 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Bob Crewe" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(April 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Bob Crewe | |
|---|---|
| Born | Robert Stanley Crewe (1930-11-12)November 12, 1930 Newark, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | September 11, 2014(2014-09-11) (aged 83) Scarborough, Maine, U.S. |
| Genres | Pop,rock |
| Occupations |
|
| Instruments | Vocals, percussion |
| Formerly of | Frankie Valli,The Four Seasons,Disco-Tex and the Sex-O-Lettes |
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 withBob Gaudio forthe Four Seasons.
As a songwriter, his most successful songs include "Silhouettes" (co-written withFrank Slay); "Big Girls Don't Cry", "Walk Like a Man", "Rag Doll", "Silence Is Golden", "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine (Anymore)", "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" and "Bye, Bye, Baby" (all co-written with Gaudio); "Let's Hang On!" (written withSandy Linzer andDenny Randell); and "My Eyes Adored You" and "Lady Marmalade" (both co-written withKenny Nolan). He also had hit recordings withthe Rays,Diane Renay,Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels,Freddy Cannon,Lesley Gore,Oliver,Michael Jackson,Bobby Darin,Roberta Flack,Peabo Bryson,Patti LaBelle,Barry Manilow, and his own Bob Crewe Generation.
Born in Newark in 1930[1] and raised inBelleville, New Jersey, Crewe demonstrated an early gift for both art and music.[citation needed] Although lacking 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, includingStan Kenton,Harry James,Duke Ellington,Benny Goodman, andTommy Dorsey. He studied for almost a year atParsons School of Design in New York City with the intention of eventually pursuing a career in architecture.[2]
In 1953, Crewe met and partnered professionally withFrank 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 withthe Rays for XYZ (picked up nationally byCameo Records) produced two major hit songs.[3] "Silhouettes", produced by Crewe, became adoo-wop anthem of the era.[3] Climbing to No. 3 on theBillboard 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 groupHerman's Hermits, reaching No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. Bob Dylan recorded "Silhouettes" during his legendaryBasement 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 groupthe Diamonds, whose version of "Daddy Cool" reached No. 10 on theBillboard charts. In 1961, Guy "Daddy Cool" Darrell released another single version on the Warwick label, and in 1977, the UK bandDarts 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-basedSwan Records. Sessions withBilly and Lillie (singers Billy Ford and Lillie Bryant) produced the 1958 hit "Lah Dee Dah", which reached the No. 9 position on theBillboard Hot 100; the following year, Billy and Lillie's recording of "Lucky Ladybug" hit No. 14. Crewe and Slay also wrote two Top 10 hits - "Tallahassee Lassie" and "Okefenokee" - for Swan's rising starFreddy Cannon.[citation needed] Crewe also began to score his own hits, "Sweetie Pie" (US No. 111, 1959)[5] and "The Whiffenpoof Song" (No. 96, 1960).[6]
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 "The Whiffenpoof Song".[3] The record became a major hit in New York and led to Crewe's receiving "teen heartthrob" coverage in such popular teen magazines as16 Magazine, and to guest appearances withMickey Rooney andConnie Francis on such TV variety shows asThe Revlon Revue.
In the early 1960s, Crewe began writing withBob Gaudio, who had risen to fame at age 15 as a member ofThe Royal Teens, for whom he'd co-written the hit "Short Shorts". The first Crewe-Gaudio collaboration, "Sherry", was written by Gaudio and produced by Crewe. In 1962 it became a No. 1 single for Gaudio's new band,the Four Seasons, (fronted byFrankie Valli). The pair wrote many other songs for the group, including the No. 1 hits "Big Girls Don't Cry", "Rag Doll", and "Walk Like a Man", as well as "Ronnie", "Bye, Bye, Baby (Baby, Goodbye)", and "Connie-O".
Crewe collaborated withSandy Linzer andDenny 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 groupthe 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 asDee Dee Sharp,The Orlons,Ben E. King, andThe Highwaymen (On a New Road). With Bud Rehak andEddie Rambeau he co-wrote "Navy Blue" for singerDiane Renay, and also produced it. Renay's recording made the Top 10 on the US pop chart in early 1964, and number one on theadult contemporary chart.
In 1965, Crewe formed his own record label,DynoVoice Records. With the release of the 1965 hit "Concrete and Clay" byEddie Rambeau, DynoVoice launched a run of twenty-one Top 100 hits. The label found early success with the R&B triothe Toys, best known for their single "A Lover's Concerto", a No. 2 hit single, and "Attack". The Toys were produced byDenny Randell andSandy Linzer for executive producer Crewe.
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 themMitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels. Under his direction, they scored eleven Top 100 hits, most notably Crewe's powerful and muscular arrangements of "Devil with a Blue Dress On", the group's highest-charting single at No. 4, as well as "Sock It to Me, Baby!", a No. 6 hit in 1967, and "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 bySandy Linzer andDenny 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 bythe Colourfield andSmash Mouth, among many others.
Crewe's record label scored another hit withNorma Tanega's off-beat, folksy "Walkin' My Cat Named Dog". Crewe also helped bring success to theEpic Records groupthe Tremeloes with their hit cover of "Silence Is Golden", a song originally written for and recorded by the Four Seasons.
