February 1, 2013

Friday Flashback: ‘The Proud One’ by Frankie Valli & The Osmonds!

February 1st, 2013

“The Proud One” was Frankie Valli’s second solo recording that hit the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song, written by Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio, was released in November 1966 and peaked at the #68 position on the chart.

The Osmonds recorded a remake of “The Proud One” that peaked at #22 on the chart in 1975. I’ll never forget “American Top 40″ host Casey Kasem playing a snippet of Valli’s version of the song when the Osmonds were climbing the charts with their rendition. IMHO, I don’t think the Osmonds’ version held a candle to Valli’s powerful ballad!

What do you guys think of the two versions? Wonder if anyone out there has ever seen Frankie perform “The Proud One” live in concert?

4 Comments »

  1. While not a mega hit for Frankie it’s nice that there was value in the song to have it covered almost 10 years later by the Osmonds. The Osmonds were no strangers to covering Valli songs (“C’mon Maryann” and “I Can’t Live A Dream” to name a few).

    Two nice arrangements but it’s hard to top the original.

    I don’t think Frankie ever performed the song in concert. There were so many other hits at the time that they needed to fit in to their show. Could be wrong.

    Comment by Ray — February 1, 2013 @ 10:26 am

  2. Ray, You’re so right about the Osmonds being no strangers to covering Valli/Seasons songs…In fact, I was thinking about Donny & Marie’s rendition of “Working My Way Back To You” from their 70s TV show…Sure enough, it’s on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lR2sQAl1-Mg

    Comment by Susie — February 1, 2013 @ 10:18 pm

  3. The Osmonds took “The Proud One” to #1 Adult Contemporary.

    Background singers on Frankie’s version included Angel Peggy Santiglia Farina of “Beggin’” composing fame.

    Comment by Ted — February 2, 2013 @ 1:58 am

  4. AT 40 reruns from the 70s are now airing on some stations in the evening. Check out CKWW 580 Windsor’s website for schedules and to listen live. You might hear that snippet!

    Comment by Ted — February 2, 2013 @ 2:02 am

RSS feed for comments on this post. | TrackBack URI

Please leave a comment