Can't Take My Eyes Off You

"Can't Take My Eyes Off You" is a 1967 song written by Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio, and first recorded and released as a single by Gaudio's Four Seasons bandmate Frankie Valli. The song was among his biggest hits, earning a gold record and reaching No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 for a week,[6] making it Valli's biggest solo hit until he hit No. 1 in 1975 with "My Eyes Adored You".[7]

For the Nancy Wilson album, see Can't Take My Eyes Off You (album).
"Can't Take My Eyes Off You"
Cover of the 1967 US single
Single by Frankie Valli
from the album Frankie Valli: Solo[1]
B-side"The Trouble with Me"
ReleasedApril 1967 (1967-04)[2]
RecordedApril 1967
Recording studioA & R (New York City)
Genre
Length3:24
LabelPhilips
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Bob Crewe
Frankie Valli singles chronology
"The Proud One"
(1966)		 "Can't Take My Eyes Off You"
(1967)		 "I Make a Fool of Myself"
(1967)

Gaudio describes the song as "the one that almost got away" until Windsor, Ontario, radio station CKLW (a station also serving the Detroit metro on the American side of the border) intervened. In 1967, the record's producers urged Paul Drew, program director at the legendary station, to consider the tune for rotation. For much of the 1960s and 1970s, CKLW was credited with launching hit records via its powerful signal, blanketing the Great Lakes region. Drew did not warm to the song at first, but accepted an invitation to hear it live at the Roostertail, where Valli was performing a weeklong stint with the Four Seasons. Drew liked what he heard and added the song to his station's playlist. "The switchboards lit up, and the rest, as they say, is history", Gaudio recalled.[8]

Valli recalled in 2014 that "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" was the first step in the fulfillment of his goal to sing music that did not require him to use falsetto: "I didn't want to sing like that my whole life. Once we established the sound, the plan was that eventually I would do solo [records] and some things I really wanted to do. I was very lucky to make the transition to 'My Eyes Adored You' and 'Swearin' to God,' which had none of that." Valli also recalled that the record had been mothballed by The Four Seasons' record company for a year because of their fear that The Four Seasons (who had already lost Nick Massi in 1965) were breaking up, to which Valli insisted that he had no intentions of ever leaving The Four Seasons.[9]

"Can't Take My Eyes Off You" has been recorded in many other arrangements, many of which have charted in different countries.

Credits

The song was written by Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio. Melodic elements bear a similarity to passages from the Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia section of the 1956 ballet Spartacus (Suite No. 2) by Aram Khachaturian.[10]

The original recording, from an arrangement by Gaudio and Artie Schroeck, was made at A & R Studio 2 (formerly Columbia Studio A), at 799 7th Avenue in New York City, with Crewe producing and Phil Ramone engineering.

Reception

Billboard described the single as "strong rhythm ballad material from the pen of Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio with an exceptional Valli vocal combined with an exciting Artie Schroeck arrangement."[11] Cash Box called the single a "smooth, gentle, softly spoken romancer".[12]

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[20] Silver 200,000‡
United States (RIAA)[21] Gold 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Boys Town Gang version
"Can't Take My Eyes Off You"
Single by Boys Town Gang
from the album Disc Charge
ReleasedJuly 29, 1982
GenrePost-disco
Length3:28
LabelMoby Dick
Songwriter(s)Bob Crewe, Bob Gaudio
Producer(s)Bill Motley
Boys Town Gang singles chronology
"Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours"
(1982)		 "Can't Take My Eyes Off You"
(1982)		 "Brand New Me"
(1984)

In 1982, San Francisco-based post-disco band Boys Town Gang released a dance version of the song which reached the top spot in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Spain and number four in the United Kingdom.[22][23] This version was also successful in Japan, receiving a gold digital certification by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) in 2011.

Track listings

7-inch single

  1. "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" – 3:28
  2. "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" (reprise) – 4:42

7-inch single

  1. "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" – 3:40
  2. "Disco Kicks" – 4:04

Weekly charts
Chart (1982–1983) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[24] 21
Belgian Singles Chart[25] 1
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[26] 1
Irish Singles Chart 5
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[27] 1
UK Singles Chart[28] 4
West German Singles Chart 43

Year-end charts
Chart (1983) Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[24] 71

Lauryn Hill version
"Can't Take My Eyes Off You"
Song by Lauryn Hill
from the album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
ReleasedAugust 25, 1998
GenrePop
Length3:41
LabelRuffhouse, Columbia
Songwriter(s)Bob Crewe, Bob Gaudio
Producer(s)Lauryn Hill

Lauryn Hill's version of the song was recorded in 1997, while Hill was eight months pregnant with her first child.[29] It was first featured in the movie Conspiracy Theory (1997). While the song wasn't featured on the soundtrack, a radio jockey at KMEL in San Francisco put the song on a CD and began playing the song;[30] more radio stations followed suit, causing a domino effect around the U.S.,[31][32] ultimately leading the song to peak at number two on the Rhythmic Top 40 chart, despite Hill's label's not releasing the song as a single.[33][34] Due to the popularity of the song it was added as a hidden track on The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.[35]

This version was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 1999, becoming the first hidden track to ever receive a Grammy nomination.[36][37] Consequence of Sound named it the best hidden track of all time.[38] In 2014, VH1 also named it the best hidden track of all time.[39] Academy Award–winning actor Forest Whitaker was inspired to name his daughter True, after hearing Hill's version of the song.[40]

