Gaudio describes the song as "the one that almost got away" until Windsor, Ontario, radio station CKLW (a station also serving the Detroitmetro on the American side of the border) intervened. In 1967, the record's producers urged Paul Drew, program director at the legendary station, to consider the tune for rotation. For much of the 1960s and 1970s, CKLW was credited with launching hit records via its powerful signal, blanketing the Great Lakes region. Drew did not warm to the song at first, but accepted an invitation to hear it live at the Roostertail, where Valli was performing a weeklong stint with the Four Seasons. Drew liked what he heard and added the song to his station's playlist. "The switchboards lit up, and the rest, as they say, is history", Gaudio recalled.[8]
Valli recalled in 2014 that "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" was the first step in the fulfillment of his goal to sing music that did not require him to use falsetto: "I didn't want to sing like that my whole life. Once we established the sound, the plan was that eventually I would do solo [records] and some things I really wanted to do. I was very lucky to make the transition to 'My Eyes Adored You' and 'Swearin' to God,' which had none of that." Valli also recalled that the record had been mothballed by The Four Seasons' record company for a year because of their fear that The Four Seasons (who had already lost Nick Massi in 1965) were breaking up, to which Valli insisted that he had no intentions of ever leaving The Four Seasons.[9]
"Can't Take My Eyes Off You" has been recorded in many other arrangements, many of which have charted in different countries.
The song was written by Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio. Melodic elements bear a similarity to passages from the Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia section of the 1956 ballet Spartacus (Suite No. 2) by Aram Khachaturian.[10]
The original recording, from an arrangement by Gaudio and Artie Schroeck, was made at A & R Studio 2 (formerly Columbia Studio A), at 799 7th Avenue in New York City, with Crewe producing and Phil Ramone engineering.
Billboard described the single as "strong rhythm ballad material from the pen of Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio with an exceptional Valli vocal combined with an exciting Artie Schroeck arrangement."[11]Cash Box called the single a "smooth, gentle, softly spoken romancer".[12]
In 1982, San Francisco-based post-disco band Boys Town Gang released a dance version of the song which reached the top spot in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Spain and number four in the United Kingdom.[22][23] This version was also successful in Japan, receiving a gold digital certification by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) in 2011.
Lauryn Hill's version of the song was recorded in 1997, while Hill was eight months pregnant with her first child.[30] It was first featured in the movie Conspiracy Theory (1997). While the song wasn't featured on the soundtrack, a radio jockey at KMEL in San Francisco put the song on a CD and began playing the song;[31] more radio stations followed suit, causing a domino effect around the U.S.,[32][33] ultimately leading the song to peak at number two on the Rhythmic Top 40 chart, despite Hill's label's not releasing the song as a single.[34][35] Due to the popularity of the song it was added as a hidden trackonThe Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.[36]
In 1968, Andy Williams' version made it to number 5 on the UK singles chart and number 8 on the Irish Singles Chart.[46] The arranger and producer was Nick DeCaro and the conductor was Eddie Karam.[47] In 2002 he recorded a new version of the song, as a duet with British actress and singer Denise van Outen, which reached number 23 in the UK singles charts.[48]
Maureen McGovern released her cover as a single in 1979 (number 27 on the US Adult Contemporary chart in 1979; number 5 Canadian AC in 1980).[49]
In 1990, Gloria Gaynor covered "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" on her LP Gloria Gaynor '90.[50][note 1]
In 1992, Dutch singers Gerard Joling and Tatjana Šimić recorded a duet version of the song (including a rap segment by Darrell Bell), which peaked at number 5 in the Dutch Top 40 charts.[52]
Morten Harket of the Norwegian band A-ha recorded a cover version of the song, which was used as the soundtrack for the 1993 film Coneheads.[53]
In 1995, Christian rock band Daniel Amos recorded a cover version for their concept album Songs From the Heart.[54]
In 1999, Turkish singer Tuba Önal released "Gelmezsen Gelme", the Turkish cover of the song in her album Onun Adı Aşk, with lyrics written by Zeynep Talu.[citation needed]
In 2000, Hong Kong singer Leon Lai released a Cantonese version of the song in his album Beijing Station, where the lyrics was written by Albert Leung.[56]
In 2019, Surf Mesa remixed a cover version of the song as a single under the title "ILY (I Love You Baby)". The single reached the Top 40 in over 20 countries and is certified Platinum in 12 countries.[note 2]