Bob Crewe

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Bob Crewe
Birth nameRobert Stanley Crewe
Born(1930-11-12)November 12, 1930
Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
DiedSeptember 11, 2014(2014-09-11) (aged 83)
Scarborough, Maine, U.S.
GenresPop, rock
Occupation(s)
  • Record producer
  • songwriter
  • singer

Robert Stanley Crewe (November 12, 1930 – September 11, 2014) was an American songwriter, dancer, singer, manager, and record producer. Crewe co-wrote and produced a string of Top 10 singles with Bob Gaudio for the Four Seasons.

As a songwriter, his most successful songs include "

, and his own Bob Crewe Generation.

Early life

Born in Newark in 1930[1] and raised in Belleville, New Jersey, Crewe demonstrated an early and apparent gift for both art and music.[citation needed] Although lacking in formal musical training, he gravitated to learning from many of the great 19th- and 20th-century classical romantic composers as well as giants of jazz and swing, including Stan Kenton, Harry James, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, and Tommy Dorsey. He studied for almost a year at Parsons School of Design in New York City with the intention of eventually pursuing a career in architecture.[2]

Career

The 1950s

In 1953, Crewe met and partnered professionally with

Frank Slay Jr., a young pianist from Texas. Their collaboration created several hit songs (as well as a small record label, XYZ), for which Crewe performed as the demo singer.[3] Crewe and Slay's 1957 recording session with the Rays for XYZ (picked up nationally by Cameo Records) produced two major hit songs.[3] "Silhouettes", produced by Crewe, became a doo-wop anthem of the era.[3] Climbing to No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1957, "Silhouettes" displayed the flair for story-driven lyrics, innovative musical hooks, and final lyrical twists that were to become known as Crewe trademarks. In 1965, with a slightly faster tempo, "Silhouettes" again became a hit, this time for the British group Herman's Hermits, reaching No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. Bob Dylan recorded "Silhouettes" during his legendary Basement Tapes sessions of the late 1960s, although his version was not released until 2014.[4]

"Daddy Cool" was the B-side of the Rays' "Silhouettes" single. Written and produced by Crewe and Slay at the same 1957 session, it achieved considerable note. Both "Daddy Cool" and "Silhouettes" were covered the same year by the Canadian group the Diamonds, whose version of "Daddy Cool" reached No. 10 on the Billboard charts. In 1961, Guy "Daddy Cool" Darrell released another single version on the Warwick label, and in 1977, the UK band Darts made the song their first-ever studio recording, scoring a No. 6 hit.

Crewe and Slay built on their success by signing a deal with new, Philadelphia-based

The Whiffenpoof Song" (No. 96, 1960).[6]

The early 1960s

As a solo singer, Crewe recorded a pair of albums in 1961, one of which included a Ralph Burns-produced swing version of Yale University's signature "

16 Magazine, and to guest appearances with Mickey Rooney and Connie Francis on such TV variety shows as The Revlon Revue
.

In the early 1960s, Crewe began writing with

".

Crewe collaborated with Sandy Linzer and Denny Randell on the Four Seasons hit "Let's Hang On!". The Four Seasons were also the first to record the Crewe-Gaudio composition "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine (Anymore)", later covered virtually note-for-note by the American singing group the Walker Brothers, who recorded their No. 1 selling version in England; their version made the American Top 10 as well. The Crewe-Gaudio collaborations capitalized on the extraordinary and distinctive voice of Frankie Valli, who could effortlessly soar to a piercing, emotionally expressive falsetto that became one of the emblematic and widely imitated sounds of the era. Record sales racked up by the Four Seasons are estimated as being between anywhere from 100 million to 199 million.

As the "Four Seasons sound" became more and more defined, other signature touches emerged, including dense but pristine-sounding percussion, such as the military-sounding march cadences and drum-stomps of "Sherry", "Big Girls Don't Cry", and "Walk Like a Man". The sophisticated harmonic patterns of the Four Seasons punctuated by the distinctive falsetto of Frankie Valli were at once classic and innovative, as was Crewe's use of melancholy harmonica on "Big Man in Town", the space-age organ of "Save It for Me", and the otherworldly glissandos of "Candy Girl".

