♫ Walk Like A Man ♫

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, History, music

Tuesday night, I couldn’t stay asleep for some reason.  I was trying to think of the name of a particular song to play for a friend, and while I never did come up with that one, this song, Walk Like a Man, popped into my head and refused to leave all day yesterday!  It’s not an all-time favourite, but it has a decent sound to it, so in order to exorcise it from my head, I’m sharing it here with you!  The most interesting bit of trivia is the actual recording of this song back in January, 1963, sixty years ago!

The Four Seasons were recording this at a studio in the Abbey Victoria Hotel in New York, when a fire broke out in the rooms above the studio.  As smoke began to enter the studio, producer Bob Crewe locked the studio door and was determined to get the perfect recording, no matter what!  Soon, water began dripping from the ceiling, but no matter … the recording must go on!  Ultimately, firemen broke into the studio with axes, knocking Bob Crewe to the floor in the process!

This would go on to become the third #1 hit for The Four Seasons, after Sherry and Big Girls Don’t Cry, and also made it to #1 in New Zealand, and #12 in the UK.

Walk Like A Man

The Four Seasons

Ooh-wee-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh, ooh-wee
Walk, walk, walk, walk
Ooh-wee-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh, ooh
Walk like a man

Oh, how you tried to cut me down to size
Tellin’ dirty lies to my friends (ooh-ah, ooh-ah, ooh-ah, ooh)
But my own father said give her up, don’t bother
The world isn’t comin’ to an end
(He said)

Walk like a man, talk like a man
Walk like a man, my son
No woman’s worth crawlin’ on the earth
So walk like a man, my son

Oh wee ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh, ooh-wee-ooh
Walk, walk, walk, walk
Ooh-wee-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh, ooh

Bye, baby, I don’t-a mean maybe
Gonna get along somehow (ooh-ah, ooh-ah, ooh-ah, ooh)
Soon you’ll be cryin’ on account of all your lyin’
Oh yeah, just look who’s laughin’ now
(I’m gonna)

Walk like a man, fast as I can
Walk like a man from you
I’ll tell the world, forget about it, girl
And walk like a man from you

Ooh-wee-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh, ooh-wee-ooh
Walk, walk, walk, walk
Ooh-wee-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh, ooh
Walk, walk, walk, walk
Walk, walk, walk, walk
Ooh-wee-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh, ooh-wee-ooh

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Robert Crewe / Robert Gaudio

Walk Like A Man lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.

23 thoughts on “♫ Walk Like A Man ♫”

  2. Funny coincidence. I follow a music blog by a Canadian music enthutiast. His song today was Under the Boardwalk, by the Drifters. Walk must be the word of the day.
    Charlie Thomas of the Drifters died on Monday at the age of 85.
    I just cannot resist making this a threesome, all from approximately the same year, 1964.

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  3. Goodness, what some people will go through to record a song. I do like it and had almost every album they had out. I have a feeling those albums were in the old house when it collapsed a few months ago. I’m wondering now how they were able to sing with smoke invading the studio, and if the manager was arrested or fired for locking them in there. What a story.

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    • Indeed, that is truly dedication! I didn’t know about your old house collapsing! Did you still have much in it when that happened? So sad that you lost so much … my heart goes out to you. No, it was standard practice to lock the recording studio so that nobody would burst in unannounced and wreck the recording, so I’m sure he wasn’t punished. Good point, though, about the smoke and how it might have affected their voices!

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      • Just having a cigarette lit near me can make me cough uncontrollably, so I can’t imagine trying to sing with that much smoke in the room.
        Yes, I still had a lot of stuff in the old house, including over 100 quarts of green beans. That really hurt, but at least no one was in the place so there were no injuries. I miss that old pre-Civil War house though. it was so old, drafty, and a house that people would come out and set up easels in the front yard to paint it… Gingerbread trim and doors to the outdoors in almost every room, I miss it.

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        • I must remember, if I ever do get to come down for a visit, to leave my cigarettes in the car! I cough uncontrollably too, but I still smoke. Not much chance I’ll quit now, since I’ve been at it for nearly 60 years, since I was 13.

          The 100 quarts of green beans is heartbreaking in itself — I LOVE home-canned gtreen beans! But I’m sure there were memories that were even more precious than the beans, and those are truly heartbreaking. I hope you have plenty of pictures, for it sounds delightful!

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          • I had hundreds of photos but Edd insisted that I leave half of them for him. Gina found them and divided them among the boys and herself. She was very angry with me and never let me explain that he had insisted on keeping half of the photos after i had packed them in the car to being with me. Those are almost more heartbreaking than the green beans, but right now I would love to have some of the beans. The kind from the grocery leave much to be desired.

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            • How very sad. Your Edd sounds like the sort of guy whose head I would have liked to bash in! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. No, the DelMonte green beans just aren’t the same … ’cause they weren’t canned with love!

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              • There were a few times I thought about doing that, but …. I did buy a book called “If I Had Kille Him When I Met Him I’d Be Out Of Jail By Now” by Sharon McCrumb. Left it in plain view on the table and things improved a bit. But the day I was leaving I didn’t have time to do anything except get what I could and get out. He followed me around all the time questioning everything I picked up, even to my clothes and shoes. Couldn’t tell the kids though. Every time I tried they would cut me off and tell me they didn’t want to hear it.

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                • Ha ha … oh, that’s funny!!! Made him think a bit, did it? I find it hard, though, to understand why the kids were so much more on his side, not even bothering to listen to what you said. And look how they are now, too. Do any of them even stay in touch of late?

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                  • Mike calls once in a while and Gina at least once a month, but I sometimes wonder if they really want to or if I’ve made them feel a bit guilty about never calling. I seldom hear from Don, although I do call him occasionally. Used to call him more often but he seldom answers when he’s doing something on the farm. I guess I’m getting used to that from them all, but Mike is usually the one to keep in touch. He’s also the only one still in the area. And he called last Sunday to tell me they were bringing the baby by for a first visit. So, I have now held the little guy and he had a pretty good look at me. So sweet, so cute. I hated to see them go, but they had to get him home for a nap. I keep wondering what I did wrong while they were younger, but that’s one I don’t think I’ll ever know the answer to.

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  4. A real blast from the past, with some of the weirdest dancing I’ve ever seen. They did well to get to #12 here as The Beatles were just beginning to storm our chart at that time.

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  5. This is the first time I’ve ever heard of a song being recorded while the floor upstairs was on fire, with smoke coming in and water dripping from the ceiling.

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