Bob Crewe himself (recording asThe Bob Crewe Generation) released a version of Sid Ramin's 1967 instrumental "Music to Watch Girls By" (originally composed as aDiet Pepsi commercial jingle) on DynoVoice.[3] The song became a Top 20 hit.[3] and spawned another successful instrumental version byAl Hirt and a vocal hit byAndy Williams. In 1967, Bob Crewe produced and wrote seven of the songs sung byLesley Gore on her last commercially successful album,California Nights, including producing thetitle track. The Bob Crewe Generation also recorded the original soundtrack (composed by Crewe andCharles Fox) for the 1968Paramount Pictures motion pictureBarbarella, starringJane Fonda and directed byRoger Vadim. The soundtrack for the cult favorite features vocals by Crewe and the groupthe 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 theBillboard 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 singerAndy Williams climbed to No. 5 on theUK Singles Chart. Also achieving chart status over the decades were English-language versions bythe Lettermen,Maureen McGovern,Boys Town Gang andLauryn Hill. The song has been heard in numerous motion pictures, includingThe Deer Hunter,The Fabulous Baker Boys,Conspiracy Theory,10 Things I Hate About You,Drop Dead Gorgeous,Bridget Jones's Diary, andJersey Boys.
In 1969, Crewe collaborated with the singerOliver, producing his pop hit "Jean", a song written by poetRod McKuen which served as theme to theOscar-winning filmThe Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, starringMaggie Smith. Crewe also produced a hit single of Oliver performing the optimistic "Good Morning Starshine" from the rock musicalHair. 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 asBen Bagley'sCole Porter Revisited andRodgers and Hart Revisited featuring vocal performances by such artists asHarold Arlen,Elaine Stritch,Dorothy Loudon,Anthony Perkins,Ann Hampton Callaway,Bobby Short,Jerry Orbach,Tammy Grimes, andBlossom Dearie.
Crewe sang "The Whiffenpoof Song" and was interviewed onThe Jack Spector Show and appeared on Dick Clark's ABC-TV programsAmerican Bandstand andWhere 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 Generation's late 1969 LPLet Me Touch You, including covers of Henry Mancini's "Moon River" and "Two For The Road", arranged by Charles Fox, remains a favorite oflounge 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 thedisco era. The 1976 LPStreet Talk on Elektra was in this vein.
In 1975, Crewe wrote and produced disco material forthe Eleventh Hour,[3] who had dance club success with at least three releases on20th 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 andSir Monti Rock III formed the disco club favoritesDisco-Tex and the Sex-O-Lettes, best known for their 1975 successes "Get Dancin'" and "I Wanna Dance Wit' Choo (Doo Dat Dance)".[3] The group is referenced byElvis Costello in his song "Invasion Hit Parade" and byThe Pet Shop Boys in their song "Electricity".
In 1977, at the insistence of producerJerry Wexler, who had been an early mentor of his, Crewe recorded a solo album in Memphis, withBarry Beckett co-producing. The album, titledMotivation, 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 andKenny Nolan which later became popular withCarolina 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 byPatti LaBelle.
Crewe and Nolan had previously written two other songs - "My Eyes Adored You" and "Lady Marmalade" - which became back-to-back No. 1 records in 1975.[3] "My Eyes Adored You" was produced by Crewe and performed by Frankie Valli with the Four Seasons. When the record label, Mowest, balked at releasing it, Crewe, certain of its quality and hit potential, bought back the rights for $4,000 and it was issued on Private Stock Records. Despite widespread rejections from music industry pundits, the song became a smash solo hit for Valli, and was the fifth biggest song of the year. "Lady Marmalade", recorded byLabelle, became notorious for its sexually provocative, New Orleans-inflected chorus, "Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir?" Produced by Allen Toussaint, the song became a radio and dance club sensation. When it reached No. 1 on the U.S.Billboard Hot 100, it displaced "My Eyes Adored You". Both songs spent one week at No. 1. "Lady Marmalade" has since been used in numerous motion pictures, includingCheech and Chong's The Corsican Brothers,Beethoven,Carlito's Way,The Birdcage,The Long Kiss Goodnight, andSemi-Pro.
In 1984, a collaboration by Crewe and writersJerry Corbetta andBob Gaudio produced anotherBillboard Top 100 success with the romantic duet "You're Looking Like Love To Me", sung byRoberta Flack andPeabo Bryson. Another Crewe-Corbetta project united them with singer-songwriter-producerEllie Greenwich, for whom they produced the original cast album of Greenwich'sBroadway musicalLeader of the Pack. The album was aGrammy Award nominee and the show itself was nominated for aTony Award.
In 1985, Crewe was inducted into theSongwriter's Hall of Fame.[2]
"Lady Marmalade" was re-recorded byChristina Aguilera,Lil' Kim,Mýa, andPink for the soundtrack of the 2001 filmMoulin 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) inJersey Boys, the long-running, multipleTony Award-winning Broadway musical based on the story of Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons. Although the 2014film version (withMike 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]
While Crewe was portrayed as openly gay in theJersey 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 hisJohn Wayne mode, this extreme machoism," Dan Crewe toldThe 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 theMaine 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]
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.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |