell and initially recorded and released as a single in 1956 by The Four Lovers, the precursor to The Four Seasons. Recorded after they were denied the opportunity to record another Blackwell song, "Don't Be Cruel", "You're the Apple of My Eye" was The Four Lovers' first exposure to U.S. national publicity, reaching the #62 position on the Billboard Hot 100 and earning the quartet an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. One of two Four Lovers singles that RCA Victor Records released simultaneously, it was the quartet's only foray onto the Hot 100 before the formation of The Four Seasons five years later.
"The Proud One" is a 1966 single written by Bob Gaudio and Bob Crewe and originally performed by Frankie Valli as part of his debut solo album, The 4 Seasons Present Frankie Valli Solo. Valli's version, which featured the Seasons on instrumental backing but not vocals, peaked at #68 in the U.S. and #64 in Canada. Billboard claimed that "the electric sound of Valli is used to perfection in this powerful ballad, stating that the "easy-go dance beat [is] effective." Cash Box said that it is a "powerhouse" and that "the Valli sound holds the moving, teen-oriented tale of love together and the sweeping arrangement adds a must spin again quality to it."
"Spend the Night in Love" is a 1980 song by The Four Seasons. It was composed by Lenny Goldsmith, Bob Gaudio and Judy Parker and produced by Gaudio and longtime Seasons collaborator Charles Calello. The song was the lone single from their album Reunited. The single version is a studio cut; the version on the album, like the remainder of the album, was recorded live on tour.
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