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The Compass: Soul Music: Can't Take My Eyes off You

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Frankie Valli - Singer

24/12/2015 GMT

Soul Music: Can't Take My Eyes off You

BBC World Service - The Compass, Soul Music: Can't Take My Eyes off You

The emotional impact and reach of the 1967 classic song Can't Take My Eyes off You

The emotional impact and reach of the 1967 classic song Can't Take My Eyes off You.

Few songs can claim to be - quite literally - as far reaching as the 1967 classic Can't Take My Eyes off You. We hear from former astronaut Christopher Ferguson who heard this song as an early morning wake-up call aboard the space shuttle Endeavour. And, mum of two Michelle Noakes, sang this classic piece to the baby she was told she may never be able to carry. We also hear from the honeymoon couple whose marriage proposal began with a hundred strong 'flash mob' performance of this track and from Frankie Valli himself, who reflects on one of the most moving performances he ever gave when he sang Can't Take My Eyes off You to a crowd of recently returned Vietnam Veterans.

DJ Mark Radcliff recalls the many artists since Valli that have covered this song (not least his mum as she sang along to the Andy Williams version) and composer Bob Gaudio tells us how this now universally famous piece of music began life in a room over looking Central Park with a melody originally penned for a children's nursery rhyme.

(Photo: Frankie Valli performs at PBS's 2014 A CAPITOL FOURTH, Washington, DC. Credit: Paul Morigi/Getty Images)

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