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In Memoriam: Bob Crewe (1931-2014)

September 12, 2014 By Joe Marchese 7 Comments

Bob CreweFrom you’re just too good to be true, can’t take my eyes off you to voulez-vous coucher avec moi (ce soir)?, some of the most memorable phrases in popular music came courtesy of Bob Crewe. The multi-hyphenate talent – a songwriter, producer, singer, entrepreneur, artist, philanthropist, activist, and candidate for the title of “Fifth Season” – passed away yesterday at the age of 82, but not before leaving behind a rich legacy guaranteed to endure for decades to come. Crewe’s songs were built around big, powerful emotions, packed with drama and filled with heart.

Newark, New Jersey-born Stanley Robert Crewe dreamt big. His early years saw him studying architecture at Parsons School of Design, working successfully as a fashion model, and trying his luck as a singing star and potential teen idol. But Crewe, despite his good looks, found his truest calling behind the scenes of the music business. With writing partner Frank Slay, he gifted “Silhouettes” to The Rays and “Tallahassee Lassie” to Freddy “Boom Boom” Cannon. Then, he formed arguably his most felicitous creative partnership with fellow Jersey boy Bob Gaudio. “[Gaudio] brought the finished song [“Sherry”] to Bob Crewe, independent hit record producer,” read the liner notes of the Seasons’ debut platter Sherry and 11 Others. “One listen was all Bob (Crewe) needed to be sold on the idea. The song was recorded and released immediately. An unknown group only a couple of months ago, today the whole music business and public alike are talking about the ‘different sound’ of The 4 Seasons.” They still are.   Jersey Boys, chronicling the group’s rocky road to stardom and beyond, has been breaking records on Broadway since 2005. A film adaptation directed by Clint Eastwood premiered in 2014. Though the film was critically dismissed, Mike Doyle earned praise for his touching, funny and multilayered portrayal of Bob Crewe.

Sherry and 11 Others, of course, bore production credit for Crewe. A renaissance man, he was also credited with arrangements, conducting the orchestra, and even designing the cover artwork! The album ended with “Sherry,” but began with “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” heralding the arrival of the Bob Gaudio/Bob Crewe writing team. With Crewe primarily supplying lyrics to Gaudio’s melodies, the pair created that “different sound.” Though rooted in doo-wop and street-corner harmonies honed on the mean streets of northern New Jersey, Crewe and Gaudio’s fresh songs and immaculate, elegant productions exploded from AM radios. Valli’s ethereal falsetto soared above a youthful, vibrant and contemporary beat imbued with rock-and-roll attitude. The artful songs the team crafted throbbed with urgency and grit. Crewe’s gutsy words had universal appeal but remained honest to the group’s working-class backgrounds: “Walk Like a Man,” “Big Man’s World,” “Rag Doll,” “Ronnie,” “Save It for Me,” “Bye Bye Baby (Baby Goodbye).” The ballads were just as impressive as the stomping rockers, and were similarly drawn from the heart: the shimmering “Silence is Golden,” the aching “The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine (Anymore).”

We continue our Bob Crewe tribute after the jump!

Four Seasons - Gold Vault of HitsIn 1965, Crewe formed his own DynoVoice label, guiding The Toys to a No. 2 Pop hit with “A Lover’s Concerto."  In a wholly different vein, he guided Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels to fame, producing a series of tough, muscular rock records. Their medley revival of “Devil with a Blue Dress On/Good Golly Miss Molly” that inspired Bruce Springsteen and so many others was a Bob Crewe production – as freewheeling as his prior work had been tight. The prolific, versatile producer fronted The Bob Crewe Generation, providing the ultimate groovy lounge soundtrack with “Music to Watch Girls By,” wrote the score to cult classic Barbarella, and produced hit records for Oliver including “Jean” and “Good Morning Starshine.”  A list of the artists with whom he worked during this fertile period is simply too large for inclusion here.

In the 1970s, Crewe began an association with Motown, and continued to collaborate with the Four Seasons. He returned to his old co-writing and co-producing roles for Frankie Valli’s Top 10 hit “Swearin’ to God,” written with Denny Randell, and No. 1 smash “My Eyes Adored You” with Kenny Nolan. The former had Frankie Valli in a disco setting, but Crewe actually followed the latter, a sweetly wistful ballad, with another straight No. 1 co-written with Nolan. What knocked "My Eyes Adored You" from the top spot in 1975? Labelle’s steamy, sexy, and altogether provocative “Lady Marmalade.” It’s a song that has resonated far beyond the disco years, instantly recognizable even today. Crewe always had his pulse on the times, but his twin gifts of craft and invention assured that the music would also remain timeless.  He even reactivated The Bob Crewe Generation for the new crop of clubgoers.

Bob Crewe turned to painting in his later years, in between writing, producing, recording, and receiving accolades like a Songwriters’ Hall of Fame induction and an award for “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” as one of BMI’s most-played songs of the century. He was also on hand to lend support for Jersey Boys. But he might have been most proud of The Bob Crewe Foundation. His charitable trust provides scholarships, fellowships and mentoring for fine arts and music, and supports AIDS research and LGBT initiatives.