In addition to his work with the Four Seasons, Crewe produced recording sessions by such artists as

adult contemporary
chart.

The mid to late 1960s

In 1965, Crewe formed his own record label,

Minuet in G major", critic Dave Thompson observed, "Few records are this perfect. Riding across one of the most deceptively hook-laden melodies ever conceived ... 'A Lover's Concerto' marks the apogee of the Girl Group sound." The song was subsequently recorded by the Lennon Sisters, the Delfonics, Sarah Vaughan, the Supremes, Mrs. Miller, Audrey Hall, and Kelly Chen
.

Another DynoVoice powerhouse of the mid-1960s emerged when Crewe discovered a band called Billy Lee & The Rivieras. The group had limited success until he renamed them

Jenny Take a Ride
", which reached No. 10 in 1965.

Another often-recorded song from the 1965 Linzer-Randell album by the Toys is "Can't Get Enough of You Baby". The number, co-written by Sandy Linzer and Denny Randell, was also recorded by the Bay City, Michigan, rock group ? and the Mysterians, best known for their 1966 hit "96 Tears". "Can't Get Enough of You Baby" has enjoyed subsequent reinterpretations by the Colourfield and Smash Mouth, among many others.

Crewe's record label scored another hit with

Walkin' My Cat Named Dog". Crewe also helped bring success to the Epic Records group the Tremeloes with their hit cover of "Silence Is Golden
", a song originally written for and recorded by the Four Seasons.

Bob Crewe himself (recording as The Bob Crewe Generation) released a version of Sid Ramin's 1967 instrumental "Music to Watch Girls By" (originally composed as a Diet Pepsi commercial jingle) on DynoVoice.[3] The song became a Top 20 hit.[3] and spawned another successful instrumental version by Al Hirt and a vocal hit by Andy Williams. In 1967, Bob Crewe produced and wrote seven of the songs sung by Lesley Gore on her last commercially successful album, California Nights, including producing the title track. The Bob Crewe Generation also recorded the original soundtrack (composed by Crewe and Charles Fox) for the 1968 Paramount Pictures motion picture Barbarella, starring Jane Fonda and directed by Roger Vadim. The soundtrack for the cult favorite features vocals by Crewe and the group the Glitterhouse.

In 1967, Crewe and Gaudio scored one of their greatest successes with "Can't Take My Eyes Off You", recorded by Frankie Valli with the Four Seasons. The song reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned a gold record. "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" has since been recorded by a wide variety of vocalists and bands, in several different languages. A 1968 version by singer Andy Williams climbed to No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart. Also achieving chart status over the decades were English-language versions by the Lettermen, Maureen McGovern, Boys Town Gang and Lauryn Hill. The song has been heard in numerous motion pictures, including The Deer Hunter, The Fabulous Baker Boys, Conspiracy Theory, 10 Things I Hate About You, Drop Dead Gorgeous, Bridget Jones's Diary, and Jersey Boys.

In 1969, Crewe collaborated with the singer

Oscar-winning film The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, starring Maggie Smith. Crewe also produced a hit single of Oliver performing the optimistic "Good Morning Starshine" from the rock musical Hair
. The song reached No. 3 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Easy Listening singles surveys.

The Crewe record label released a series of well-received recordings such as Ben Bagley's Cole Porter Revisited and Rodgers and Hart Revisited featuring vocal performances by such artists as Harold Arlen, Elaine Stritch, Dorothy Loudon, Anthony Perkins, Ann Hampton Callaway, Bobby Short, Jerry Orbach, Tammy Grimes, and Blossom Dearie.

Crewe sang "

The Whiffenpoof Song
" and was interviewed on The Jack Spector Show and appeared on Dick Clark's ABC-TV programs American Bandstand and Where the Action Is. He was interviewed by Dick Clark and some of his current 1960's songs were played for the dancers and crowds.

The 1970s

The Generation's late 1969 LP Let Me Touch You, including covers of Henry Mancini's "Moon River" and "Two For The Road", arranged by Charles Fox, remains a favorite of lounge music collectors. It was also their only quadraphonic release. The Bob Crewe Generation briefly reappeared as a chart act in the mid-1970s, recording material for the disco era. The 1976 LP Street Talk on Elektra was in this vein.

