New York-based Reservoir has acquired of the prolific catalog of Songwriters Hall of Famer Bob Crewe.
The deal includes the late Crewe’s popular Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons singles including My Eyes Adored You, Walk Like A Man, and Big Girls Don’t Cry, plus other mega-hits such as Lady Marmalade, Silhouettes, and more.
Crewe’s career began in the early 1950s, when the New Jersey native co-wrote a series of successful songs including Silhouettes for The Rays and Lah Dee Dah for Billy and Lillie, before releasing a pair of solo albums.
In 1962, he teamed up with songwriter Bob Gaudio, and the duo began a successful collaborative relationship with Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, famously co-writing and co-producing numerous chart successes for the group throughout the ‘60s and ‘70s including Sherry, Big Girls Don’t Cry, Walk Like a Man, Rag Doll, My Eyes Adored You, and more.
Each of these titles shot to No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and the latter of which, was a back-to-back Billboard Hot 100 No.1 with another Crewe hit, Lady Marmalade.
Performed by girl group Labelle (led by Patti Labelle), Lady Marmalade topped the charts in 1974 and again in 2001, when it held the No.1 spot for five weeks as performed by Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim, Mya, and P!nk for the film Moulin Rouge.
Other hit Crewe co-writes include Leslie Gore’s Summer and Sandy, Vikki Carr’s Eternity, Ben E. King’s I Can’t Take It Like A Man, and Roberta Flack and Peabo Bryson’s duet You’re Looking Like Love To Me, among others.
Over the years, Crewe’s catalog has been covered by an array of popular artists, extensively featured in synch uses across film and television, and has yielded significant contributions to the theater, including Broadway musicals of both Jersey Boys and Moulin Rouge.
Beyond music, Crewe was an accomplished painter and led several successful one-man gallery showings of his work, and additionally designing album covers.
Philanthropy also became a large focus of Crewe’s, and together with his brother Dan Crewe, The Bob Crewe Foundation was established in 2009 to provide support in the fields of fine arts and music, with an additional focus on supporting the rights of the LGBTQ+ community, in particular youth groups.
In recent years, the Foundation has worked closely with the Maine College of Art (MECA), funding their Sight and Sound program, blending Crewe’s two passions, and making MECA the first art college to explicitly engage in combining the study of contemporary art and design with music.
A new book out next March, Bob Crewe: Sight and Sound: Compositions in Art and Music, further explores Crewe’s deep connection between his music and visual art.
“Not only are we honored to bring Bob Crewe’s timeless works into our catalog, but we are also so proud that this acquisition enables Dan Crewe to further his brother’s legacy and help bolster The Bob Crewe Foundation’s ongoing philanthropic efforts.”
Golnar Khosrowshahi, Reservoir
Reservoir Founder and CEO Golnar Khosrowshahi, said: “Not only are we honored to bring Bob Crewe’s timeless works into our catalog, but we are also so proud that this acquisition enables Dan Crewe to further his brother’s legacy and help bolster The Bob Crewe Foundation’s ongoing philanthropic efforts.
“As a family-owned business, Reservoir is incredibly proud to support this brotherly mission and ensure that Bob’s generous legacy lives on alongside his music.”
“The Crewe Foundation is extremely excited that this agreement will help to further promote and build upon Bob’s legacy.”
Dan Crewe, The Crewe Foundation
Dan Crewe, The Crewe Foundation Chairman & President, said: “The Crewe Foundation is extremely excited that this agreement will help to further promote and build upon Bob’s legacy.
“The Reservoir team has shown a sincere interest in caring for this evergreen catalog and we know it is in good hands with them.”Music Business Worldwide
