Wednesday, May 4, 2011

When Four Seasons Collide

I don't need an entertainer or a performer to sing "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" (link) because everyone in this tiny little world knows it -the lyric- by heart.

It's not a song, it's a hit.

It's been remade, remixed, reproduced over and over again. It's non-absence at almost every wedding reception is gradually killing us all. And what's worse, it's been playing in my head since yesterday.

But the question is : who is the original singer?

My first memory of the song is Heath Ledger (rest in peace) singing merrily on the stadium steps in 10 Things I Hate About You. Then it was in Bridget Jones Diary. Years later, Muse did an awesomely impressive cover version of the song.

But the question remains, who introduced this extraordinary piece to us?

For some reason, it never occurred to me to wiki. But God heard the cries inside and He sent my little friend Laila to bring the answer. When she was in London, we went to watch Jersey Boys.


The documentary-style musical is about a 1960's rock & roll group called The Four Season. We were taken through the different stages of their career path, the ups and downs, and the behind-the-scenes.

One of the group members is Frankie Valli. And as you could've guessed, he's the original singer of the above-mentioned song, when he decided to go solo to boost his career as a singer and to help his problematic friend. Believe it or not, the song was almost never released.


It was the best theatre I've watched by far, ironically. Second to none, not even Les Miserables, not even Phantom of The Opera.

The group consists of four young lads who met in Jersey (hence the name). Their journey to become one of the most successful rock&roll group was no bed of roses. It took them two names, a long list of temporary members and numerous quarrels.

Finally, in the first half of 1970s, the original members of the group gradually dried up.



Anyway, the songs are all so sing-along and catchy, they kept me up all night. The actors were all so good too. At this rate, I can say that one of them is going to be a star one day, or maybe all of them.

o0ooh, did you guys know the song Beggin' by Madcon is originally The Four Season's?

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