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The Four Seasons first number one was “Sherry” a song which spent five weeks at the top spot. In fact, if you disregard a holiday song they did at the end of 1962, “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” (#23), then the first three hits they had all went to number one. Not many acts can claim that. After “Sherry”, their second hit, “Big Girls Don’t Cry”, also spent five weeks at number one. Then (after Santa Claus) was “Walk Like a Man” which spent three weeks at number one. (we’ll discuss that song when we get to 1963.) So, for the 27 week period from September 15, 1962 until about the middle of March, 1963 (about 6 months), the Four Seasons held the number one spot for 13 weeks. They were number one for about half of those six months.

“Big Girls Don’t Cry” was written by both Bob Gaudio and Bob Crewe. They became quite a team over the next few years. There are two stories as to where the name of the song came from. Gaudio said that he was watching the 1955 movie Tennessee’s Partner which stars John Payne and Rhonda Fleming. In the film, supposedly Payne slaps Fleming in one scene and says the words “Big Girls Don’t Cry”. Bob wrote down the words and the next morning wrote the song. However, Bob Crewe says Bob got the wrong movie and the words are really said in a movie called Slightly Scarlett which also stars Payne and Fleming.

Who’s right? IMDB.com says the line is from Tennessee’s Partner. I haven’t seen either movie, so can’t make a judgment. If you really want to know find the movies, watch them and decide for yourself. At any rate, “Big Girls Don’t Cry” was their second number one song.

“Big Girls Don’t Cry” debuted on the pop chart on October 27, 1961 and stayed at number one for five weeks.