Charts
Chart (1998-1999) Peak
position
Australia ARIA Charts[41] 8
US Rhythmic (chart)[42] 2
US Hot 100 Airplay (Radio Songs)[43] 35

Other cover versions

The song has been recorded by many artists. Among the most notable examples are the following:

References
  1. "Official Frankie Valli Site". Retrieved November 25, 2017.
  2. The Four Seasons; Frankie Valli (1991), Greatest Hits, Volume 2, Internet Archive, Warner Special Products, retrieved January 30, 2023
  3. "Soul Music: Can't Take My Eyes Off You". BBC Radio 4. 2013. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
  4. Guarisco, Donald A. ""Can't Take My Eyes Off You" song review". Allmusic. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  5. "Lifestyle's weekly Spotify playlist #65". Northern Star. November 6, 2022. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
  6. "Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. July 22, 1967. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
  7. Bronson, Fred. The Billboard book of number 1 hits. p. 398.
  8. "The Four Seasons Rocked at The Roostertail in Detroit! · Jersey Boys Blog".
  9. Willman, Chris (June 6, 2024). "Frankie Valli on Jersey Boys and His Unlikely Success: 'The Way I Grew Up, It Was Basically Against All Odds'". Parade. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  10. "Chicago Classical Review » » Violinist strikes sparks with belated Shostakovich premiere at Grant Park".
  11. "Spotlight Singles" (PDF). Billboard. April 29, 1967. p. 16. Retrieved February 27, 2021.
  12. "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. April 29, 1967. p. 22. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  13. "Go-Set National Top 40, 27 September 1967". Archived from the original on June 14, 2012. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  14. "RPM Top 100 Singles - July 15, 1967" (PDF).
  15. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  16. "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, July 15, 1967". Tropicalglen.com. December 23, 1967. Archived from the original on September 30, 2018. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
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  18. "Musicoutfitters.com". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  19. "Cash Box YE Pop Singles - 1967". Tropicalglen.com. December 23, 1967. Archived from the original on September 30, 2018. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  20. "British single certifications – Frankie Valli – Can't Take My Eyes Off You". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
  21. "American single certifications – Frankie Valli – Can't Take My Eyes Off You". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
  22. "Top 40-lijst van week 24, 1982". Top40.nl. Retrieved September 30, 2016.
  23. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 74. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  24. "Kent Music Report – National Top 100 Singles for 1983". Kent Music Report. Retrieved January 22, 2023 – via Imgur.com.
  25. "Boys Town Gang - Can't Take My Eyes Off You". ultratop.be.
  26. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 24, 1982" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  27. Hung, Steffen. "Boys Town Gang - Can't Take My Eyes Off You". hitparade.ch.
  28. chartsurfer.de.
  29. "The Quietus | Features | Anniversary | 20 Years On: The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill Revisited". The Quietus. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
  30. "Lauryn Hill: "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" from The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill". HiddenSongs.com. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
  31. Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. March 27, 1999.
  32. Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. May 9, 1998.
  33. "Lauryn Hill | Awards". AllMusic. May 26, 1975. Retrieved September 30, 2016.
  34. Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. December 5, 1998.
  35. "Knowledge Drop: Lauryn Hill Reportedly Recorded "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You" While Lying On The Floor". Genius. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
  36. Kot, Greg (January 6, 1999). "10 NOMINATIONS PUT LAURYN HILL ATOP GRAMMY HEAP". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  37. "Manna for fans: the history of the hidden track in music". The Guardian. January 25, 2015. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  38. "20 Best Hidden Tracks on Albums". Consequence of Sound. July 8, 2014. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  39. Runtagh, Jordan. "Surprise! The 12 Greatest Hidden Tracks In Music". VH1 News. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
  40. "True Whitaker, Daughter of Forest Whitaker, Is Delighted to Share Her Name With True Thompson, Daughter of Khloé Kardashian". W Magazine. April 17, 2018. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
  41. "australian-charts.com - Discography Lauryn Hill". australian-charts.com. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  42. "Lauryn Hill". Billboard. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  43. "Lauryn Hill". Billboard. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  44. Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 139.
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  46. Love, Andy by Andy Williams, album sleeve, 1967. New York: Columbia Records CS 9566
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  49. "Pet Shop Boys Chart History | Billboard". www.billboard.com. Archived from the original on November 11, 2017.
  50. "JAARLIJST 1992". Members.chello.nl. Retrieved September 30, 2016.
  51. Wilkes, Neil (April 18, 2000). "MTV Movie Award Nominations". Digital Spy. Retrieved November 24, 2022.
  52. "Cover versions by Leon Lai | SecondHandSongs". secondhandsongs.com. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  53. Roßbach, Daniel; Fiebrig, Sebastian (November 18, 2019). "#22 – Wie Torsten Mattuschka zu seinem Lied kam". Und niemals vergessen (in German). Retrieved August 30, 2022.
  54. "BBC Sport - Kelly Jones sings Gary Speed tribute". wayback.archive-it.org. Archived from the original on December 3, 2011.
  55. "Panda Express Black Pepper Angus Steak Commercial Song - Can't Take My Eyes Off You". Commercial Song. June 7, 2020. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
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