FRANKIE VALLI FAQ: Of all artists about whom I've received questions regarding snail/e-mail contacts or concert itineraries, Frankie is the one I get most questions about. For his snail-mail address click here. For his tour schedule click here.
1. Sherry (2:31) - This song has a moderate swing tempo. A tambourine plays on every second and fourth beat; during the verses, hands also clap on those beats. The narrator invites Sherry to go with him to a dance hall. He tells her to assure her mother that everything will be fine.
2. Big Girls Don't Cry (2:23) - This song has a moderate tempo, with hands clapping on every second and fourth beat. In the first verse, the narrator tells his girlfriend that their relationship has to end. He expects her to cry, but instead she tells him the title. However, in the second verse, he learns from her mother that the girl cried over him in her bedroom. Okay, so big girls DO cry, just not in public.
3. Walk Like A Man (2:15) - I don't think the two opening drum rolls were necessary to make this song the hit that it was. But I like the moderate swing tempo and the hand-clapping featured here. The narrator's girlfriend has lied about him to his friends, so he resolves to "walk like a man" out of the relationship.
4. Candy Girl (2:35) - This moderate-tempoed song features an instrument sounding remotely similar to the quacking of a duck. After searching the whole world, the narrator has found a girlfriend. Her hugs and kisses are among the many reasons he uses candy as a metaphor for her.
5. Marlena (2:34) - The tempo is moderately fast. The drums sound similar to the clapping of hands. Listen closely and you'll also hear a piano. The narrator, who is trying to win Marlena's heart, tells her she will soon realize that she might as well give in to him.
6. Dawn (Go Away) (2:46) - This moderately fast song features chime-like instruments. The narrator seems to believe the stereotype that rich girls don't marry poor boys. He dissuades Dawn from pursuing her romantic interest in him only because she comes from a wealthy family whereas he is a poor man.
7. Stay (1:55) - This song has a moderate swing tempo and features a tambourine. I also have the original version of this song by Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs.
8. Ronnie (2:56) - The tempo here is slightly faster than moderate. The song opens with a single click of the duck-like instrument. The drums roll many times here. "Ronnie" here is apparently short for "Veronica," as it was with the lead singer of the Ronettes. In any case, the narrator will get on with his life and forgive Ronnie for leaving him and falsely accusing him of infidelity, only because she was the first girl he ever loved.
9. Rag Doll (3:00) - This moderate-tempoed song features chimes and a tambourine. The narrator is so in love with the girl in rags that he wants to marry her, despite his parents' objections. I see a similar stereotype here to the one in "Dawn"--rich boys don't marry poor girls, either.
10. Silence Is Golden (3:24) - This moderately slow song was the B-side of the previous song. Chimes are featured here. The narrator realizes that the girl's boyfriend is deceving her and will soon hurt her. Yet in the third verse, the narrator wonders whether he should alert the girl, whether by doing so HE would hurt her. The Tremeloes recorded this song later and had a hit with it.
11. Save It For Me (2:35) - This moderately fast song opens with a piano solo. Then the chimes enter, and finally the drums. Another instrument featured here apparently is an organ. The narrator, who apparently has been on a business trip, tells the girl not to give any of her loving to other men, but instead to reserve all of it for him.
12. Big Man In Town (2:45) - Bells are featured in this moderate-tempoed song. The narrator is almost broke right now, but he resolves that someday he'll be rich, and then he'll marry the girl to whom he is singing.
13. Bye Bye Baby (Baby Goodbye) (2:31) - This song starts off slow. Then, a little before the 20-second mark, a moderate swing tempo sets in. Chimes and violins are among the instruments here. The narrator would marry the girl to whom he is singing if not for his commitment to another, so he tells the girl goodbye.
14. Girl Come Running (2:59) - The tempo is moderate. Instruments here include cymbal drums and a tambourine. The narrator tells his girlfriend to "come running home" when she gets tired of having affairs with him.
15. Let's Hang On (To What We've Got) (3:16) - This song starts off slow with smooth guitar rolls. After the prelude, in comes the prevalent tempo, which is somewhat faster than moderate. Once the tambourine enters, it plays on every second and fourth beat. Horns are also featured. In the prelude, the narrator says, "True love takes a lot of tryin'." It sure does--on both lovers' parts. Anyway, he begs his girlfriend not to end their relationship after things have been going good between them.
