Jersey Boys Blog

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1. I can still remember to this day how I felt as a 14 year old when “Rag Doll” derailed the entire British Invasion. All of us teenage New Jersey ITGs(imaginery tough guys) felt a sense of pride that our real life Jersey Boys put all those British musical carpetbaggers in their place.

   Comment by David Cace — July 18, 2007 @ 10:05 am

2. I remember reading on his blog and in other articles that JLY went to Las Vegas to see Frankie Valli perform in preparation for the broadway role. While we know Frankie didn’t tutor JLY and that JLY trained with an amazing vocal teacher, all I can say is, “Well, he(JLY) learned very well.”

   I didn’t recognize the Toy Solder song. ANyone have info on this? IE

   Comment by irene eizen — July 18, 2007 @ 10:19 am

3. Great video! It brings back memories to people who heard Rag Doll first I bet.

   Comment by Kristina — July 18, 2007 @ 10:55 am

4. Irene – Going from memory, “Toy Soldier” was the next single release after “Bye Bye Baby” which would bring us sometime to the Spring of 1965. It was not very successful. Check “Jersey Beat” and it will tell you its highest position on the charts. A little too dramatic and slow for my taste.

   Comment by David Cace — July 18, 2007 @ 12:05 pm

5. Now that I have a few moments let me share a story that I remember being told about “Rag Doll” by legendary DJ Scott Muni, affectionately referred to as Scottso. Scott Muni is probably best known as a “classic rock” FM DJ, but prior to his early defection from Top 40 AM radio to FM radio, he was a popular DJ at WABC radio in New York, whose DJ line-up included such other famous DJs as Dan Ingram, Herb Oscar Anderson, and “Cousin” Bruce Morrow (remember the Four Seasons’ “Cousin Brucie” “GO Go” theme song) among others.

   Some version of the following process still exists today as I understand it, but specifically in the ’60s, the DJs and the program director(s) would meet weekly to review the new record releases to determine what new songs they would be playing the following week on their respective radio stations. During the ’60s there were two principal “New York” Top 40 radio stations: WABC and WMCA, and another legendary DJ, Murray Kaufman, better know as Murray “The K” would also play the Top 40 at night on his show which I believe was aired on WNEW.

   In addition to picking new releases to play, WMCA and WABC both would select one new release each week and call it something like the “Pick Hit of The Week.” WMCA picked “Rag Doll” as its “Pick Hit of the Week.” Not only did WABC NOT select “Rag Doll” as its “Pick Hit of the Week,” the WABC consensus, excluding Scott Muni, was that “Rag Doll” was going to be a flop and WABC didn’t even put “Rag Doll” on its play list for the following week.

   “Rag Doll” went from WMCA’s “Pick Hit of The Week” to No. 1 on its radio station the following week (which may not correspond exactly to the national No. 1 placement on July 18, 1964 – perhaps a week or two earlier). WABC was left with egg on its face to say the least, as well as less listeners to its radio station that week, as the only place in the greater New York area that one could hear “Rag Doll” on the radio was WMCA (and Murry “The K” in the evening).

   Comment by David Cace — July 18, 2007 @ 3:11 pm

6. Somebody wrote a book a few years ago from the inside of New York radio. It seems if I recall correctly that Scott Muni was involved in some kind of controversy regaring “Rag Doll” and WABC but I don’t remember the details.

   I do remember Newsweek magazine writing an article about the ascent of “Rag Doll” to #1, and perhaps prematurely concluding that the “British Invasion” was over. They also pointed out some interesting facts about the Four Seasons in that article or another in Newsweek. In one of them, Frankie Valli was quoted as saying that it took him twelve years to achieve “overnight success”.

   Comment by Ted Hammond — July 18, 2007 @ 3:40 pm

7. Irene, To add to David’s “Toy Soldier” comment–This song only peaked at #64 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart.
   Susie

   Comment by Administrator — July 18, 2007 @ 8:43 pm

8. Wow, that was fun to watch. Bob Gaudio had to bend his knees while playing the keyboard!! I just love their harmony. Thanks Jersey Boys Blog!!

   Comment by LindaL — July 18, 2007 @ 8:58 pm

9. As can be seen from its rather poor placement in the Top 100 if nothing else, “Toy Soldier” is an unremarkable 4 Seasons recording, however, it does have a somewhat unique place in 4 Seasons record collecting trivia. While “Toy Soldier” appears, of course, as a Philips 45 rpm single, it also appears and doesn’t appear on a 4 Seasons album.

