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Walk Like a Man (The Four Seasons song)

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"Walk Like a Man"
A-side label of US single
Single by The Four Seasons
from the album Big Girls Don't Cry and Twelve Others
B-side"Lucky Ladybug"
ReleasedJanuary 1963[1]
RecordedJanuary 1963
Genre
Length2:17
LabelVee-Jay
Songwriter(s)Bob Crewe, Bob Gaudio
Producer(s)Bob Crewe
The Four Seasons singles chronology
"Santa Claus Is Coming to Town"
(1962) 		"Walk Like a Man"
(1963) 		"Ain't That a Shame!"
(1963)

"Walk Like a Man" is a 1963 song written by Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio and originally recorded by the Four Seasons.[4] The song is sung from the perspective of a man whose girlfriend has been belittling him, and who takes his father's advice to "walk like a man" and leave the relationship in order to preserve his dignity. The song was a #1 hit in the United States for the Four Seasons. A 1985 cover version by Divine was a top 40 hit in several European countries.

Production

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The song features the counterpoint of Nick Massi's bass voice and the falsetto of lead singer Frankie Valli.

During the sessions that produced the recording, the fire department received an emergency call from the Abbey Victoria Hotel (the building that housed the Stea-Phillips Recording Studios). As producer Bob Crewe was insisting upon recording the perfect take, smoke and water started to seep into the studio; the room directly above the studio was on fire, but Crewe had blocked the studio door. He continued recording until firemen used their axes on the door and pulled Crewe out.[5]

Reception

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"Walk Like a Man" was the Four Seasons' third number one hit. It reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 on March 2, 1963, remaining there for three weeks. Ths song also went to number three on the R&B singles chart.[6]

Cash Box described it as "a feelingful, cha cha beat stomper ... that again sports the falsetto gimmick" and has an "ultra-commercial arrangement by Charles Calello".[7]

The song "Walk Like a Man" is part of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll list.[8]

Personnel

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Partial credits.[9]

The Four Seasons
Additional musician and production staff

Charts

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Chart (1963) Peak
position
New Zealand (Lever Hit Parade)[10] 1
UK[11] 12
US Billboard Hot 100[12] 1
US Billboard R&B[13] 3

Divine version

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"Walk Like a Man"
Single by Divine
from the album Maid in England
Released1985
Genre
LabelProto Records, Liberation Records
Songwriter(s)Bob Crewe, Bob Gaudio
Divine singles chronology
"T Shirts and Tight Blue Jeans"
(1984) 		"Walk Like a Man"
(1985) 		"Twistin' The Night Away"
(1985)

Divine recorded his version of "Walk Like a Man" which was released in 1985 as the lead single from the album Maid in England.

Track listing

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  1. "Walk Like a Man" – 3:50
  2. "Man Talk" – 3:23

Charts

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Chart (1985) Peak
position
Australian Singles Chart[17] 75
German Singles Chart[18] 52
Irish Singles Chart 23
Swiss Singles Chart[19] 28
UK Singles Chart[20] 23

Other versions

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Other versions have been recorded by artists such as Jan & Dean (1963) off the album Jan & Dean Take Linda Surfin, the Mary Jane Girls (1986), Dreamhouse (2008) and Chance & The Phantasmics (2012). Plastic Bertrand did a version in French, entitled C'est Le Rock 'n' Roll (1978), and Hungarian band Bon Bon recorded the song with the title Sexepilem (1999).

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The song is featured in the opening credits of the 1979 film The Wanderers, as well as the films Heart and Souls (1993), Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) and Sleepers (1996). It is included in the 2004 biographical jukebox musical Jersey Boys, as well as the 2014 film adaptation.

References

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  1. ^ Frankie Valli & The 4 Seasons (1991-11-19), Greatest Hits, Volume 1, Internet Archive, Warner Special Products, retrieved 2023-01-30{{citation}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ An Avid's Guide to Sixties Songwriters. AuthorHouse. 28 February 2017. ISBN 9781524633455.
  3. ^ a b A. Guarisco, Donald. "Walk Like a Man review". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  4. ^ The Four Seasons interviewed on the Pop Chronicles (1969)
  5. ^ Sasfy, Joe. Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons: 1961–1967, Time-Life Records "The Rock 'N' Roll Era" (1987).
  6. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–2004. Record Research. p. 212.
  7. ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. January 19, 1963. p. 10. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  8. ^ "500 Songs That Shaped Rock". Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Retrieved November 15, 2014.
  9. ^ "Panama Francis - DRUMMERWORLD".
  10. ^ Flavour of New Zealand, 28 March 1963
  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. ^ Eddy, Chuck (15 January 2012). "The 25 Best "Bad" Cover Songs – 9. Divine "Walk Like A Man" (1985)". Complex. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  15. ^ Breihan, Tom (May 15, 2018). "The Number Ones: The Four Seasons' "Walk Like A Man"". Stereogum. Retrieved June 10, 2023. Here's regular John Waters star Divine's video for their 1985 synthpop cover of "Walk Like A Man"...
  16. ^ Eddy, Chuck (22 March 1997). "Equestrian and Pedestrian Rock". The Accidental Evolution of Rock 'n' Roll: A Misguided Tour Through Popular Music. Da Capo Press. p. 268. ISBN 0-306-80741-6.
  17. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 91. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between mid 1983 and 19 June 1988.
  18. ^ Divine - Singles Archived 2017-10-09 at the Wayback Machine Media Control Charts. Retrieved 2010-06-12.
  19. ^ Divine - Discography Swiss Charts Online. Retrieved 2010-06-12.
  20. ^ "Divine". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2010-06-12.
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