"Rag Doll" is a popular song written by

Bob Crewe Robert Stanley Crewe (November 12, 1930 – September 11, 2014) was an American songwriter, dancer, singer, manager, and record producer. He was known for producing, and co-writing with Bob Gaudio, a string of Top 10 singles for the Four Season ...

and

Bob Gaudio Robert John Gaudio (born November 17, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer, and the keyboardist and backing vocalist of the pop/rock band the Four Seasons. Gaudio wrote or co-wrote and produced the vast majori ...

. It was recorded by the Four Seasons and released as a single in 1964.

Background

According to songwriter Bob Gaudio, the recording was inspired by an occasion involving the homeless children who, at stop lights in the city, would run into the street and clean windshields for spare change. In the

Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton, is a neighborhood on the West Side of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is considered to be bordered by 34th Street (or 41st Street) to the south, 59th Street to the north, Eighth Avenue to the eas ...

neighborhood, a young girl with a dirty face and wearing ragged clothes approached Gaudio's automobile. When he reached into his wallet to pay her, he found that none of the notes were smaller than $10. He gave the girl a $10 bill. (Some accounts indicate that it was a $5 bill.) "The image of her stuck in my head until I wrote 'Rag Doll'", Gaudio recalled in a 2009 interview. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' described the song as a "sentimental slow dance ballad." ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' described it as "a touching, cha cha beat opus...that the group serves up in their fabulous style" and that features the "hit sounds" of

Frankie Valli Francesco Stephen Castelluccio (born May 3, 1934), better known by his stage name Frankie Valli, is an American singer, known as the frontman of the Four Seasons beginning in 1960. He is known for his unusually powerful lead falsetto voice. ...

. In 1989, critic

Dave Marsh Dave Marsh (born March 1, 1950) is an American music critic, and radio talk show host. He was an early editor of ''Creem'' magazine, has written for various publications such as ''Newsday'', ''The Village Voice'', and ''Rolling Stone (magazine), ...

ranked "Rag Doll" at No. 401 on his list compiled in the book ''The Heart of Rock and Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made'', being one of five songs by the Four Seasons included in the book. In 1997,

Mojo Mojo may refer to: *Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * '' ...

also listed the song as one of the 'Bubbling Under' singles in its list of 'The 100 Greatest Singles Of All Time'.

Accolades

In 2010, radio station

WCBS-FM WCBS-FM (101.1 FM) is a radio station offering a classic hits format licensed to New York City and is owned and operated by Audacy, Inc. The station's studios are in the combined Audacy facility in the Hudson Square neighborhood in lower Manhat ...

in New York City rated the Four Seasons' "Rag Doll" as the No. 1 song of all time, as voted on by its listeners.

Cover

* In 1966 the band

Pooh Winnie-the-Pooh, also called Pooh Bear and Pooh, is a fictional anthropomorphic teddy bear created by English author A. A. Milne and English illustrator E. H. Shepard. The first collection of stories about the character was the book ''Winn ...

recorded the Italian version in the single entitled ''Quello che non sai'' (What you do not know), text by Antonietta De Simone, (Vedette, VVN 33114) for the album ''Per quelli come noi'' (For those like us) of the same year (Vedette, VRM 36033).

B-Side

The

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

was the original version of " Silence Is Golden", also written by Crewe and Gaudio. In 1967, that song was covered by the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

band

the Tremeloes The Tremeloes are an English beat group founded in 1958 in Dagenham, England. They initially found success in the British Invasion era with lead singer Brian Poole, scoring a UK chart-topper in 1963 with "Do You Love Me". After Poole's departu ...

and peaked at No. 1 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

and No. 11 on the US charts.

Personnel

Source. ;The Four Seasons *

– lead vocals, harmony and backing vocals, handclaps *

Tommy DeVito Tommy DeVito may refer to: * Tommy DeVito (American football), American football quarterback * Tommy DeVito (musician) (1928–2020), American musician and singer, member of The Four Seasons * Tommy DeVito, a character in the film ''Goodfellas'' pl ...

– harmony and backing vocals, guitar, handclaps *

Nick Massi Nick Massi (born Nicholas E. Macioci, September 19, 1927 – December 24, 2000) was an American bass singer, songwriter, and bass guitarist for The Four Seasons. Biography Born in Newark, New Jersey, Nicholas "Massi" Macioci was first taught to ...

– harmony and backing vocals, bass, handclaps *

– harmony and backing vocals,

Farfisa organ Farfisa (Fabbriche Riunite di Fisarmoniche) is a manufacturer of electronics based in Osimo, Italy, founded in 1946. The company manufactured a series of compact electronic organs in the 1960s and 1970s, including the Compact, FAST, Professiona ...

, handclaps ;Additional musician and production staff *

Buddy Saltzman Buddy Saltzman (born Hilliard Saltzman; October 17, 1924 – April 30, 2012) was an American session drummer who played on many hit songs during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. He is especially remembered for his work with The Four Seasons (band), T ...

– drums, tambourine, African hair drum *

– producer * Lenny Stei – engineer

Chart history

"Rag Doll" reached the top spot on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on July 18, 1964, and remained on top for two weeks. The song was also a No. 1 hit in Canada, and reached No. 2 in the UK and No. 4 in Ireland.

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

1964 singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles The Four Seasons (band) songs Songs written by Bob Crewe Songs written by Bob Gaudio RPM Top Singles number-one singles Song recordings produced by Bob Crewe 1964 songs Philips Records singles {{1960s-single-stub