"Sherry" is a song written by

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 ...

and recorded by The Four Seasons.

Song information

According to Gaudio, the song took about 15 minutes to write and was originally titled "Jackie Baby" (in honor of then-

First Lady First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state fo ...

Jacqueline Kennedy Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American socialite, writer, photographer, and book editor who served as first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A po ...

). In a 1968 interview, Gaudio said that the song was inspired by the 1961 Bruce Channel hit "

Hey! Baby "Hey! Baby" is a song written by Margaret Cobb and Bruce Channel, first recorded at Clifford Herring Studios in Ft. Worth Tx, and recorded by Channel in 1961, first released on LeCam Records, a local Fort Worth, Texas label. After it hit, it was ...

". At the studio, the name was changed to "Terri Baby", and eventually to "Sherry", the name of the daughter of Gaudio's best friend, New York DJ

Jack Spector Jack Spector (September 15, 1928 – March 8, 1994) was an American radio disc jockey and TV host, particularly known for his work in New York City during the 1960s "rock radio" era. WMCA Good Guys Spector began his radio career in 1955. In ...

. One of the names that Gaudio pondered for the song was "Peri Baby", which was the name of the record label for which

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 ...

worked, named after the label owner's daughter. The single's B-side was "I've Cried Before". Both tracks were included in the group's subsequent album release, ''Golden Hits of the 4 Seasons'' (1963).

Charts

Certifications

Reception

"Sherry" was the band's first nationally released single and their first number one hit, reaching the top of the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on September 15, 1962. It remained at number one for five consecutive weeks, and number one on the R&B charts for one week. "Sherry" became the first single by The Four Seasons to go to number one on the R&B charts.

Cover versions

*A version of the song was later recorded and released by British singer/songwriter

Adrian Baker Adrian Baker (born 18 January 1951, London) is an English singer, songwriter, and record producer. Career Baker made his debut as a singer on Magnet Records/Epic Records in the United Kingdom. In 1975, he released his first solo album, ''Into ...

. It was released in July 1975 along with "I Was Only Fooling" on the

Magnet Records Magnet Records was a British record label, started in 1973 by Michael Levy and Peter Shelley. It was acquired by Warner Bros. Records in 1988 for an estimated £10m. Artists on the label included Alvin Stardust, Stevenson's Rocket, Matchbox, ...

label (MAG 34). *A version by

Robert John The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

entered ''Billboards Hot Top 100 chart at position number 82 on October 25, 1980; it spent five weeks on the Top 100, peaking at number 70 on November 8, 1980. *One version of the song was recorded by British pop group Dreamhouse, which appears on their debut album, and was released in 1998.

Song in popular culture

The song appears on the soundtrack album of the films; '' Stealing Home'' (1988) and ''

The Help ''The Help'' is a historical fiction novel by American author Kathryn Stockett and published by Penguin Books in 2009. The story is about African Americans working in white households in Jackson, Mississippi, during the early 1960s. A ''USA To ...

'' (2011), as well as a television episode of

Two and a Half Men ''Two and a Half Men'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS for twelve seasons from September 22, 2003, to February 19, 2015. Originally starring Charlie Sheen in the lead role alongside Jon Cryer and Angus T. Jones, the ...

. In ''The Marvellous Wonderettes'', Missy takes the lead on the song with the Wonderettes singing backup. At the climax of the song, Missy hits a

Phantom of the Opera ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (french: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra) is a novel by French author Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serial in from 23 September 1909 to 8 January 1910, and was released in volume form in late March 1910 by Pierr ...

-esque high note, the ending similar to the

Jersey Boys ''Jersey Boys'' is a jukebox musical with music by Bob Gaudio, lyrics by Bob Crewe, and book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. It is presented in a documentary-style format that dramatizes the formation, success and eventual break-up of th ...

version.

References

1962 singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles The Four Seasons (band) songs Robert John songs Songs written by Bob Gaudio Vee-Jay Records singles Song recordings produced by Bob Crewe 1962 songs {{1960s-single-stub