Family and school Born in
The Bronx,
New York, Gaudio was raised in
Bergenfield, New Jersey, where he attended
Bergenfield High School. His mother worked for the publishing house
Prentice Hall and his father in a paper factory. He showed an interest in music and studied piano with
Sal Mosca. He grew up in more comfortable middle-class surroundings than the other members of the Four Seasons, which caused some tension and differences early on. He was a cerebral person, interested in reading and learning. He stayed out of trouble and had a mild manner, which proved useful during negotiations throughout his career.
Early career He rose to musical fame at the age of 15 as a member of
The Royal Teens, for whom he co-wrote the hit "
Short Shorts". Gaudio wrote the Four Seasons' first No. 1 hit, "
Sherry", 15 minutes before a group rehearsal in 1962. With producer
Bob Crewe often assisting with lyrics, Gaudio wrote a string of subsequent hits for the band, including "
Big Girls Don't Cry", "
Walk Like a Man", "
Dawn (Go Away)", "
Ronnie", "
Rag Doll", "
Save It for Me", "
Big Man in Town", "
Bye Bye Baby", "
Girl Come Running", "
Beggin'", and "
Can't Take My Eyes Off You" (the first big success under Valli's name as a solo performer). Crewe/Gaudio compositions also became major hits for other artists, including
The Tremeloes ("
Silence Is Golden", originally the
B-side of the Four Seasons' "
Rag Doll"),
The Osmonds ("
The Proud One", originally recorded as a Valli solo single) and
The Walker Brothers ("
The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore", another Valli single). After
The Beatles' ''
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' album was released in June 1967, Gaudio saw the pop music market changing, and sought to position the Four Seasons into the trend of socially conscious music. One evening he went to
The Bitter End, a rock nightclub in
Greenwich Village,
New York, and saw
Jake Holmes performing. Gaudio was taken with Holmes' song "Genuine Imitation Life" and decided to base a new LP for the band upon it. With Holmes as his new lyricist,
The Genuine Imitation Life Gazette album was released in January 1969. However, it was a commercial failure and symbolized the end of the group's first period of success. The appreciation of
The Genuine Imitation Life Gazette has grown over the years, and it was re-released on CD (minus the newspaper cover) in the 1990s by
Rhino in the
US and
Ace in the
UK. Gaudio and Holmes also wrote and produced
Frank Sinatra's 1969 album
Watertown. Gaudio withdrew from touring in the early 1970s, a decision that fellow band member
Joe Long indicated was due to
stage fright and
introversion. After short-lived stints with Al Ruzicka, Clay Jordan and
Bill DeLoach as keyboardists,
Lee Shapiro, who had idolized Gaudio as a child, would be hired as Gaudio's replacement. Gaudio continued to produce and write songs for the Four Seasons and to be also credited as a full member. In 1975 Gaudio wrote "
Who Loves You" and "
December 1963 (Oh, What a Night)" with his future wife Judy Parker. The Bob and Judy songs became big hits for a new lineup of the Seasons, which by this point consisted of Valli, Shapiro,
Gerry Polci, John Paiva and former
The Critters frontman
Don Ciccone. Gaudio, Valli, Tommy DeVito and Nick Massi the original members of The Four Seasons were inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990, the
Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999, and the
New Jersey Hall of Fame in 2017 (which also inducted Long).
Other activities In addition to his work for the Four Seasons and Sinatra, he wrote and/or produced for
Michael Jackson,
Barry Manilow,
Diana Ross,
Eric Carmen,
Nancy Sinatra,
Peabo Bryson, and
Roberta Flack. In particular, he produced six complete albums for
Neil Diamond, and the movie soundtrack albums for Diamond's
The Jazz Singer and
Little Shop of Horrors. Gaudio also produced the hit "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" for
Barbra Streisand and
Neil Diamond, a duet that reached the top of
Billboard charts in 1978, for which he received a
Grammy Award nomination. In the 1990s Gaudio moved to
Nashville and produced recordings for
Canadian country artist
George Fox, among others. He lured Neil Diamond to Nashville to record the album
Tennessee Moon. Gaudio was inducted into the
Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1995. In recent years Gaudio has focused on musical theater, writing the music for the 2001
London West End production of
Peggy Sue Got Married. Gaudio was instrumental in mounting
Jersey Boys, a musical play based on the lives of the Four Seasons, which ran at the
La Jolla Playhouse through January 2, 2005, and then opened on
Broadway on November 6, 2005, to mostly positive reviews. In 2006, the play won four
Tony Awards, including Best Musical, while in 2007, it won a Grammy in the
Best Musical Show Album category. On February 3, 2009, Gaudio received his high school diploma, 50 years after dropping out of
Bergenfield High School. On May 12, 2012, Gaudio received the
Ellis Island Medal of Honor for his commitment to many humanitarian causes. On June 20, 2014, Warner Bros. released, from the musical play, the film
Jersey Boys, directed by
Clint Eastwood, in which Gaudio was portrayed by
Erich Bergen.
Jersey Boys credits a then-teenaged
Joe Pesci with introducing Gaudio to
Tommy DeVito. On July 1, 2014, Rhino Entertainment released
Audio with a G, the first compilation of the music composed by Bob Gaudio as performed by the Four Seasons, Frank Sinatra, Diana Ross, Roberta Flack,
The Temptations,
Cher,
Nina Simone,
Jerry Butler,
Chuck Jackson and others. In 2022, Gaudio and
Peggy Farina received credits as co-writer for the song "Burning" by
Yeah Yeah Yeahs, which is driven by a piano loop inspired by their Four Seasons song "
Beggin'". The lyric "Lay your red hand on me, baby" is an allusion to the opening line in "Beggin'", "put your lovin' hand out, baby". The song gained attention after it was used for the film
Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken. ==Personal life==