From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Tue Nov 12, 2002  6:17 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Bob Crewe
 
BOB CREWE

Born 12 November 1937, Newark, New Jersey

Songwriter, producer.
One of the most successful pop-rock producers of the 1960s, Bob
Crewe is primarily known for his work with the Four Seasons, many
of whose hits he also had a hand in writing.
Crewe rose to prominence with work for Philadelphia area labels,
writing and producing, with partner Frank Slay, the Rays' classic
doo-wop hit "Silhouettes" (# 3 in 1957). Its flip, "Daddy Cool", also
written by Slay and Crewe, is almost as famous. The Crewe-Slay
team became involved with the Swan label, where they were responsible
for early hits by Freddy Cannon ("Tallahassee Lassie" being the first
and one of the biggest) and Billy & Lillie ("La Dee Dah" etc.). Hits like
"Tallahassee Lassie" demonstrated Crewe's talents at getting tracks
with stomping rhythms and handclaps, which he would build upon in
a more artful fashion in his sides with the Four Seasons.
Crewe signed the Four Seasons in the early '60s, at first using them as
backup vocalists for other artists. One of the decade's more enduring
producer-artist partnerships took off when a single done by the group
under their own name, "Sherry," made # 1 in 1962. Although this was
written by Four Seasons member Bob Gaudio, the equally massive
follow-up, "Big Girls Don't Cry," was penned by Gaudio and Crewe.
They went on to write many of the Seasons' big '60s hits together,
although they also wrote separately for the group. Crewe also produced
Frankie Valli's solo work until 1975, scoring big hits with "Can't Take My
Eyes Off You" (# 2 in 1967) and "My Eyes Adored You" (# 1 in 1974).

Income from the Four Seasons' sales and songwriting was probably
enough to keep Crewe comfortable for much of the sixties, but he was
constantly working with other (mostly female) artists as well, for whom he
also often assumed both production and songwriting hats. In the mid '60s
Crewe formed his own New Voice and DynoVoice labels, which had hits by
the Toys ("A Lover's Concerto"), Norma Tanega ("Walkin' My Cat Named
Dog"), and especially Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels ("Jenny Take
A Ride", etc.), who injected a badly needed dose of scorching rock and
roll into the second half of the sixties.
In early 1967, Crewe himself finally had a big hit, "Music to Watch Girls
By," credited to the Bob Crewe Generation (# 15), a prototypical easy
listening instrumental with a '60s party go-go beat and Herb Alpert-like
brass. In the late '60s he was behind another label, Crewe, whose biggest
smash was Oliver's ballad "Jean" (# 2 in 1969), a considerable distance
from the pop/rock with which he was most strongly identified in years past.
Crewe's glory days passed after the '60s; his most significant achievement,
and one which many wouldn't suspect to be his work, was co-writing Labelle's
monster soul hit, "Lady Marmalade," in the mid '70s.