In 1975, Crewe wrote and produced disco material for

20th Century Records: "Hollywood Hot" (45 rpm single, number: TC-2215), "Bumper to Bumper", and "Sock It To Me/It's Your Thing".[7]

In the mid-1970s, Crewe and

The Pet Shop Boys
in their song "Electricity".

In 1977, at the insistence of producer Jerry Wexler, who had been an early mentor of his, Crewe recorded a solo album in Memphis, with Barry Beckett co-producing. The album, entitled Motivation, was a showcase for his singing voice. Although the album did not achieve chart success, it included the ballad "Marriage Made In Heaven", a collaboration between Crewe and Kenny Nolan which later became popular with Carolina beach music bands.[citation needed] The album also produced the song "It Took a Long Time (For The First Time In My Life)", also recorded by Patti LaBelle.

Crewe and Nolan had previously written two other songs - "

Cheech and Chong's The Corsican Brothers, Beethoven, Carlito's Way, The Birdcage, The Long Kiss Goodnight, and Semi-Pro
.

The 1980s and beyond

In 1984, a collaboration by Crewe and writers

Tony Award
.

In 1985, Crewe was inducted into the

"Lady Marmalade" was re-recorded by

Mýa, and Pink for the soundtrack of the 2001 film Moulin Rouge!, and their version stayed at No. 1 in the U.S. for five weeks. It achieved the same chart position in the United Kingdom and Australia. Rolling Stone
ranked "Lady Marmalade" as the 479th greatest song of all time.

In 1999, when the US performing rights and royalties organization BMI (

Broadcast Music Incorporated
) announced its Top 100 Songs of the Century, "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" landed in the Top 10 with six million airplays. BMI calculates one million continuous performances of a song of the average length (3 minutes) as representing 5.7 years of continuous airplay.

In addition to his numerous benchmarks and accolades in music, Crewe also achieved recognition as an artist, he designed a number of album covers and had highly successful one-man gallery showings of his paintings at the Earl McGrath Gallery, Thomas Soloman's Garage, and the Jan Baum Gallery in Los Angeles.

Since 2005, Crewe was featured as a supporting character (played originally by Peter Gregus) in

Tony Award-winning Broadway musical based on the story of Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons. Although the 2014 film version (with Mike Doyle as Crewe) was only a modest success,[8] the play has gone on to become an international hit, with Crewe credited as the show's lyricist. He used his proceeds from the show to start a foundation supporting gay rights, people with AIDS, and bringing music and art to children in deprived communities.[2]

Personal life

While Crewe was portrayed as openly gay in the Jersey Boys stage musical and film, his brother Dan Crewe told an interviewer that his brother was discreet about his sexuality, particularly during the time he was working with the Four Seasons.[9] "Whenever he met someone, he would go into what I always called his John Wayne mode, this extreme machoism," Dan Crewe told The New York Times.[9]

From April 2014 until his death, Crewe resided in a Scarborough, Maine, nursing home. His charity, the Bob Crewe Foundation, donated $3 million to the

Maine College of Art in April 2014.[10]

Crewe died in the nursing home on September 11, 2014, at the age of 83.[11][12] He had been in declining health for several years following a fall.[9]

Selected U.S. singles (written and/or produced by)

US peak chart position on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart follows the song title. Only singles that reached a position of No. 30 or higher on the Hot 100 are listed here.

