Today in Four Seasons History: September 15, 1962
September 15th, 2011Forty-nine years ago today, The Four Seasons’ had their first chart-topping hit, “Sherry”! The song remained in the Number One position for five consecutive weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
As we know from JERSEY BOYS, Bob Gaudio says, “Two takes on a Sunday afternoon. And then the whole world exploded”
Here’s the rest of the story, as told to Fred Bronson in The Book of Number One Hits:
A song that was written in just fifteen minutes, “Sherry†would become the first in a long line of hits for the Four Seasons.
“Some songs come quickly and some songs take forever,” Gaudio explains.
“I was ready to leave for a rehearsal we were having,†writer Bob Gaudio told The Billboard Book of Number One Hits. “I sat at the piano and it came out. Not having a tape recorder in those days, the only way I could remember it was to put a quick lyric to it and remember the melody and the words together.â€
“I drove down to rehearsal humming it, †he continued, “trying to keep it in my mind. I had no intention of keeping the lyrics. To my surprise, everybody liked the lyrics so we didn’t change anything.â€
Gaudio also recalled the first time he heard the song on the radio: “I was driving on the Westside Highway and I had to pull off the road. It was kind of a shock. At first, I didn’t associate it with our record. The first ten seconds sounded interesting, then the bell rang.â€
What about the first time you heard “Sherry”? Was it back in ’62? Years later on an “oldies” radio station? Or, not until you saw JERSEY BOYS?
The first Seasons song I ever heard was in the Spring of 1963, “Walk Like a Man”. My brother bought the “Big Girls Don’t Cry” album for me for my birthday so I could listen to “Walk Like A Man” whenever I wanted. I then heard “Sherry” from the “Sherry” album
for the first time in the Summer of 1963 …
Comment by Jerry — September 15, 2011 @ 11:36 pm
I don’t remember the first time I heard it but what I do remember is I LOVED it the very first time I heard it and then every Four Seasons dong that followed!!!
Comment by sharon — September 18, 2011 @ 3:05 pm
SONG, sorry!!!!
Comment by sharon — September 18, 2011 @ 3:05 pm