The Wonder Who?: "Don't Think Twice"

December 20, 1965 (1 week)

Taking a look at acts with the most Canadian number ones on both the CHUM and RPM charts up to this point, Elvis Presley still has a commanding lead with seventeen chart toppers. In a distant second but coming on strong are The Beatles with eight. Right below them are The Four Seasons with a very impressive seven. Beyond that, no one else has more than three number ones, though this would soon begin to change.

Up until now, they've been solid. Not all have been brilliant but at worst I've been indifferent to them. "Sherry" is excellent while follow-up "Big Girls Don't Cry" is just all right, more of the same but not nearly as good. Their third number one, "Walk Like a Man", seemed to get them back on course which led them to their two finest singles to date, "Rag Doll" and "Save It for Me". Sure, "Bye, Bye, Baby (Baby, Goodbye)" was a considerable step in the wrong direction but it's not so bad considering it's their least impressive 45 to date.

On a technicality it still remains their worst since "Don't Think Twice" is credited to The Wonder Who?, a near one off name stemming from supposed contractual issues. Considering that Frankie Valli had been unhappy with his vocals during the sessions for a reported album of all Bob Dylan covers (which ended up being folded into the more compromised release The 4 Seasons Sing Big Hits by Burt Bachrach...Hal David...Bob Dylan), it's possible the use of a pseudonym was also to avoid embarrassment - and who can blame him?

To be as fair as possible, I do sort of like the idea of this. Dylan was already a revered figure (at least in some circles) so I appreciate the act of having some fun with one of his compositions while tearing down the mythology surrounding him. The Four Seasons The Wonder Who? weren't even alone in doing so in the late stages of 1965. The Beach Boys did a silly version of "The Times They Are a-Changin'" for their Beach Boys' Party! album which seemed to find the right balance between folk music righteousness and moronic frat boy frolics. A serious Al Jardine takes the lead vocal while everyone else (as well as a few female companions by the sound of it) has a laugh with it. Were the likes of Mike Love and Dennis Wilson deliberately trying to sabotage such a serious and important song? Perhaps but their behaviour throughout the Party! sessions indicates that every song they had tried out had been fair game for mockery. (And, honestly, there are plenty of Bob Dylan songs to take the mickey out of — in addition to "The Times They Are a-Changin'", there's "Blowin' in the Wind", "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall" and all those stream-of-conscious works that seem like drivel half the time; by contrast, "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" is mature beyond Dylan's tender years — he was just twenty-one at the time he recorded it for The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan — and it seems like poor taste to have a go at such a thoughtful song, especially when, as I say, there are more obvious targets out there)

Hopefully Valli and his chums had a good time recording "Don't Think Twice" but the fun vibes fail to rub off on the listener — or this one at any rate. Tom Breihan's reviews of early Four Seasons' Hot 100 chart toppers indicate that he has little patience for Valli's glass-cutting soprano but his wailing on "Sherry" is nothing compared to "Don't Think Twice". It's actually kind of impressive that he's able to twist his vocal range to such a register but having to listen to it is torturous. Whatsmore, the other members of the band aren't able to rescue it either. While Valli's voice isn't to everyone's taste, those tremendous block harmonies could always be relied upon to justify the existence of even the most mundane Four Seasons' numbers. Yet here all they're capable of is what you might get from a group of stiffs who have been cajoled into an all-male chorus and are in suitably wooden. (The remainder of their Dylan covers are more straightforward but no less uninspired)

Up until now, the CHUM/RPM chart toppers that have received the lowest possible score from me are by some of the most hopeless acts imaginable. Sheb Wooley, David Seville and the Chipmunks, Anita bloody Bryant, Andy Stewart, Bobby bloody Vinton: a murderer's row of crap. People whose best work is still the shits. But now for the first time we have what had once been a genuinely outstanding pop group descending into such pitiful depths. There could well be more dramatic falls from grace as this blog goes forward — yes, I'm looking at you, Jefferson Airplane-Jefferson Starship-Starship — but you never forget your first. Bad as "Don't Think Twice" is, it's certainly not something I'm going to forget about anytime soon.

Score: 1

The Four Seasons: "Bye, Bye, Baby (Baby Goodbye)"

February 22, 1965 (1 week)

Those rare instances in which a cover version manages to outdo the original tend to be the result of huge overhauls. Johnny Cash did so on multiple occasions on his acclaimed American albums — beginning with Glenn Danzig's "Thirteen" on American Recordings, Soudgarden's "Rusty Cage" on Unchained, Nick Cave's "The Mercy Seat" on American III: Solitary Man before culminating with the Man in Black's remarkable version of Nine Inch Nail's "Hurt" on American IV: The Man Comes Around — while the Pet Shop Boys' dance-pop take on the Elvis Presley/Willie Nelson standard "Always on My Mind" quickly became the definitive version.

There are, however, those rare occasions in which alterations are largely minor but still result in (slightly) stronger covers. "How Deep Is Your Love?" had originally been a hit for the Bee Gees, as a token slushy love song from the otherwise disco-heavy Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. Perhaps that's one of the reasons why I've never been fully convinced by the Gibb brothers' original since its so out-of-place in both the film and on its accompanying album. Plus, it's a little too soft. Not, mind you, soft in the beta male sense but just in regards to it being so light and fluffy as to be impossible to grasp on to. Take That's version from 1996 (their supposed swansong) isn't hugely different but the production is cleaner and Gary Barlow's lead vocal sounds more committed.

The same goes for The Bay City Rollers and their 1975 UK number one smash "Bye, Bye, Baby". Again, it doesn't differ a great deal from The Four Seasons' original from a decade earlier but the sound is crisper with a little more punch to it. The vocals are largely a wash which is a credit to the Tartan lads since being up to the standard of the Jersey Boys is no mean feat, even if the single in question is by no means one of their finest works. What isn't great in '65 became all right ten years later.

Following a pair of outstanding RPM number ones — "Rag Doll" and Save It for Me" respectively — "Bye, Bye, Baby (Baby Goodbye)" is a disappointment. While their run of six number ones to date hasn't been perfect ("Big Girls Don't Cry" is rather irritating, "Walk Like a Man" is solid but not as good as I remember it being), this is the first case of them hitting with something so plain and lifeless and even forgettable. (Once again, credit to The Bay City Rollers for salvaging it somewhat) I almost wish they had failed miserably rather than the sort of thing that I don't even give a shit about.

Honestly, there isn't much to say about this one. The pace is languid and I'm not so sure you even need to be aware of the Bay City Rollers' version to recognize that it needed a kick up the arse. The vocals are just your average by numbers Four Seasons' performance and perhaps one that is too much of a compromise: while Frankie Valli threatens to stretch out into one of his grandiose falsetto fits, his colleagues seem restrained from their remarkable wall of harmony. As a result, no one stands out on what is an uncharacteristically boring single.

Incidentally, the artist credit on the label stamped on the 7" disc reads as 'The Four Seasons featuring the "Sound" of Frankie Valli", a seemingly pointless re-branding. The group would gradually come to be known as 'Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons' and this appears to be a first step towards making him the kind of, sort of solo artist in his own band. I'm not a fan of these name changes: I don't care for The Wailers evolving into 'Bob Marley and the Wailers' and I'm not crazy about this one either. But before Valli could take even more of the spotlight, they were about to go with a different name altogether. The Four Seasons were soon to become The Wonder Who? (It didn't take but it was worth a try!)

Score: 4

The Four Season: "Save It for Me"

September 21, 1964 (1 week)

"The American groups who were getting to #1 in the early Beatles era weren't necessarily chasing the Beatles. They were chasing Phil Spector".

— Tom Breihan

The Fab Four's conquest of the United States in 1964 was massive but the full impact wouldn't have been felt for quite some time. In the short term, it meant enormous record sales, crazy merchandising opportunities and lucrative tours. Long term, however, it proved to be a game changer for up and coming musicians. American youngsters such as Chrissie Hynde, Tom Petty, Suzy Quatro, Nile Rodgers and Bruce Springsteen were set on a path towards careers of their own. Struggling musicians who were approximately the same age as The Beatles chose to change things up, including the chancer David Crosby who made the abrupt switch from folk to pop-rock when he saw them on the Ed Sullivan Show. But those who were already successful were slower to act.

Even still, a single like The Four Seasons' "Save It for Me" is a sign that things were moving away from of the influence of traditional NY/LA American pop. While Phil Spector's influence could be heard on earlier recordings such as "Sherry" and "Rag Doll", this recording looks across the Atlantic but not to The Beatles per se. No, Joe Meek and his extraordinary "Telstar" was the blueprint for the Jersey boys as they began to spread their creative wings.

