We’re Working Our Way Back Through the Four Seasons Band’s Biggest Hits — 5 Songs You’ll Love

The Four Seasons—commonly referred to as the “Jersey Boys”—were a musical sensation in the 1960s and 1970s, when their career soared. Made up of members Frankie Valli, Bob Gaudio, Tommy DeVito and Nick Massi, The Four Seasons released plenty of hits throughout the quartet’s run from 1960 to 1977.

Originating in Newark, New Jersey, in 1960, the group’s first hit song was “Sherry” in 1962, and they continued to have a string of successful tunes, selling over 175 million records worldwide.

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In 1970, the group’s name changed to Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, but by 1977, they split up. Valli continued on to a successful solo career In 1990, the four original members were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

The musical Jersey Boys , debuting in 2005, brought the band back to the limelight, detailing the formation, success and breakup of the quartet, and won four Tony Awards in 2006. Go back to the 1960s and take a listen to these hit songs by The Four Seasons!

5. “Big Girls Don’t Cry” (1962)

Ever wonder where the group got the idea for this hit song? According to Frankie Valli, the theme came from a film. “ It was taken from a Clark Gable movie, when he tells a girl he’s leaving and says that big girls don’t cry,” Valli explained to the Honolulu Star-Bulletin newspaper in 1998. The song shot to No. 1 and continued to top the charts for five weeks.

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4. “Walk Like a Man” (1963)

Another hit for The Four Seasons, “Walk Like a Man” was released to toughen up the group’s image. The lyrics detail a man telling his girlfriend he wouldn’t put up with her lies. But what’s most interesting about this song is how it came to be—the group actually recorded it in a burning building.

While working on the song, their producer, Bob Crewe, locked the door so they could focus, but after a few bad takes, they smelled smoke and water started to leak into the room. Crewe wouldn’t let them out until they had a good take, but firefighters eventually broke the door down. Lucky for us—and the band—they got that good take first.

3. “Working My Way Back to You” (1967)

This hit song took a bit of a different approach than most “take me back” songs. The narrator admits that he cheated on his girlfriend, but is working to get her back. Although the message of the song is not exactly a picture-perfect love song, it did become quite a hit.

“Working My Way Back to You” was made a hit once again when it was re-recorded by The Spinners in 1978.

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2. “Sherry” (1962)

The Four Seasons have written a lot of memorable music, but “Sherry” is easily one of their most recognizable tracks. The song became the vocal quartet’s first No. 1 hit in 1962, and then remained on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for a total of four weeks. Written by the group’s keyboardist, Bob Gaudio, “Sherry” launched their career.

Gaudio explained that he wrote “Sherry” in a matter of 15 minutes before one of their rehearsals. “ I drove down to rehearsal humming it , trying to keep it in my mind. I had no intention of keeping the lyrics, [but] to my surprise, everybody liked them, so we didn’t change anything.”

1. “December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)” (1975)

This massive hit was originally written with an entirely different subject in mind and title. Previously called “December 5 th , 1933,” the song was meant to be about the end of prohibition, but Valli didn’t like the song. So, Gaudio and his later wife, Judy Parker, re-wrote it as a nostalgic hit about the group’s golden era. But many believe the tune is really about a teenager losing his virginity.

Bonus Song: Frankie Valli’s “Grease” Theme

Everyone knows and loves the hit movie song with the lyric “Grease is the word”,  but did you know it was sung by The Four Seasons’ lead vocalist? Frankie Valli, who was a solo artist at the time, was chosen to sing the lead of the hit film, and it ended up being one of the biggest songs of his career.

And if you thought it was one of the Bee Gees, you wouldn’t have been far off. Member Barry Gibb wrote it. Valli explained in an interview, “ Barry Gibb called and said , ‘I wrote a song. I think it's for you. It's going to be the title song for this motion picture’… I had already heard the title song, and I loved it. I called Don Costa up and told him to come over right away and hear this song. He said, ‘If you don't record this song, you're crazy.’”

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