Farewell to a Songwriter

This month on the 11th, we lost 83-year-old Bob Crewe, a New Jersey-born songwriter, dancer, singer, manager, and record producer. He was known for producing, and co-writing with Bob Gaudio, a string of Top 10 singles for The Four Seasons. He was also known for his hit recordings with  Freddy Cannon, Lesley Gore, Oliver, Michael Jackson, Bobby Darin, Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels, and Roberta Flack.

Here are just a few of those hit records Crewe co-wrote and produced. Written with Bob Gaudio (keyboardist/backing vocalists of The Four Seasons), "Big Girls Don't Cry" was the second #1 hit for The Four Seasons in 1962, spending 5 weeks topping the charts, like its predecessor "Sherry." Sung mostly in falsetto by Frankie Valli, this song helped The Four Seasons become the first rock-era act to hit the top spot on the Hot 100 with their first two chart entries.

First made famous by The Rays in 1957, Bob Crewe's "Silhouettes" appeared on the charts again in the mid-'60s with Herman's Hermits. Crewe saw a couple embracing through a window shade as he passed on a train and quickly set about turning the image into a song. From 1965, this Hermits' version reached #5 in the US and #3 in the UK. 

Another Crewe and Gaudio collaboration, "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine (Anymore)" was originally released as a single by Frankie Valli in 1965, however, was more successful when recorded by The Walker Brothers in 1966. A #1 hit in the UK and #13 in the US, this version was an imitation of Phil Spector's "Wall of Sound" style, including a wordless chorus, strings, and echo effect, with the Walker Brothers even sounding like the Righteous Brothers.

"Music to Watch Girls By" was the first Top 40 hit by Bob Crewe using his own name, recorded by his group The Bob Crewe Generation. Crewe first heard the song performed in a "jingle demo" for a Diet Pepsi commercial, composed by Sidney "Sid" Ramin. The big-band, horn-driven recording went to #15 on the pop chart and #2 on the Easy Listening chart. According to Greg Adams, writing for All Music Guide, the song "exemplified the groovy state of instrumental music at that time."




And finally, we'll conclude with a 1967 single by Frankie Valli, the Crewe/Gaudio tune "Can't Take My Eyes Off You." Reaching #2 and becoming one of Valli's biggest solo hits, this song has had a major cultural impact, with hundreds of cover versions, many of which have been on the charts themselves in different countries. The song is a staple of television and film soundtracks, even being featured as part of the plot of some films, such as when the lead characters sing or arrange their own version of the song.

Farewell to the talented Bob Crewe. Your numerous hits will continue to play on.

Christmas Time Is Here Again

Christmas Music: Part 1

Well, I realize it's still November, but if you love the sounds of the Christmas season, you should enjoy the next several weeks here at The '60s Beat. I'll try to keep the descriptions more brief, but we all know how rare that is on this blog...

To kick off the Christmas spirit, how about a cheery tune from that favorite vocal surf pop group, The Beach Boys! Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, "Little Saint Nick" went to #3 on the Billboard Christmas charts after its release in December of 1963. It borrows its rhythm and structure from the group's "Little Deuce Coupe," a hit a few months prior. Although that year saw a media-hushed Christmas as the country mourned the recent death of JFK, the single did go into the Top Tens for record sales in dozens of cities, and eventually became an unofficial million-seller. This footage is definitely from later in the '60s when Love started sporting a beard.

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And here are some of our favorite Brits with a Christmas greeting, wishing Beatle fans a "Happy Crimble!" 'Crimble' was a slang word for Christmas coined by The Beatles in 1964 (more likely John Lennon, who enjoyed wordplay), and has come into general use among Liverpudlians. The greeting is followed by an excerpt of "Christmas Time (Is Here Again)," a song written by all four Beatles for their 1967 fan club Christmas record. These Christmas records included spoken and musical messages on a flexi disc and were issued each year between 1963 through 1969 for official Beatle fan-club members in the UK and US.

