Sherry (song)

"Sherry" is a song written by Bob Gaudio and recorded by The Four Seasons.

This article is about the song by The Four Seasons. For the song by Steve Perry, see Oh Sherrie. For the Broadway musical song, see Sherry! (song).
"Sherry"
Single by The Four Seasons
from the album Sherry & 11 Others
B-side"I've Cried Before"
ReleasedAugust 1962[1]
RecordedJuly 1962
Genre
Length2:32
LabelVee-Jay
Songwriter(s)Bob Gaudio
Producer(s)Bob Crewe
The Four Seasons singles chronology
"Bermuda/Spanish Lace"
(1961)		 "Sherry"
(1962)		 "Big Girls Don't Cry"
(1962)

Song information

According to Gaudio, the song took about 15 minutes to write and was originally titled "Jackie Baby" (in honor of then-First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy).[4] In a 1968 interview, Gaudio said that the song was inspired by the 1961 Bruce Channel hit "Hey! Baby".[5]

At the studio, the name was changed to "Terri Baby", and eventually to "Sherry", the name of the daughter of Gaudio's best friend, New York DJ Jack Spector. One of the names that Gaudio pondered for the song was "Peri Baby", which was the name of the record label for which Bob Crewe worked, named after the label owner's daughter.

The single's B-side was "I've Cried Before". Both tracks were included in the group's subsequent album release, Golden Hits of the 4 Seasons (1963).[6]

In 2023, "Sherry" was selected for preservation in the United States National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." .[7]

Charts
Chart (1962) Peak
position
Australia 3
Canada [8][9] 1
New Zealand (Lever Hit Parade)[10] 1
UK[11] 8
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[12] 1
U.S. Billboard R&B[13] 1

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[14] Silver 200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Reception

"Sherry" was the band's first nationally released single and their first number one hit, reaching the top of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 on September 15, 1962. It remained at number one for five consecutive weeks, and number one on the R&B charts for one week.[15] "Sherry" became the first single by The Four Seasons to go to number one on the R&B charts.

Cover versions
  • A version of the song was later recorded and released by British singer/songwriter Adrian Baker. It was released in July 1975 along with "I Was Only Fooling" on the Magnet Records label (MAG 34).
  • A version by Robert John entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart at position number 82 on October 25, 1980;[16] it spent five weeks on the Top 100, peaking at number 70 on November 8, 1980.[17]
  • One version of the song was recorded by British pop group Dreamhouse, which appears on their debut album, and was released in 1998.

The song appears on the soundtrack album of the films; Stealing Home (1988) and The Help (2011),[18] as well as a television episode of Two and a Half Men. In The Marvellous Wonderettes, Missy takes the lead on the song with the Wonderettes singing backup. At the climax of the song, Missy hits a Phantom of the Opera-esque high note, the ending similar to the Jersey Boys version.

References
  1. Frankie Valli & The 4 Seasons (1991-11-19), Greatest Hits, Volume 1, Internet Archive, Warner Special Products, retrieved 2023-01-30
  2. Marsh, Dave (2007). The Beatles' Second Album. Rodale Books. ISBN 9781594864261. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  3. Unterberger, Richie. "Sherry song review". AllMusic. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  4. Sasfy, Joe. Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons: 1961–1967, Time-Life Records "The Rock 'N' Roll Era" (1987)
  5. Bob Gaudio interviewed on the Pop Chronicles (1969)
  6. Golden Hits of the 4 Seasons at AllMusic
  7. "2023 National Recording Registry selections". Library of Congress. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  8. CHUM HIT PARADE: Week of September 17, 1962 at the Wayback Machine (archived November 7, 2006). CHUM Chart.
  9. List of number-one singles of 1962 (Canada)
  10. Flavour of New Zealand, 1 November 1962
  11. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 210. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  12. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  13. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 212.
  14. "British single certifications – Frankie Valli/The Four Seasons – Sherry". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  15. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–2004. Record Research. p. 212.
  16. "Music: Top 100 Songs | Billboard Hot 100 Chart". Billboard.com. 1980-10-25. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  17. "Music: Top 100 Songs | Billboard Hot 100 Chart". Billboard.com. 1980-11-08. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  18. "The Help (Music From the Motion Picture)". Amazon. July 26, 2011. Retrieved January 30, 2012.
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