Working My Way Back to You and More Great New Hits

Last updated
Working My Way Back to You and More Great New Hits
Working My Way Back to You and More Great New Hits.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedJanuary 1966 (1966-01)
StudioStea-Philips Recording Studio; Olmsted Sound Studio, New York City
Genre
Label Philips
Producer Bob Crewe
The Four Seasons chronology
All New Recorded Live • On Stage with The 4 Seasons
(1965)
Working My Way Back to You and More Great New Hits
(1966)
New Gold Hits
(1967)

Working My Way Back to You and More Great New Hits is a 1966 album by The Four Seasons. Released in January of that year, the album is within the pop/rock genre. It included the top ten hit "Working My Way Back to You".

Contents

Track listing

  1. "Working My Way Back to You" (Denny Randell, Sandy Linzer)
  2. "Pity" (Bob Crewe, Mike Petrillo)
  3. "I Woke Up" (Bob Crewe)
  4. "Living Just for You" (Nick Massi)
  5. "Beggars Parade" (Bob Crewe, Bob Gaudio)
  6. "One Clown Cried" (Bob Gaudio, Sandy Linzer)
  7. "Can't Get Enough of You Baby" (Denny Randell, Sandy Linzer)
  8. "Sundown" (Alan Bernstein, Mike Petrillo)
  9. "Too Many Memories" (Bob Crewe, Bob Gaudio)
  10. "Show Girl" (Bob Crewe, Bob Gaudio)
  11. "Comin' Up in the World" (Bob Crewe, Larry Santos)
  12. "Everybody Knows My Name" (Bob Crewe)

Development

This album was "rush-released", including three tracks that had previously been included in the group's previous album entitled The 4 Seasons Entertain You . [1] It included the last contributions from bassist Nick Massi, including a rare original composition, his doo-wop ballad "Living Just for You." [2] In Massi's absence, instrumental arranger Charles Calello filled in on bass for the new material, affording the band enough time to hire and onboard Massi's successor, Joe Long. [3]


Critical reception

William Ruhlmann of AllMusic felt that the majority of the album's tracks are decent examples of the "Gaudio-Crewe pop formula" and believes that "Everybody Knows My Name" was inspired by the folk-rock wave sound of Bob Dylan. [1] Jeff Kallman, also writing for Allmusic, noted that Massi's "Living Just for You" was a highlight of the album ("the best ballad any member of the group came up with (other than) 'Silence Is Golden'") while noting it was somewhat anachronistic, seeming to fit better with the doo-wop of the 1950s or the Philadelphia soul of the 1970s than the music of its own time. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Four Seasons (band)</span> American rock band

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. The band evolved out of a previous band called The Four Lovers, with Frankie Valli as the lead singer, Bob Gaudio on keyboards and tenor vocals, Tommy DeVito on lead guitar and baritone vocals, and Nick Massi on bass guitar and bass vocals. On nearly all of their 1960s hits, they were credited as The 4 Seasons. The band had two distinct lineups that achieved widespread success: the original featuring Valli, Gaudio, DeVito, and Massi that recorded hits throughout the 1960s, and a 1970s quintet consisting of Valli, Lee Shapiro, Gerry Polci, Don Ciccone, and John Paiva, with Gaudio and Long providing studio support.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Gaudio</span> American songwriter and musician (b. 1942)

Robert John Gaudio is an American songwriter, singer, musician, and record producer, and the keyboardist and backing vocalist of the pop/rock band the Four Seasons. Gaudio wrote or co-wrote and produced the vast majority of the band's music, including hits like "Sherry" and "December, 1963 ", as well as "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" for Valli. Though he no longer performs with the group, Gaudio and lead singer Frankie Valli remain co-owners of the Four Seasons brand.

Nicholas E. Macioci was an American bass singer, songwriter, and bass guitarist. He is best known for his work as the bassist and bass vocalist for The Four Seasons, for whom he performed under the stage name Nick Massi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Toys</span> American pop girl group of the 1960s

The Toys were an American pop girl group from Jamaica, New York, which was formed in 1961 and disbanded in 1968. Their most successful recording was "A Lover's Concerto" (1965), which sold more than two million copies and reached the number-two spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tommy DeVito (musician)</span> American guitarist and singer (1928–2020)

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.

Sandy Linzer is an American songwriter, lyricist, and record producer, who is best known for his songwriting collaborations with Denny Randell and Bob Crewe in the 1960s and 1970s. He co-wrote hits including "A Lover's Concerto", "Let's Hang On!", "Working My Way Back to You", "Breakin' Down the Walls of Heartache", "Native New Yorker", and "Use It Up and Wear It Out". He was nominated with Randell for induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame (SHOF) in 2012.

