Gaudio describes the song as "the one that almost got away" until Windsor, Ontario, radio station CKLW (a station also serving the Detroitmetro on the American side of the border) intervened. In 1967, the record's producers urged Paul Drew, program director at the 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.
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]
Lauryn Hill's version of the song was recorded in 1997.[31] It was first featured in the movie Conspiracy Theory (1997). While the song was not featured on the soundtrack, a radio jockey at KMEL in San Francisco put the song on a CD and began playing it;[32] more radio stations followed suit, causing a domino effect around the U.S.,[33][34] 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.[35][36] Due to the popularity of the song it was added as a hidden track on The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.[37]
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
Other cover versions
The song has been recorded by many artists. Among the most notable examples are the following:
In late 1967, the Lettermen recorded the "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" as a medley with "Goin' Out of My Head", which was featured on their album The Lettermen!! ...And Live! that same year. Their rendition reached number 7 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and number 2 Easy Listening.[47]
In 1968, Andy Williams' version from his 1967 album Love, Andy made it to number 5 on the UK singles chart and number 8 on the Irish Singles Chart.[48] The arranger and producer was Nick DeCaro and the conductor was Eddie Karam.[49] In 2002 he recorded a new version of the song for his compilation album The Essential Andy Williams, as a duet with British actress and singer Denise van Outen, which reached number 23 in the UK singles charts.[50]
Maureen McGovern released her cover for her self-titled album as a single in 1979 (number 27 on the US Adult Contemporary chart in 1979; number 5 Canadian AC in 1980).[51]
In 1986, ElectronicItalo-disco singer Ross recorded "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" with some success on radio stations in Mexico.[citation needed]
In 1992, Dutch singers Gerard Joling and Tatjana Šimić recorded a duet version of the song (including a rap segment by Darrell Bell) for Joling's album Eye to Eye, which peaked at number 5 in the Dutch Top 40 charts.[53]
In 2019, Surf Mesa released a tropical house cover of the song called "ILY (I Love You Baby)", featuring vocals by Emilee Flood for the EP Another Life. Upon being re-released in 2020, it became a top 40 hit in many countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom. Unlike other cover versions, this cover is based solely around the chorus of the original Frankie Valli composition, and was renamed to reflect that.[56]
