Dawn (Go Away)
1964 single by the Four Seasons
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"Dawn (Go Away)" is a song written by Bob Gaudio and Sandy Linzer and recorded by the Four Seasons[3] in November 1963.[4] The song hit No. 3 in the early part of 1964. According to Billboard, it was the 25th biggest hit single of the year, placing behind "Rag Doll", another Four Seasons hit, which was No. 24.[5]
| "Dawn (Go Away)" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by the Four Seasons | ||||
| from the album Dawn (Go Away) and 11 Other Great Songs | ||||
| B-side | "No Surfin' Today (from the album Born To Wander)" | |||
| Released | January 1964[1] | |||
| Recorded | November 1963 | |||
| Genre | Pop[2] | |||
| Length | 2:10 | |||
| Label | Philips | |||
| Songwriter | Bob Gaudio-Sandy Linzer | |||
| Producer | Bob Crewe | |||
| The Four Seasons singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background
The song was recorded as the Four Seasons were involved in a royalty dispute with Vee-Jay Records. As the lawsuit proceeded, the group recorded "Dawn" and a handful of other songs and withheld the master tapes from Vee-Jay, which then claimed breach of contract. The dispute was not settled until 1965, a year after the Four Seasons officially left Vee-Jay.
The group signed with Philips Records, a subsidiary of Mercury Records, shortly thereafter. "Dawn (Go Away)" was released in January 1964. It took four weeks to climb the Billboard Hot 100 chart to No. 3 on February 29, 1964,[6] prevented from going higher by the Beatles' "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "She Loves You", which became the top two singles of 1964. "Dawn" remained at No. 3 for three weeks, then dropped to make way for two further Beatles singles ("Twist and Shout" and "Please Please Me"). During its six-week run in the Top 10, only Beatles hits ranked above it in the chart.[7]
Cash Box said that the song "is delivered with that stompin', falsetto-highlighted money-making touch of the Four Seasons" and praised the arrangement and conducting by Charles Calello.[8]
Originally written as a folk song, arranger Charles Calello sped it up and, at Valli's suggestion, added a galloping rhythm guitar borrowed from Kai Winding's version of "More". Drummer Buddy Saltzman accented the recording with bombastic around-the-kit fills and ghost notes without using any cymbals.[9]
"Dawn (Go Away)" was the only Philips single crediting the Four Seasons that did not have the notation "featuring the 'sound' of Frankie Valli".