Now, to be fair, The Tornados' number one smash from late 1962 may not have been the sole influence on "Save It for Me". It's possible that Del Shannon's "Runaway" played an equally vital role in its sound, although given that it was three years old by this time it's hard to say with any certainty. (It's just as plausible that the chart topper from '61 had been entirely forgotten) Beyond the spacey organ sound, the song's beat is not unlike current Motown, a record label with a sound that stood out next to Brill Building pop coming out of New York and Spector's Wrecking Crew out in LA.

The unorthodox combination of The Four Seasons' magnificent vocals and space rock shouldn't really work but they somehow managed to pull it off. Had it been more of an outright Meek/Tornados' rip off then it's likely that its two distinct elements would have competed with each other for the listeners' attention but the effects are used sparingly so they simply provide backup for Frankie Valli and his group. There may not be much a reason to have the  sound of a satellite hurling through outer space but its a welcome one nonetheless.

An issue that vocal groups like The Beach Boys and Four Seasons had was in how to remain relevant when they weren't as musically adventurous as, once again, The Beatles. No matter how well arranged, vocal harmonies can easily sound old fashioned rather quickly. Not unlike their competitors on the west coast of the US, the Seasons were blessed with a formidable songwriting team, one which was as uninterested in standing pat as Brian Wilson — and, indeed, John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Four Seasons member Bob Gaudio and his partner Bob Crewe had composed their previous hit singles but it was only now with "Rag Doll" and "Save It for Me" that they were emerging as a force.

I'm starting to wonder when the bottom is going to fall out but a part of me is also beginning to suspect that it may be more of an "if" than a "when". Out of the five Four Seasons' Canadian number ones, four are superb and the last two indicate that they were only getting better. More will be coming once we get to 1965 (including a surprise cover version recorded under another name). As the sixties progressed, acts such as The Beatles, Bob Dylan, The Beach Boys, The Byrds, Otis Redding and The Rolling Stones were on such a creative roll that each single and each album would make people wonder what they might possibly do next. "Save It for Me" clearly establishes that if The Four Seasons weren't held in similar esteem, they certainly deserved to be.

Score: 9

The Four Seasons: "Rag Doll"

July 13, 1964 (4 weeks)

As I have mentioned previously, the early years of the RPM chart were dominated by single week number ones. For fourteen straight weeks at the end of 1964 and well into '65, there was a run of one-week wonders and that was by no means an isolated case. There were a total of forty-four chart toppers in the first full year of RPM as the national singles listing with just seven singles hitting a fortnight or more on top. A year later, a there were a whopping forty-seven number ones. It wouldn't be until '68 when three weeks became the norm rather than the exception.

The Four Seasons' mighty "Rag Doll" somehow managed to hit the top and remain there for four weeks, an accomplishment no one would equal or better for exactly four years. It must have been something special to have done so, right? To quote the great Ron Nasty of The Rutles, yes, it must have been.

"Rag Doll" is the fourth Canadian number one for The Four Seasons — making them the first act other than Elvis Presley to rack up more than three chart toppers — but just the first of their's to do so with a degree of subtlety. I really like Frankie Valli's incredible falsetto but he could overdo it. "Sherry" had been such a fantastic debut hit that it might have been easy to overlook that high pitch but clearly by follow-up "Big Girls Don't Cry", this was beginning to grate. Whatsmore, this is their first hit to make good use of the other three Seasons Tommy DeVito, Bob Gauido and Nick Massi. Valli had been hogging the spotlight and it seems likely that fans were going to tire of his shtick before long. That distinctive pitch is still there but it operates alongside the others and the effect is outstanding.

Strangely, while "Rag Doll" is unquestionably their finest moment to date, oldies radio did not seem to agree. All three of "Sherry", "Big Girls Don't Cry" and "Walk Like a Man" would be played with some regularity on sixties' stations but the much more measured "Rag Doll" has languished in relative obscurity. This is despite the fact that it was a major hit at the time (four weeks!). The toning down of those distinctive Valli vocals would be one big reason why it hasn't managed to remain relevant in subsequent decades but probably the biggest point against it is it doesn't have the hooks of its predecessors. For annoying and slight though it may be, "Big Girls Don't Cry" is certainly not something you're likely to forget.

