#1 for weeks of September 15, 22, 29, and October 6 and 13th, 1962.
Back in the early 1960's, before New Jersey was known for bottom-of-the-barrel reality shows staring talent-less 20somethings, before it was known for top-of-the-grade singer/songwriters such as Bruce Springsteen, the city was best known for The Four Seasons, led by the instantly recognizable falsetto of Frankie Valli.
For whatever reason, I have seen divided opinions on these guys over the years from those who can't stand Frankie's voice and thus hate the band, to those who love all of their songs and consider them classics of their time period. I find myself firmly set into the latter category.
Despite this being the group's earliest hit, (And usually as a result, track one on all of their greatest hits compilations), it was not their first single. That honor goes to 1961's "Bermuda". "Sherry" was written by keyboard player Bob Gaudio who until a few years ago today was, along with Frankie Valli, the only other original member still left in the band.
The song is rooted in late 1950's doo-wop vocally with most of the music being similar to that of R&B bands like the Isley Brothers. Instrumentally, we have a full band setup of guitars, bass, piano, and percussion. Despite the band playing their own instruments live, they didn't always play them in the studio with the exception of Bob Gaudio. I won't dock them any points for whether that is or isn't true as they were always best known as a vocal band. Speaking of which -
The Four Seasons differ from contemporaries such as The Beach Boys in that they were a vocal quartet and their vocal harmonies were more rooted in doo-wop and R&B as opposed to The Four Freshmen. Plus, Frankie Valli's falsetto lead vocal has always come across as more rough and tough (in a good way) as opposed to Brian Wilson's more gentle/pleading falsetto. It's really a matter of apples and oranges, and I like to have both.
The reason I love this song and the Four Seasons' music so much is the sheer joy and enthusiasm each of their songs contains. From this early hit, to mid 60's classics like "Let's Hang On", to the mid 70's funky groovy "Who Loves You?", there's always room for some Four Seasons in my musical diet.
Final Verdict - The first of many classic songs by an equally classic band. Give this song a listen and I'm sure it'll perk up your day.
Coming Up Next - "Monster Mash" by Bobby "Boris" Pickett And The Crypt-Kickers.
Until Next Tiii-eee--iii--ee---immmee - I'm Dr. Rock -
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