  • 1957: "Silhouettes", The Rays, No. 3
  • 1957: "Silhouettes", The Diamonds, No. 10
  • 1958: "La Dee Dah", Billy & Lillie, No. 9
  • 1958: "Sweet Talk", sung by Crewe
  • 1959: "Lucky Ladybug", Billy & Lillie, No. 14
  • 1962: "Sherry", The Four Seasons, No. 1
  • 1962: "Big Girls Don't Cry", The Four Seasons, No. 1
  • 1963: "Walk Like a Man", The Four Seasons, No. 1
  • 1964: "Dawn (Go Away)", The Four Seasons, No. 3
  • 1964: "Ronnie", The Four Seasons, No. 6
  • 1964: "Navy Blue", Diane Renay, No. 6
  • 1964: "Rag Doll", The Four Seasons, No. 1
  • 1964: "Save It For Me", The Four Seasons, No. 10
  • 1964: "Big Man in Town", The Four Seasons, No. 20
  • 1965: "Bye, Bye, Baby (Baby, Goodbye)", The Four Seasons, No. 12 ("Bye Bye Baby" on initial release)
  • 1965: "Let's Hang On!", The Four Seasons, No. 3
  • 1965: "A Lover's Concerto", The Toys, No. 2
  • 1965: "Silhouettes", Herman's Hermits, No. 5
  • 1965: "Girl Come Running", The Four Seasons, No. 30
  • 1965: "Jenny Take A Ride", Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, No. 10
  • 1966: "Devil With A Blue Dress On", Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, No. 4
  • 1966: "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine", The Walker Bros., No. 13
  • 1967: "Sock It To Me, Baby", Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, No. 6
  • 1967: "Music To Watch Girls By", The Bob Crewe Generation, No. 15
  • 1967: "Silence Is Golden", The Tremeloes, No. 11
  • 1967: "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You", Frankie Valli, No. 2
  • 1967: "I Make a Fool of Myself", Frankie Valli, No. 18
  • 1967: "To Give (The Reason I Live)", Frankie Valli, No. 29
  • 1969: "Jean", Oliver, No. 2
  • 1974: "Lady Marmalade", LaBelle, No. 1
  • 1974: "Get Dancin'", Disco Tex & His Sex-O-Lettes, No. 10
  • 1975: "My Eyes Adored You", Frankie Valli, No. 1
  • 1975: "Swearin' To God", Frankie Valli, No. 6
  • 1975: "I Wanna Dance Wit' Choo (Doo Dat Dance)", Disco Tex & His Sex-O-Lettes, No. 23
  • 1975: "The Proud One", The Osmonds, No. 22
  • 2001: "Lady Marmalade", Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mya, and Pink, No. 1

Recording discography

  • Kicks, Warwick W-2009 (1960, out of print)
  • Crazy In The Heart, Warwick W-2034 (1961, out of print)
  • All The Song Hits of the Four Seasons, Philips 600150 (1964, out of print)
  • Bob Crewe Plays the Four Seasons' hits, Philips 600238 (1967, out of print)
  • Music To Watch Girls By, DynoVoice 9003 (1967, out of print)
  • Music To Watch Birds By, DynoVoice 1902 [U.K.] (1967, out of print)
  • Barbarella (Original Soundtrack Recording), originally published by Famous Music Corporation (1968, out of print), re-released by Soundtrack Classics SCL 1411 (2004)
  • Let Me Touch You, CGC 1000 (1969, out of print)
  • Street Talk, Elektra Records 7E-1083 (1976, out of print)
  • Motivation, Elektra Records 7E-1103 (1977, out of print)
  • The Best of The Bob Crewe Generation, Varèse Vintage 302 066 703 2 (Feb 2006)

References

  1. ^ The Bob Crewe Foundation Archived 2014-10-05 at the Wayback Machine; accessed September 22, 2014.
  2. ^ a b c Williams, Richard (17 September 2014). "Bob Crewe obituary: Songwriter and record producer whose work with the Four Seasons led to many Top 10 hits". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
  3. ^ .
  4. ^ "The Basement Tapes Complete: The Bootleg Series Vol. 11". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2020-04-27.
  5. ^ Joel Whitburn's Bubbling Under the Billboard Hot 100 1959-2004
  6. ^ ELEVENTH HOUR - Hollywood Hot. Archived February 2, 2014, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2 September 2007.
  7. ^ "Jersey Boys". IMDb.com. Retrieved 2020-04-27.
  8. ^ a b c Yardley, William (12 September 2014). "Bob Crewe, Songwriter for Frankie Valli and Four Seasons, Dies at 83". The New York Times. p. A19.
  9. ^ "Maine College of Art gets $3M gift". SeacoastOnline.com. Retrieved 2014-07-29.
  10. ^ Harrity, Christopher (12 September 2014). "#TBT: The Gay Jersey Boy". Advocate.com. Here Media. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
  11. ^ Ocamb, Karen (11 September 2014). "Bob Crewe, Gay Music Legend, Dead at 82". FroniersLA.com. Archived from the original on 11 September 2014. Retrieved 11 September 2014.

External links