The Four Seasons: "Walk Like a Man"

March 11, 1963 (1 week)

So, "Sherry" and "Big Girls Don't Cry" had been written and recorded at more or less the same time which means they ought to go together, right? Well, no. The former is a superb display of Frankie Valli's magnificent falsetto backed up some killer harmonies from the rest of The Four Seasons while the latter grates as effortlessly as it enchants. A little of that high-piched squeal can go a long way — and it has more than a little of it. No, if a pair of Four Seasons hits go together it's "Big Girls Don't Cry" and its follow-up "Walk Like a Man".

There is a long tradition in pop of answer songs. A number of the singles I have written about in this space had replies that were available in the record stores and drug stores for kids to purchase (even if they typically didn't). The Bobbettes answered their own CHUM number one "Mr. Lee" with "I Shot Mr. Lee", singer Dimita Jo put out "I'll Save the Last Dance for You" as a very on-the-nose response to The Drifters' "Save the Last Dance for Me" and Jeanne Black's "He'll Have to Stay" was a famous reply to Jim Reeves' "He'll Have to Go".

While not completely unheard of (as I just said, The Bobbettes for one had already done it while the "He'll Have to Go / Stay" pairing were both written by the team of Audrey and Joe Allison), The Four Seasons took a relatively unique approach by answering their own hit single. While not a reply sung from the perspective of the other side, "Walk Like a Man" is more of a counterpoint to its predecessor. While "Big Girls Don't Cry" takes a peak at how members of the fairer sex were meant to conduct themselves, its follow-up does much the same for the menfolk. It's an old school, tough love, suck it up mentality all the way. Mature young women aren't supposed to get overwhelmed by heartbreak and adolescent males are expected to  Those tough as nails New Jersyans, I tell you.

Where the two singles differ from other answer songs as well is in the fact that the response was the stronger of the two. As I previously said in my review of "He'll Have to Stay", "reply songs always seem like a nice idea but they don't tend to work out". Maybe they're too much of a cash in and as result aren't given the care their predecessors may have enjoyed. In a way they're a no win proposition: do it too much like the original and you'll be perceived as a copy cat; do it in a more individual style, more divorced from the song it answers and people won't even notice the connection. As I say, "Big Girls Don't Cry" is all right but "Walk Like a Man" is a definite return to form, if not quite as thrilling as "Sherry".

Clearly, The Four Seasons could no longer rest on Valli's incredible range. The fact that the band would eventually evolve into Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons — and, indeed, even took on the appearance of a Valli solo project at times — sort of gives away that he would take centre stage. And I'm not disputing this but I think it must have been natural for the other three to want to fight for a share of the spotlight themselves. Honestly, they were the group's secret weapon: people might have come for Valli's high pitched wails but they stayed for their dynamic block harmonies which created a powerhouse of sound that their rivals couldn't hope else was in a position to do so.

Score: 7