   For those of you who may have the 4 Seasons “Entertain You” album, take a look at track 6 on side 2. Depending on what edition/printing of the album that you have “Toy Soldier” may or may not be there. Here is what apparently happened. The first edition or printing of the album contained “A Sunday Kind of Love” as the last track on side 2. The front of the ablum said in the right hand corner something like “includes hit single “Bye Bye Baby.” A month or so after the release of the “Entertain You” album, “Toy Soldier” was released as a single and placed on the “Entertain You” album replacing “A Sunday Kind of Love” and the front of the album was redone and said something like “including hit singles Bye Bye Baby and Toy Soldier.” This occurrence makes “A Sunday Kind of Love” a rare 4 Seasons recording.

   For those who have seen “Jersey Boys” or have listened to the cast CD, the arrangement for ” A Sunday Kind of Love” in the play is principally based on the 4 Seasons “Entertain You” album cut. The principal difference is that in the play, it is Bobby Spencer as Nick Massi doing a solo bass on “Who will show me the way.” The real life Nick Massi did not do a solo bass on the album cut although his bass voice can be heard prominetly in the recording along with Tommy’s and Bob’s voice in the background vocals. Frankie Valli used to have “A Sunday Kind of Love” in his act in the late ’80s and into the ’90s and in the stage version, the bass singer in the group at the time did a bass solo on the part(I think it was Robby Robinson). So “A Sunday Kind of Love” in the play and on the cast CD is a combination of the 4 Seasons album cut from the “Entertain You” album and the Frankie Valli and New Seasons stage version.

   Comment by David Cace — July 19, 2007 @ 10:33 am

10. The book that discusses “Rag Doll”, WABC, and Scott Muni is by Richard Neer and is called “FM: The Rise and Fall of Rock and Roll”.

    I thought “Toy Soldier” was a decent song, but not hit material, and the theme was possibly not one the Four Seasons’s fans expected, though “Little Pony (Get Along)” was similar in it’s theme but set in a different time.

    Comment by Ted Hammond — July 19, 2007 @ 2:33 pm

11. David, boy do you bring back memories.

    It was concerning to have “Sunday Kind Of Love” cut from the “Entertain You” LP. I had to wait until that odd Pickwick release(Brotherhood of Man)before
    I could get it back. Of course these were the pre-cd days.

    On “Toy Soldier”, it was a good track. Reminiscent of the Shirelles “Soldier Boy” especially on the guitar work. To me it marked the end of the beat-ballad formula of song style that had worked so well, but began to wain in popularity. I think “Girl Come Running” was the final straw before Callelo turned everything upside down with the “Let’s Hang On ” arrangement.

    Comment by Ray Ricci — July 19, 2007 @ 4:09 pm

12. Thanks Ted for that bit of information. The book sounds interesting for more than just “Rag Doll,” WABC and Scott Muni. It is a very interesting topic and Richard Neer is a very interesting guy. Did you know that Richard Neer is a weekend sportstalk host on WFAN 660 AM in New York?

    Comment by David Cace — July 19, 2007 @ 4:25 pm

13. You may need to revisit the Scott Muni story on Rag Doll.

    Visit the musicradio77.com web site where all of the WABC and WMCA surveys are.

    Rag Doll was the WABC Pick Hit of the Week, June 2, 1964. The next Tuesday night (Tuesday was the WABC new survey day) Rag Doll was number 1, where it stayed for 6 weeks.

    Rag Doll was the WMCA Sure Shot June 3, 1964 (apparently Wednesday was the WMCA survey day, which explains why WABC picked Tuesday!). June 10, 1964, it was number 1. I remember clearly the first time I heard Rag Doll. It was Sunday night May 31, 1964 during the SCOT MUNI SHOW! Scottso announced it was the “Pick Hit of the Week.” When it hit number 1 Tuesday, it was the first time that had happened in WABC survey history.

    Comment by JIm Hicks — September 1, 2007 @ 9:47 am

14. I was just relating the Scott Muni story as he told it during one of those old DJ retrospectives on the radio that took place sometime during the ’90s. Thanks Jim for checking the hisorical records. Ted mentioned the Richard Neer book that apparently also casts some doubt about Scottso’s recollection from the ’60s.

    Comment by David Cace — September 1, 2007 @ 11:37 am

15. I remember listening to WABC that day. They had just played “Rag Doll” as that week’s Pick Hit in the last half-hour, but the survey changed at, I believe 2 PM. They played it again just after 2 as #1. I remember being amazed that it went from Pick Hit to #1 before my ears!

    Paul

    Comment by Paul Anderson — December 5, 2008 @ 4:00 pm

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