Perhaps whoever produces/directs the movie will take notice. Then again there’s so much detail to tell that we’d need a Jersey Boys “Trilogy” to complete it.

I guess fans like us from the old guard may never be satisfied….but what a ride so far!

This all would have played nicely with the character Bob Gaudio saying that he was a one hit wonder because in reality they were all one hit wonders (albeit “Apple” was much less of a hit than “Short Shorts”) and there was just one more chance for all of them.

Playing the actual Four Lovers appearance on the Ed Sullivan show singing “Apple” would have been a nice touch also but I guess that might have somewhat taken away from the “Dawn” appearance on Ed Sullivan at the end of the first act.

Maybe this all comes down to placing Nick Massi in the original Four Lovers instead of Nick DeVito for “compression.”

Recreating the Bob Gaudio story of his inspiration for “Rag Doll” also would have played nicely in the show but then that would have taken away from the dramatic “Rag Doll” performance at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction (which singing I should point out never took place).

I think I should stop here. Mr. Brickman and Mr. Elice have done a pretty good job. “Jersey Boys” did win the Tony Award for Best Musical lest we forget and I should get back to playing Mr. CPA instead of Mr. Librettist. Let me stick to the history and leave the artistic stuff to Howard Tucker, CPA.

It’s strange that most of the Otis Blackwell sites never mention Frankie.

There’s a website that claims the Rolling Stones named themselves after the song “Daddy Rolling Stone” which was written by Otis. (Most sites credit a Muddy Waters song for this.

Anyway, there they were (Frankie and Otis) in the beginning, hanging out near the Brill Building dreaming of fame.

50 years later Jersey Boys plays just a few blocks away.

If I may again refer the Blog readers to the Rex Woodard 1982 Goldmine article on the Four Lovers, which can be accessed on Frank Rovello’s GILG web site, Tommy DeVito tells the story of how the Four Lovers got “Apple of My Eye” from Mr. Blackwell. In short, the Four Lovers were signed by RCA Victor records, which was Elvis’s record label (after Sun Records), which had access to all the great songwriters of the day (1956) including Mr. Blackwell. RCA presented an Otis Blackwell tune to the Four Lovers to record entitled “Don’t Be Cruel.” When Elvis heard about the song, he wanted it and being Elvis in 1956 he could have anything he wanted so RCA Victor promised the Four Lovers another Otis Balckwell song which they did get, but “Apple of My Eye” fell just a little short of “Don’t Be Cruel.” According to the article, the Four Lovers rehearsed “Don’t Be Cruel” for two days but never recorded it.

As stated above, Mr. Blackwell was a legitimate singer in his own right but never really had any hits of his own. I did get to hear his version of “Fever” on a radio show featuring early pioneers. It was every bit as good as, if not better than, the Peggy Lee hit version, a scenario very similar to the Diamonds having the hit version of “Litte Darlin’” when it was originally done by the Zodiacs, with Maurice Williams, who also wrote the song. Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs also originally wrote and recorded “Stay” but at least had a hit with that song before it was covered by many artists including the Four Seasons. “Stay” by Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs I believe holds the record for the shortest #1 song in history coming in at about a minute and a half. I should also note that the Four Seasons also cover “Little Darlin’” on the “Entertain You” album and do a fabulous job. Frankie does a great lead and Nick provides the bridge.