"Can't Take My Eyes Off You" is a 1967 song written by Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio. It was recorded as a single by Frankie Valli. The song was among his biggest hits, earning a gold record and reaching No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 for a week, stuck behind "Windy" by the Association. Gaudio was a bandmate of Valli's in the Four Seasons. It was Valli's biggest solo hit until he hit No. 1 in 1975 with "My Eyes Adored You". Bob Gaudio, an original member of the Four Seasons, refers to "Eyes" today as "the one that almost got away" until Windsor, Ontario radio station CKLW intervened. In 1967, the record's producers urged Paul Drew, program director at the legendary station, to consider the tune for rotation. For much of the '60s and '70s, CKLW was credited with launching hit records via its powerful signal, blanketing the Great Lakes region. Drew didn't warm to the song at first, but accepted an invitation to hear it live at the Roostertail, where Frankie 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 recalls. "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" has been recorded in many other arrangements, many of which have been on the charts in different countries. The song is a staple of television and film soundtracks, even being featured as part of the plot of some films, such as when the lead characters sing or arrange their own version of the song. The Valli version was also used by NASA as a wake-up song on the STS-126 Space Shuttle mission, to celebrate the anniversary of astronaut Christopher Ferguson, one of the mission's crew members.
Credits
The song was written by Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio. Arrangement was done by Artie Schroeck and Gaudio. The original recording was made at A & R Studio 2 799 7th Avenue in New York City, with Bob Crewe producing and Phil Ramone engineering.
In 1982, San Francisco based disco band Boys Town Gang performed a disco version of the song which reached number one in the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and number four in the United Kingdom. This version was also successful in Japan, receiving a gold digital certification by the RIAJ in 2011, and is also on games such as Just Dance 4.
A version by Andy Williams made it to #5 on the UK singles chart in 1968. The arranger and producer was Nick DeCaro and the conductor was Eddie Karam. This version is included in the soundtrack of the 2001 film Bridget Jones's Diary. It is also included in the soundtrack for Black Mirror Season 5 Episode 2; Smithereens. In 2002 he recorded a new version of the song, as a duet with British actress and singer Denise van Outen, which reached #23 in the UK singles charts.
In 2013, the vocal harmony group the Overtones covered the song for the official soundtrack of the German film Buddy.
In 2014, John Lloyd Young covered the song for the movie Jersey Boys about the band the Four Seasons in which he played Frankie Valli. He was also the original performer on the Broadway musical of the same name which premiered in 2005.
In 2019, Surf Mesa covered the song as a single under the title "ILY ". It received 1 Platinum and 4 Gold certification.
