September 11, 2014

Sad News from the Music World: Legendary Hitmaker Bob Crewe Has Passed Away

September 11th, 2014

Independent-music-producer-Bob-Crewe-circa-1965

It is with sadness that Jersey Boys Blog has to share the news to our readers that Bob Crewe, legendary songwriter and producer, known as the “Fifth Season” has passed away.

The news was first reported on FrontiersLA.com:

Music legend Bob Crewe died Thursday, surrounded by family and friends, according to several reports from his friends on Facebook. He was 82.

Bob Crewe did it all—an actor, fine arts painter, singer, dancer, producer—but he was perhaps best known for producing and co-writing hit songs, including a long list of Top 10 singles for Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons such as “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Walk Like a Man” and “My Eyes Adored You.” Those were also the days of sweet innuendo, so only the gays would know that the sweet and seductive “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” is from a male-to-male point of view.

Crewe also co-wrote the cheeky “Lady Marmalade” with Kenny Nolan for Patti LaBelle. And, in an amusing twist for a gay man, his The Bob Crewe Generation wrote “Music to Watch Girls By” and the soundtrack for the 1968 Jane Fonda cult film Barbarella, directed by Roger Vadim.

Under his own label DynoVoice, Crewe managed and produced Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels, which secured 11 Top 100 hits, including “Devil with a Blue Dress On.” Crewe was inducted into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame in 1985.

But his talent wasn’t limited to music. He was also an artist, designing a number of album covers and having one-man gallery shows of his paintings, including in Los Angeles.

In 2005, Crewe played a supporting character in the multiple-Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Jersey Boys, based on the story of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, for which he was credited as lyricist.

Mr. Crewe, thank you for sharing your songwriting and hitmaking talents with the world for so many decades–your music will live on forever!

Our hearts and prayers go out to Bob Crewe’s family, friends, castmates & colleagues, and his many fans.

6 Comments »

  1. So sad to hear about Bob Crewe’s passing. Because of his having been such a big part of the Jersey Boys story I feel like I knew him. He was such a talented man.
    My heart goes out to his family.

    Comment by Maureen — September 11, 2014 @ 8:37 pm

  2. Rest in peace, Bob. You’ll live forever in our hearts through your music and talent. Thank you for the music and memories.

    Comment by Rose — September 11, 2014 @ 8:46 pm

  3. This IS sad news, although when a life is lived fully – with boundless talent and satisfying relationships, there’s no need to ponder ‘what if?’ It’s just good to know that he stayed long enough to see his story go from the end of Walnut Street in Belleville to stages around the world and finally landing on the big screen. It seems there always was something other-worldly about him and today is proof.

    Comment by Audrey — September 11, 2014 @ 9:29 pm

  4. Bob is now part of the heavenly choir. Thanks Bob for all the music and sharing your life with us in “Jersey Boys”. May you Rest in Peace..

    Comment by Gladys Marlin — September 12, 2014 @ 5:28 am

  5. My deepest condolences to the family of Bob Crew and also to Frankie Valli and Bob’s musical family .
    The music he created will live on forever along with all the memories in our hearts.
    Bless you and be at peace. The world will miss you.

    Comment by Audrey G — September 12, 2014 @ 8:54 am

  6. So sad to learn of his passing. I too felt as though I knew him because of the JB story. Such a wonderfully talented person. Will be greatly missed. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family.

    Comment by MaryAnn — September 12, 2014 @ 2:44 pm

RSS feed for comments on this post. | TrackBack URI

Please leave a comment