The same cannot be said for "Rag Doll" which is really the sole knock against it. Its near three minutes is just about perfect but it comes up short as an earworm. (Honestly, though, is that really such a problem anyway? If a song isn't able to stay in the mind for any length of time then it also won't get stuck there) Yet, it proved popular enough to be a summer smash and listeners nowadays who may find that a little Frankie Valli goes a long way should be pleasantly surprised by it. A hidden gem in plain sight. (That said, the New York City radio station WCBS-FM named "Rag Doll" the number one song of all time in a listener's poll so there were some who still loved it and rightly so; maybe it wasn't as forgotten as I seem to think)

Score: 9

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Hey! Where's...?

You know what? There aren't enough number ones by Dusty Springfield. Not even close to enough. She had a chart topper in her native Britain with "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" and she would eventually reach the summit of the Irish charts with Pet Shop Boys on their single "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" but that's pretty much it. Maybe she had a stray number one in, say, Argentina or Hong Kong at some point there are only two I know of. The utterly brilliant "I Only Want to Be with You" only managed to make it to number twenty-one on the CHUM chart (how that song wasn't a worldwide number one is beyond me) but "Wishin' and Hopin'" was her first Canadian near miss and, it would turn out, her highest charting hit of her life. Originally a Dionne Warwick B side, the Bachrach and David composition was dusted (so to speak) off for Dusty. Both versions are first rate but this one is a little more sultry so it gets the edge. It would have been a toss up as well choosing between it and "Rag Doll" but it's a shame it couldn't have taken one of those four weeks for itself. A little more Dusty in people's lives never hurt anyone.

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

The Four Season: "Big Girls Don't Cry"

November 19, 1962 (2 weeks)

So, "Sherry" had been The Four Seasons' first hit. Rather than easing people in the way The Beatles did with "Love Me Do", it was an absolute smash. Five weeks at number one in both the US and Canada and a decent-sized hit elsewhere as well. But the follow-up wasn't quite as strong so it underperformed a bit on the charts, right? Nope. "Big Girls Don't Cry" spent another five weeks at the top of the Hot 100. (Just a fortnight on the top of the CHUM charts but that's nothing to sneeze at either) No law of diminishing returns to see here.

Obviously there are factors to consider. Having had an enormous hit a couple months earlier, The Four Seasons were no longer in a position of struggling to establish themselves. Their independent label Vee-Jay operated on a shoe string budget but they were still raking in decent profits and could splurge on a sizable push for their sole big name act. (Sorry MJT + 3) And then there was the novelty of THAT voice. Frankie Valli's falsetto had startled more than enough listeners that there was still plenty of interest in hearing more of it. "The similarity no doubt contributed to its number one status," argues Fred Bronson in his classic reference The Billboard Book of Number One Hits.

If the public wanted more of the the same they got it — only this time round it wasn't nearly as good. You may find Valli's voice to be either the best or worst thing about "Big Girls Don't Cry" but one thing everyone can agree on is that it is its most distinctive feature. At one point, Valli even sounds like a girl. That scream of his could have shattered glass.

The only trouble is, there's not a great deal else to it. True, the same could be said for "Sherry" but it had a solid R&B beat to hold it together; with this, however, the music is so trivial that it might as well be an acapella number. It is said that Four Seasons member Bob Gauido and producer Bob Crewe had this and "Sherry" in the bag at the same time and had been faced with the supposedly difficult decision of having to choose one of them first. I say "supposedly" but perhaps they had every reason to think it was indeed a tough choice to make. Nevertheless, they picked the right song. It's hard to imagine "Big Girls Don't Cry" doing as well as a first attempt rather than as a timely follow-up.

Still, I don't quite dislike it as much as I seem to be suggesting. There's a sense here that they're already moving away from the doo-wop they had cut their teeth on in fifties' New Jersey and were formulating a plan to do complex harmonies all over the most innocuous of pop songs. As an overall group vocal performance it actually manages to outshine its predecessor. Clearly Valli was no longer the group's secret weapon and their days of relying on him to do the heavy lifting were already at an end. A combined ten weeks at the top of the Hot 100 in 1963 is no small achievement but the novelty was going to wear off, most likely sooner rather than later. Fortunately, The Four Seasons — including at least one of their pseudonyms — would have several exceptional singles in them in the years ahead. They just had to take a slight misstep before they could begin to move forward.