Bob Crewe remained largely unheralded despite his pioneering work as a producer in the decade when that role in music came to prominence. He seemed happy to remain somewhat in the shadows, but was also an inspiration for refusing to closet himself at a time when LGBT acceptance was far from the norm. (Crewe reportedly identified himself as bisexual, though he has also been identified as gay.) Bob Crewe was true to himself, in life and music - a trendsetter whose songs are still played today, thrilling with the same energy and vibrancy that they did when first heard. Just take another listen to the killer drums on “Big Man in Town” or “Ronnie,” the dirty electric guitar, effervescent harmonies and swaggering determination of “Let’s Hang On,” or the intoxicating sound of freedom in “Lady Marmalade.” Though he has passed on, Bob Crewe’s music, as ever, pulses with the rhythm of life.

Recommended Listening:

Jersey Beat: The Music of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons (Rhino, 2007) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, The Classic Albums Box (Rhino, 2014)  (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. )

Frankie Valli, Selected Solo Works (Rhino, 2014)  (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. )

The Bob Crewe Generation, Music to Watch Girls By: The Best of the Bob Crewe Generation (Varese, 2006) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Labelle, Nightbirds (Epic, 1974 – available from Epic on CD) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, Rev Up: The Best of Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels (Rhino, 1989, out-of-print) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Oliver, Good Morning Starshine: The Best of Oliver (Taragon, 2005, out-of-print) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Barbarella: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Cleopatra, 2004, out-of-print) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Bob Crewe Presents The DynoVoice Story - The Label That Had to Happen (Westside, 2001, out-of-print) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Categories: News Genre: Pop Tags: Bob Crewe

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Joe Marchese

JOE MARCHESE (Editor) joined The Second Disc shortly after its launch in early 2010, and has since penned daily news and reviews about classic music of all genres. In 2015, Joe formed the Second Disc Records label. Celebrating the great songwriters, producers and artists who created the sound of American popular song, Second Disc Records, in conjunction with Real Gone Music, has released newly-curated collections produced by Joe from iconic artists such as Johnny Mathis, Bobby Darin, Laura Nyro, Melissa Manchester, Chet Atkins, and many others. He has contributed liner notes to reissues from a diverse array of artists, among them Nat "King" Cole, Paul Williams, Lesley Gore, Dusty Springfield, B.J. Thomas, The 5th Dimension, Burt Bacharach, The Mamas and the Papas, Carpenters, Perry Como, Rod McKuen, Doris Day, Jackie DeShannon, and Andy Williams, and has compiled releases for talents including Robert Goulet and Keith Allison of Paul Revere and the Raiders. Over the past two decades, Joe has also worked in a variety of capacities on and off Broadway as well as at some of the premier theatres in the U.S., including Lincoln Center Theater, George Street Playhouse, Paper Mill Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, and the York Theatre Company. He has felt privileged to work on productions alongside artists such as the late Jack Klugman, Eli Wallach, Arthur Laurents, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. In 2009, Joe began contributing theatre and music reviews to the print publication The Sondheim Review, and in 2012, he joined the staff of The Digital Bits as a regular contributor writing about film and television on DVD and Blu-ray. Joe currently resides in the suburbs of New York City.

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Comments

  1. Mike Elder says

    September 12, 2014 at 1:29 pm

    Maybe now someone will release Bob Crew's solo album
    'Motivation.' Well produced and pure Crew!

    Reply
    • galley99 says

      September 12, 2014 at 9:06 pm

      It was made available on Rhapsody back in April.

      Reply
  2. Bruce Padgett says

    September 12, 2014 at 1:44 pm

    All those magnificent songs! A true artist has left us.

    RIP

    Reply
  3. Ken says

    September 12, 2014 at 1:54 pm

    A musical great. Thanks for all the fantastic music Bob. RIP

    Reply
  4. John H says

    September 12, 2014 at 2:40 pm

    Many of the hits of the 60s - despite being memorable and well-loved - really were pap. Dated, trite and musically conservative. Crewe was a genius at crafting music that fit in perfectly with the times, but transcended them - Lady Marmalade has outlasted the disco era, Music To Watch Girls By swings and grooves today when other jazz easy-listening hits from the era just sound dull and Crewe's incredible singles with Frankie and the boys ranks as one of the most marvelous set of tunes in recorded history, with humour, bravado, incredible performances and brilliant melodies. The guy was a genius. I don't think anyone can replace him.

    Reply
  5. Thom Hickey says

    September 15, 2014 at 3:22 pm

    Thanks. An excellent affectionate and well informed tribute to an under appreciated though enormous talent. Regards Thom.

    Reply
  6. Stuffed Animal says

    December 11, 2019 at 3:59 pm

    I want a motion picture about Bob Crewe, and I want it yesterday! Not a musical, not a TV series, nothing less than a movie for theatrical release. But I don't think an American producer/film company can do him justice. Once they knew Bob was of the LGBT orientation, they'd haul out their moldy bag of stereotypes. Bob and his music need to be treated with the utmost respect, even while the script stays true to his larger-than-life personality and tastes. He was, quite simply, the greatest record producer of the early Rock era. Nobody, not Spector, not Joe Meek, not H-D-H, not Sam Phillips, not Jeff Barry or any of the other greats can claim that title. He was top of the line, and dude didn't need to murder anybody to cement an awesome legacy! And let us not forget the great talents Bob found and nurtured, such as the wonderful Charles Calello.

    Reply

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