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This next seasonal tune comes from an album that's a 1960s Christmas essential: The Four Seasons' Christmas album from 1962. Done in the style of "Big Girls Don't Cry," a #1 hit from that same year, this falsetto version of "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" is a holiday classic. Although there isn't any live footage with the audio, here's a photo montage of many Santa Clauses to accompany this Christmas standard written by John Frederick Coots and Haven Gillespie back in 1934!
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And for this post's finale, you get two more Christmas videos, brought to you by the zany and lovable Monkees. This first holiday clip comes from their 1967 Christmas episode where the foursome try to instill the spirit of Christmas in a cynical little boy (played by Butch Patrick a.k.a. "Eddie Munster"!).

Finally, this last clip (also from the Christmas episode) is a impressive performance by The Monkees as they sing an a-cappella rendition of the 16th Century Spanish carol, "Riu Riu Chiu." Sung in Olde Spanish, the lyrics refer to the nativity of Jesus and the virgin birth.
Although this post is kind of concluding on a melancholy note, I think you'll enjoy this Christmas beauty. (And in case you were wondering, they're holding incense; this was a family show, so these guys wouldn't be caught dead smoking!). Peace, Love, and Happy Christmas!

"If I Can Dream"

The American Response: Part 3

The ONLY American musical group whose popularity did not diminish during the British Invasion was The Four Seasons, and in fact, they are the only act to have a #1 hit before, during, and after the years that The Beatles had #1 hits on the charts. They are one of the best-selling groups of all time, having sold 175 million records worldwide. Forming in 1960 with Frankie Valli as the lead singer, along with Bob Gaudio (keyboards and tenor vocals), Tommy DeVito (lead guitar and baritone vocals), and Nick Massi (bass guitar and bass vocals), these guys were the most popular rock band before The Beatles. "Working My Way Back to You" was just another one of those Top-10 hits from later in the '60s, released in January of 1966. Although Frankie Valli is the only original member still performing today, this group's legacy lives on with lots of airplay on 'oldies' radio stations.

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So wow, where do I even begin about one of the most popular singers of all time, a cultural icon, The King of Rock and Roll? With his versatile voice and broad success in several genres including country, pop ballads, gospel, and blues, Elvis Presley is THE best-selling solo artist in the history of pop music. Beginning his career in 1954 with Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee, Elvis became one of the originators of rockabilly (a upbeat blend of country and rhythm and blues), and became a leading figure in the development of rock and roll. However, during the 1960s, his music career faltered while stuck in a Hollywood contract, making formulaic (and silly) musical comedies, but that all ended when his '68 Comeback Special aired on TV in December (yeah, that one where he is looking pretty good in tight, black leather). It was Elvis' first live performance since 1961, and the special's finale was "If I Can Dream," a gospel-influenced song that featured quotations by Martin Luther King Jr. After hearing this song, Elvis proclaimed "I'm never going to sing another song I don't believe in."

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Well, it isn't exactly easy following the previous two artists, so we'll just plot along with other classic, 1960s sounds of America. Formed in a suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1959, The Vogues were an American vocal group that started their career when their high school principle helped them record their first demo. Released in 1965, their second single "Five O'Clock World" hit #4 on the US charts and remains one of their most well-known songs today, along with "You're the One" from the previous year. Sung from the viewpoint of an urban worker looking forward to after-work freedom each day, it was not surprising that this became a major hit among steel workers in the Pittsburgh area. This arrangement was quite innovative with the repeating modal figure on 12-string guitar at the beginning and Bill Burkette's bright, baritone lead vocal (including unique yodeling lines) over a crescendoing string accompaniment. Definitely a noteworthy classic which I grew up hearing on the 1987 Good Morning, Vietnam film soundtrack.
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We'll finish off today with another distinctly American-sounding pop rock group from the late '60s, Gary Puckett & the Union Gap, who also gained huge popularity in the UK. Originating in San Diego, California (yeah!), this group secured six consecutive gold records and Top-10 hits, of course fueled by the unmistakable, signature voice of baritone Gary Puckett. Released in March 1968, "Young Girl" was one of their biggest hits, reaching #2 on the US charts and #1 in the UK. With the lyrics about a man who realizes that the one he loves is under an acceptable age, this song was quite controversial at the time (and kind of still is), yet it was the second million-selling disc for the band (after "Woman Woman" in 1967), which it reached in less than two months. These guys headlined at White House reception for Prince Charles later in 1968, and received a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist the following year (losing to Jose' Feliciano). Clad in Union Army-style Civil War uniforms, here's the promo video for this classic tune.