Score: 5

The Four Seasons: "Sherry"

September 3, 1962 (5 weeks)

1962 saw the rise of an all-time great American band, one that would go on to become something of an institution. They were a vocal group with roots in doo-wop. Their unique harmonies weren't simply hugely successful but also deeply influential. They were so good that they even managed to withstand the rise of The Beatles — for at little while anyway.

I am of course talking about The Beach Boys but I could just as easily be describing The Four Seasons. I've recently been rereading Craig Brown's wonderful book One, Two, Three, Four: The Beatles in Time (with the less imaginative title of 150 Glimpses of The Beatles for its North American release) which mentions how the first time Brian Wilson heard the Fab Four he was gobsmacked by how amazing there were before becoming despondent that his band was already in trouble. Brown then goes on to state that "for the past six months the Beach Boys had been the most popular group in America".

This is by no means a major criticism but I call bullshit on Brown's claim. While it was probably pretty close between the two, I'm going to state that The Four Seasons were the bigger group. Not only that, I'm not so sure The Beach Boys ever completely overtook them either. It's only from the modern point-of-view that the the Wilsons, their dumbass, creepy cousin and chum Al Jardine seem like giants next to the Jersey Boys. This is the group that did Pet Sounds. And released some unfathomably fantastic singles like "California Girls", "God Only Knows", "Good Vibrations" and "Sail on, Sailor". And had a tortured genius take them to incredible commercial and creative heights — as well as drag them down to some seriously embarrassing lows. Yet, I'm quite sure The Four Seasons were every bit as popular as they were.

Let's be honest: there isn't a great deal to their breakthrough smash "Sherry". The verses are of little consequence and most people would be hard pressed to describe the narrative (largely because there isn't one). The beat is not unlike contemporary Motown numbers, albeit without the same flawless musicianship. What made kids flock to it initially and what has been bringing people back ever since is that extraordinary voice of Frankie Valli's and, by extension, the stunning chorus which he brings to life.

Valli's voice isn't for everyone, especially at this early stage. (Having said that, the singer was already twenty-eight at this point so one can only wonder what he must've sounded like a decade earlier) Though I vehemently disagree with his conclusion and the score he gave, Tom Breihan's assertion that Valli sounds "like a playground bully making fun of a kid with a high-pitched voice" is hilarious. I'm not even so sure he's wrong either. Yet, I love it. His range is just incredible as though this humble 45 on a modest Philadelphia-area record label was his last shot at glory. (This was the same company that released Beatles' singles that Capitol wanted no part of in 1963; trying a year later to milk it for all it was worth, Vee-Jay even released a double album set called The Beatles vs. The Four Seasons)

And Frankie Valli sure made it count. His cohorts — Bob Gauido (who also wrote "Sherry"), Tommy DeVito and Nick Massi — all come through in a backing role but there's no mistaking who the star is. I'm not so sure if it's a matter of their powerhouse vocals, studio tricks on the part of producer Bob Crewe or the contrast of coming out of some comparatively dreary verses but each stab at that chorus seems even bigger and brighter and bolder than the last.

The Four Seasons — or one of their aliases — will be coming up several times in this blog over the next several months and years, to the extent that I'm bound to eventually get sick of them. Valli's over-the-top vocal style would eventually be tamed but their success would continue with the seven or eight CHUM/RPM number ones they would rack up vastly outstripping The Beach Boys. History would go on to remember the group on the west coast of the US but their rivals on the other side of the country deserve to be just as fondly remembered.

Score: 8

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Can Con

Like James Naismith and The Weeknd, Hank Snow is the type of celebrity who we have to be constantly reminded was Canadian - since we'd never know otherwise. On the country classic "I've Been Everywhere" he duly lists of hundreds of cities he's been to in the United States while only managing to fit Toronto and Ottawa in and, thus, is anticipating "North American" tours in which a group or singer visits four dozen towns in the US and just one or two up north. Snow's ability to list off locales at rapid-fire speed is impressive but he lacks the deadpan humour that Johnny Cash would give it on his true masterpiece, 1996's Unchained. From a modern perspective I'm a little turned off by his boasting of covering virtually every inch of the USA while barely mentioning Canada but perhaps this was a point of pride among his fans at the time. Nothing says Canadian pride like making it down in the States, you know.