Who Loves You (song)

"Who Loves You" is the title song of a 1975 album by The Four Seasons. It was composed by Bob Gaudio and Judy Parker and produced by Gaudio. It reached number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1975.[1][2][3]

"Who Loves You"
Single by The Four Seasons
from the album Who Loves You
B-side"Who Loves You" (Disco version)
Released2 August 1975
RecordedJuly 1975
GenreRock, disco
Length4:04 (single version)
4:22 (album version)
LabelWarner Bros./Curb
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Bob Gaudio
The Four Seasons singles chronology
"Hickory"
(1974)		 "Who Loves You"
(1975)		 "December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)"
(1975)
Vinyl 45
Music video
Listen to "Who Loves You" (Official Music Video) on YouTube

Song information

After their release from Philips, the group signed with Motown and released one album and three singles for the organization in 1972 and 1973. All Motown recordings failed to chart in the U.S. and the company dropped the band.[2] In August 1975, "Who Loves You" entered the Hot 100 as Frankie Valli's "Swearin' to God" was sliding off the chart. This was the final Four Seasons hit featuring bassist and backing vocalist Joe Long.[4][5]

Charts

(* - Canadian RPM chart data incomplete for late 1975)

Other versions

There were three versions of "Who Loves You" released in the United States: the one on the Who Loves You album is four minutes, 20 seconds long and begins with a short percussion section before the start of the vocals.[16] The A-side of the single has a 4-minute 4 second version which starts with an unusual "fade-in" beginning, starting with the first word of the lyrics; the B-side (labeled "Who Loves You (disco version)") extends the running time to 5:28 by featuring the instrumental break twice.[17]

Although the Four Seasons' trademark falsetto is present on "Who Loves You", Valli's vocal performance on the recording is limited to singing lead on the verses.[2]

For a record from a group so long without any hit records, "Who Loves You" was a tremendous success. Released in August 1975, the single spent 20 weeks on the Hot 100 (longer than any Four Seasons single before) and managed to stay on the chart until the beginning of 1976.[18]

This song was edited heavily and included as the closing number for the musical Jersey Boys. The second verse and instrumental break is completely omitted, and instead of the fade out, a loud, high-pitched ending chord is sung by the full company. However, the Original Broadway Cast Recording includes the instrumental break.

Pop-culture references

Often used as bumper music by late night radio talk show host Art Bell when he hosted Coast to Coast AM in the 1990s.

Christopher Knowles references the song-title and Valli/Four Seasons in a section of the libretto of Einstein on the Beach.[19]

References
  1. Joel Whitburn, The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits (5th edition), Billboard Books 1992 ISBN 0-8230-8280-6
  2. Fred Bronson, The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (3rd edition), Billboard Books 1992 ISBN 0-8230-8298-9
  3. Dean, Maury (2003). Rock N' Roll Gold Rush. Algora. pp. 285. ISBN 0-87586-207-1.
  4. https://thatfourseasonssound.typepad.com/seasonally/2011/04/how-i-met-the-famous-joe-long-.html
  5. https://nj1015.com/joe-long-dishes-on-jersey-boys-time-with-the-four-seasons/
  6. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Retrieved 2017-01-26.
  7. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2017-01-26.
  8. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Who Loves You". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
  9. Flavour of New Zealand, 19 December 1975
  10. "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  11. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  12. http://tropicalglen.com/Archives/70s_files/19751101.html Adult Contemporary Music Chart, November 1, 1975]
  13. Cash Box Top 100 Singles, November 1, 1975
  14. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". collectionscanada.gc.ca.
  15. Whitburn, Joel (1999). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-142-X.
  16. Four Seasons, Who Loves You LP (Warner Bros. Records 1975)
  17. Four Seasons, "Who Loves You" single, Warner Bros. 8122, 1975
  18. Joel Whitburn, Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1993, Billboard Books 1994 ISBN 0-89820-105-5
  19. Christopher Knowles' transcription of and relationship with Top-40, AM radio station WABC in the early 1970s, and specifically the juncture of the charting of Valli's "Swearin' to God" and "Who Loves You" in late-1975/early-1976, is something documented and analyzed in detail by Robert Fink in "Einstein on the Radio", in Jelena Novak and John Richardson, eds., Einstein on the Beach: Opera beyond Drama (London: Routledge, 2019). ISBN 1317145380
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