16. THE WONDER WHO: Don't Think Twice (It's All Right) (2:58) - This fast song opens with a very short piano solo. Again, the tambourine plays on every second and fourth beat. Here Frankie carries his falsetto voice higher than in any other song on this anthology. When the girl regrets breaking off her relationship with the narrator, he tells her not to worry about it. Besides this version, I've heard one by Peter, Paul, and Mary, and one by Dolly Parton. It was first sung by its composer, Bob Dylan.
17. Working My Way Back To You (3:03) - This song has a moderate tempo. This time, the tambourine plays on every beat. Other instruments include an organ and horns. Back when the girl was in love with the narrator, he ran around on her and loved to make her cry. Then she left him, and he was the one who cried. Now he regrets his mistreatment of her and hopes she will forgive him and love him again. On the radio I often hear both this version and one by the Spinners.
18. Opus 17 (Don't You Worry 'Bout Me) (2:32) - Here's another great Frankie Valli/Four Seasons song. Again, the tambourine plays on every beat (after the opening drum roll), but the tempo here is somewhat faster than in the previous song. Horns are featured here, too. They key even goes up a few times. This song would be the group's 17th opus because "Don't Think Twice" was written by Bob Dylan, whereas all other songs up to this point were original Frankie Valli/Four Seasons songs. The narrator realizes that there's no space for him in the girl's heart, so he urges her to marry the man who IS in her heart, and from this point on stop worrying about the narrator. Even if the other man deserts her one day, she still shouldn't worry about the narrator.
19. I've Got You Under My Skin (3:38) - The tempo in this song varies here; sometimes it's slow, and at other times it's moderate. Instruments here include a piano, violins, bells, and a tambourine. The narrator tells the girl that she will never persuade him to let her go because he is firmly attached to her romantically. This song was written and first recorded long before Frankie and the Seasons recorded their version.
20. Tell It To The Rain (2:35) - This moderately fast song is my favorite Four Seasons song. It features chimes, a tambourine, and a string quartet. The narrator used to cry over being left by the girl; now she's the one who's crying. He rejects her apologies; instead she should tell the rain and the stars that she loves and thinks of him.
21. Beggin' (2:46) - This song, somewhat faster than moderate, starts with a single playing of a minor chord that lasts a full measure. Instruments and sound effects include a piano, violins, and hand-clapping. The first line Frankie sings sounds almost like a Natalie Cole song. The narrator begs the girl to "put [her] lovin' hand out" for him to take; only with her love will his life be worth living.
22. FRANKIE VALLI SOLO RECORDING: Can't Take My Eyes Off You (3:21) - This song, with a moderate tempo, features horns, cymbal drums, chimes, a tambourine, and violins. The narrator describes his new girlfriend as "just too good to be true." He is thankful that he was able to live long enough for her love to come to him when it did. Movies in which this song appeared include The Deer Hunter (starring Robert DeNiro and Christopher Walken), Coneheads, and Conspiracy Theory (starring Julia Roberts).
23. C'mon Marianne (2:33) - For the first 17 seconds, this song is slow and the guys sing a capella. The tempo becomes fast once the instruments enter; they include guitars and a tambourine. The narrator is begging Marianne to say she can understand--but understand what? Maybe he's looking for her shoulder to cry on.
24. Will You Love Me Tomorrow (3:16) - A drum solo, consisting of two whole beats followed by four quarter beats, starts this song off. Most of the time the tempo is moderate, but there are a few times when it's slower. This song, previously a big hit for the Shirelles in the early 60s, was a Top 30 hit for Frankie and the Seasons in 1968.
25. Who Loves You (4:14) - After 7 years off the charts, Frankie and the Seasons returned to the Top 10 with this song. This moderately fast song starts with a cymbal-drum solo, during which the guys' voices crescendo from near-silence like angels coming to earth. Instruments here include violins and a piano. The narrator asks the girl who loves her, who will help her survive the night when she's feeling down.
26. December 1963 (Oh, What A Night) (3:17) - This song, slightly slower than moderate, opens with a 4-second drum solo. Other instruments include a piano and a synthesizer. The narrator looks back on the night in December of 1963 when he met a girl. He never knew her name, but he still fell in love with her.