Beggin
“Beggin’” is the title of a song composed by Bob Gaudio and Peggy Farina and popularized by The Four Seasons in 1967. The Four Seasons (since 1967, known off and on as Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons–although not shown that way on any of their hit records), is an American pop and rock group. They also had a sound somewhat reminiscent of doo-wop, although they were not thought of as a doo-wop quartet. By the mid 1960s, The Four Seasons had become an internationally famous rock-and-roll group.
“Beggin’”, the second single from the Four Seasons’ New Gold Hits album in 1967, marked Gaudio’s “return” as the Seasons’ songwriter, with a combination of Valli’s impassioned soul singing and the band’s more contemporary instrumentation. It also was the first Seasons single since “Dawn (Go Away)” on which Gaudio collaborated with a lyricist other than Four Seasons producer Bob Crewe, as lyrics were contributed by Peggy Farina (aka Peggy Santiglia of The Angels, who sang lead on the 1960s hit “My Boyfriend’s Back” and was frequently used as a background singer by Crewe).
It reached the #16 position on the Hot 100 charts, continuing the group’s string of Billboard Top 20 hits. However, it was overshadowed by Valli’s “solo” recording of “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You”, a Gaudio-Crewe composition, which rose to number two. It was the last Gaudio composition for the Four Seasons to chart in the Top 20 until 1975′s “Who Loves You”.
The song is included in Act Two of the Broadway musical about the Four Seasons, Jersey Boys.
In 2007, French disk jockey Pilooski re-edited and released his version of the Four Seasons song on 2 June. This version reached #32 in the UK and #1 on the UK Dance Chart. It is the first single from the album “Beggin’ The Ultimate Collection”. The Pilooski re-edit does not include any new instrumentation or vocals but is purely a manipulation and remix of the original Four Seasons recording, using echo and phase-polarisation.
A 2009 remix, similar to the Pilooski remix, of the original “Beggin’” has been used in adidas’ “House Party” commercial featuring many celebrities past and present who were sponsored by the company, which was promoting 60 years of “outfitting the world in three stripes.” Celebrities who make an appearance in the commercial include David Beckham, Missy Elliot, Katy Perry, The Ting Tings, Kevin Garnett, Young Jeezy, Russell Simmons, Estelle, Redman and Method Man, among others. This remix was made specifically for the video by a Montreal company called Boogie Studio, and various remixes that they did for the ad campaign can be found on their blog.
The song is also being used as part of the BBC’s coverage of the 2009/2010 Formula One Championship, primarily during course run-through.
In 2007, the same year as the Pilooski remix, the Norwegian hip-hop group Madcon recorded and released a new version of the song. The version became very popular in Norway, reaching #1 on the charts.[1] Madcon’s version of the song is a total re-recording, all instruments were performed by the production team 3Elementz, and all vocals by Madcon. The single is 6 times platinum and the highest selling song in Norway in 2007, and has received the “hit of the year” Spellemannprisen award. The song is also becoming popular throughout Europe; In France it reached #1, in the UK it reached #5, and in Germany it peaked at #7
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