Denny Randell is an American songwriter and record producer, who is best known for his songwriting collaborations with Sandy Linzer and Bob Crewe in the 1960s and 1970s. He co-wrote hits including "A Lover's Concerto", "Let's Hang On!", "Working My Way Back to You", and "Native New Yorker", and was nominated with Linzer for induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame (SHOF) in 2012.

<i>Jersey Boys</i> Jukebox musical premiered in 2004

Jersey Boys is a jukebox musical with a book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. It is presented in a documentary-style format that dramatizes the formation, success and breakup of the 1960s rock 'n' roll group The Four Seasons. The musical is structured as four "seasons", each narrated by a different member of the band who gives his own perspective on its history and music. Songs include "Big Girls Don't Cry", "Sherry", "December, 1963 ", "My Eyes Adored You", "Stay", "Can't Take My Eyes Off You", "Walk Like A Man", "Who Loves You", "Working My Way Back to You" and "Rag Doll".

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.

<i>If I Should Love Again</i> 1981 studio album by Barry Manilow

If I Should Love Again is the eighth studio album released by singer and songwriter Barry Manilow. The album was recorded at United Western Recording Studios in Los Angeles, California. The album was released in 1981, and it was certified gold.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Working My Way Back to You</span> 1966 single by the Four Seasons

"Working My Way Back to You" is a song made popular by the Four Seasons in 1966 and the Spinners in 1980.

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.

"Save It for Me" is a song written by Bob Gaudio and Bob Crewe. A song recorded in 1964 by The Four Seasons for their Rag Doll album, it was released as the follow-up record to the album's title song, which had hit the #1 position on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in July 1964. "Save It for Me" was also a success for the quartet, reaching the #10 position on the Billboard singles chart. It featured arrangement work by Denny Randell, who would later go on to become a songwriter for the group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Let's Hang On!</span> 1965 song performed by The Four Seasons

"Let's Hang On!" is a song composed by Bob Crewe, Sandy Linzer, and Denny Randell that was popularized by the Four Seasons in 1965.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Opus 17 (Don't You Worry 'bout Me)</span> 1966 single by The Four Seasons

"Opus 17 (Don't You Worry 'bout Me)" is a song composed by Sandy Linzer and Denny Randell and recorded by The Four Seasons in 1966 for their album Working My Way Back to You.

<i>The Toys Sing "A Lovers Concerto" and "Attack!"</i> 1966 studio album by The Toys

The Toys Sing “A Lover's Concerto” and “Attack!” is the sole album by the girl group The Toys. It was released in 1966 right after the success of the group's first two hits, both of which are mentioned in the album's title.

<i>Jersey Boys</i> (film) 2014 American film by Clint Eastwood

Jersey Boys is a 2014 American musical drama film directed and produced by Clint Eastwood, based on the 2004 Tony Award-winning jukebox musical of the same name. The film tells the story of the musical group The Four Seasons. Original band members Frankie Valli and Bob Gaudio serve as executive producers.

<i>The Four Seasons Story</i> 1975 compilation album by The Four Seasons

The Four Seasons Story is a two-record compilation of The Four Seasons's biggest hit singles from 1962 to 1970. It was released in 1975 on the Private Stock label. It quickly became a gold record, selling over one million copies before the RIAA started awarding platinum records for million-selling albums (1976). It reached #31 in Canada, January 31, 1976.

<i>Closeup</i> (Frankie Valli album) 1975 studio album by Frankie Valli

Closeup is an album by Frankie Valli, released in February 1975 on the Private Stock label. It had been seven years since his prior album, and afforded Valli his first of two number-one solo hits in the US. The LP reached number 51 on the U.S. Billboard albums chart.

<i>Lady Put the Light Out</i> 1977 studio album by Frankie Valli

Lady Put the Light Out is an album by Frankie Valli, released in November 1977. It was his final album for Private Stock Records, which folded in early 1978.

References

  1. 1 2 Ruhlmann, William. The Four Seasons – Working My Way Back to You and More Great New Hits: Review at AllMusic . Retrieved January 20, 2018.
  2. 1 2 Jeff, Kallman, "Living Just for You", Allmusic, retrieved 2024-07-23
  3. Jordan, Chris. "Joe Long, Four Seasons bassist and Elizabeth native, has died". North Jersey Media Group. Retrieved 22 April 2021.