Silver Star (The Four Seasons song)

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"Silver Star"
Silver Star - The Four Seasons.jpg
Single by The Four Seasons
from the album Who Loves You
B-side "Mystic Mr. Sam"
ReleasedApril 1976 [1]
Recorded1975
Genre Rock
Length3:48 (single), 6:03 (album)
Label Warner Bros./Curb
Songwriter(s) Bob Gaudio-Judy Parker
Producer(s) Bob Gaudio
The Four Seasons singles chronology
"December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)"
(1975)
"Silver Star"
(1976)
"Down the Hall"
(1977)

"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. [2] [3] 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. [4]

Contents

Reception

Billboard said that "Silver Star" is an "infectious rocker with a disco feel," saying further that it sometimes sounds like early Who songs. [5] Cash Box called the song "an up-tempo cut, with strong emphasis...on vocal harmony," stating that "acoustic guitars hold up the rhythm tracks" and that "the song has a couple of interesting breaks that work well to hook the listener into the song." [6] Record World said that it should "should keep the group's streak [of hits] alive without any difficulty." [7]

Chart performance

Released shortly after the #3 (US) hit "Who Loves You" and the #1 "December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)", both of which Polci was also lead or co-lead, the single was an edited version of a six-minute, nine second, song that married lyrics of love and Western movies with a disco beat that was the signature of "Who Loves You". The single reached #38 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was far more successful in the United Kingdom, however, reaching #3 on the UK singles chart, [8] although its chart run was short-lived and somewhat erratic there. [9] The group played the song on the 8 April 1976 broadcast episode of "Top of the Pops" (with Noel Edmonds hosting). [10]

Weekly charts

Chart (1976)Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report) [11] 84
Belgium (Ultratop)22
Canada RPM Top Singles45
Canada RPM Adult Contemporary40
Ireland (IRMA) [12] 4
Netherlands (Single Top 100)22
UK Singles (OCC) [13] 3
US Billboard Hot 100 [14] 38
US Billboard Adult Contemporary [15] 24
US Cash Box Top 10068
US Radio & Records Pop Adult/4025
US Record World Singles Chart95
West Germany (Official German Charts)29

Related Research Articles

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"New Mexican Rose" is a song by the American rock band The Four Seasons. The song was composed by producer Bob Crewe and arranger Charles Calello. While sales did not match that of the singles' predecessors, "New Mexican Rose" did make it into the Top 40 of Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart, reaching a peak position of #36 in November 1963.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Proud One</span> 1975 single by The Osmonds

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swearin' to God</span> 1975 single by Frankie Valli

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spend the Night in Love</span> 1980 single by The Four Seasons

"Spend the Night in Love" is a 1980 song by The Four Seasons. It was composed by Lenny Goldsmith and Judy Parker and produced by Gaudio. It was a non-album single as a studio-recorded version. However, a live version of the song had first been included on their 1980 live LP, Reunited.

References

  1. "Silver Star/Mystic Mr. Sam - The Four Seasons". 45cat. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
  2. Joel Whitburn, The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits (5th edition), Billboard Books 1992 ISBN   0-8230-8280-6
  3. Fred Bronson, The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (3rd edition), Billboard Books 1992 ISBN   0-8230-8298-9
  4. Fred Bronson, The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (3rd edition), Billboard Books 1992 ISBN   0-8230-8298-9
  5. "Top Single Picks" (PDF). Billboard. May 22, 1976. p. 20. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
  6. "CashBox Singles Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. May 22, 1976. p. 22. Retrieved 2021-12-11.
  7. "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. May 22, 1976. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-03-06.
  8. Jay Warner, American Singing Groups: A History From 1940 to Today (Hal Leonard Books 2006) ISBN   0-634-09978-7
  9. "Official Singles Chart Top 50 for 16 May 1976 - 22 May 1976". The Official UK Charts Company. 1976-05-16. Retrieved 2015-07-09.
  10. "Top of the Pops, Episode 641, 8 April 1976". ABBA on TV. Retrieved 2019-07-08.
  11. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992 . St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  12. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Silver Star". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  13. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  14. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - ISBN   0-89820-089-X
  15. Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 90.