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1967 single by the Four Seasons From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Beggin'" is a song composed by Bob Gaudio and Peggy Farina and first released as a single by American band the Four Seasons in 1967. Initially charting at number 16 in the US Billboard Chart, the song became popular in the Northern soul scene in the United Kingdom in the 1970s. It has been covered multiple times, with versions by Norwegian hip-hop duo Madcon and Italian rock band Måneskin topping music charts in Europe and beyond. The Four Seasons' version was remixed in 2007 by French DJ Pilooski and re-released as a single, reaching number 32 in the UK Singles Chart, commercially outperforming the band's original release in the UK.
"Beggin'" | ||||
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Single by the Four Seasons | ||||
from the album New Gold Hits | ||||
B-side | "Dody" | |||
Released | February 1967[1] | |||
Genre | Northern soul[2] | |||
Length | 2:48 | |||
Label | Philips | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | Bob Crewe | |||
The Four Seasons singles chronology | ||||
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Official audio | ||||
"Beggin'" on YouTube |
Keyboardist-songwriter Bob Gaudio had not written a Four Seasons single since 1965's "Girl Come Running", although he had written or co-written almost every hit for the band up to then.
"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 Frankie Valli's impassioned soul singing and the band's more contemporary instrumentation. It was also the first Seasons single since "Dawn (Go Away)" on which Gaudio collaborated with a lyricist other than producer Bob Crewe, as lyrics were contributed by Peggy Farina (better known as Peggy Santiglia of the Angels, who sang lead on the 1963 hit "My Boyfriend's Back" and was frequently used as a background singer by Crewe).
The song, backed with "Dody" as a B-side, reached number 16 on the US Billboard Hot 100, continuing the group's string of Billboard top-20 hits.[3] 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 which the Seasons (here anachronistically including Nick Massi) beg mob boss Gyp DeCarlo to help them bail fellow band member Tommy DeVito out of his gambling debts. The Jersey Boys version featuring Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, Ryan Molloy and John Lloyd Young was released on the Jersey Boys (soundtrack) in 2014. The song was used as the main theme of an ad campaign for Adidas, celebrating the company's 60th anniversary.[citation needed]
Retrospectively, the song has been highly regarded by music critics as a strong example of the Four Seasons' vocal and arrangement abilities. Donald A. Guarisco, writing for AllMusic, described the song as "one of their finest entries" in the genre of the soul ballad, and also commended the song's "funky groove" and "Phil Spector-styled production".[4] Chris DeVille, writing for Stereogum, characterized the song as featuring a "contagiously upbeat drum part", and suggested that its sound was an early predecessor to hip-hop music.[5]
In 2007, French disc jockey Pilooski re-edited and released his version of the Four Seasons song. This version reached number 32 in the UK and number one on the UK Dance Chart.[6][7] 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.
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI)[8] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
"Beggin'" | ||||
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![]() Cover used on most European releases | ||||
Single by Madcon | ||||
from the album So Dark the Con of Man | ||||
Released | October 25, 2007[9] | |||
Length | 3:38 | |||
Label | ||||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | Hitesh Ceon, Kim Ofstad, Jonny Sjo | |||
Madcon singles chronology | ||||
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Alternative cover | ||||
![]() US cover | ||||
Music video | ||||
"Beggin" on YouTube |
In 2007, the same year as the Pilooski remix, Norwegian hip-hop duo Madcon released a new version of the song with tweaked lyrics and added rap verses. Madcon's version of the song is a total re-recording, with all instruments performed by production team 3Elementz (Hitesh Ceon, Kim Ofstad, Jonny Sjo) and all vocals by Madcon. This version reached number one on Norway's VG-lista chart for 12 nonconsecutive weeks and received the "Hit of the Year" Spellemannprisen award.
The single also became popular throughout Europe; in France, the Netherlands, and the Wallonia region of Belgium, it peaked at number one. It reached number five in the United Kingdom and number seven in Germany. Overall, "Beggin'" was Europe's 11th-most-successful single of 2008. The music video features Yosef Wolde-Mariam and Tshawe Baqwa in a mix of Blaxploitation scenes and dozing off while playing Halo 3 and was directed by Christian Holm-Glad.
Following the success of Måneskin's cover in 2021, Madcon's version saw a rise in popularity. As a result, the duo teamed up with Canadian DJ Frank Walker for a remix released on July 16, 2021.[10]
French CD single[11]
German enhanced maxi-single[12]
Digital download[9]
Digital download – Frank Walker remix[13]
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Belgium (BEA)[66] | Gold | |
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[67] | Gold | 45,000‡ |
France (SNEP)[68] | Gold | 200,000* |
Germany (BVMI)[69] | Gold | 150,000^ |
Italy (FIMI)[70] | Gold | 35,000‡ |
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[71] | Platinum | 25,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI)[72] | Platinum | 600,000‡ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
"Beggin'" | |
---|---|
![]() Live version cover | |
Promotional single by Måneskin | |
from the EP Chosen | |
Released | December 8, 2017 |
Recorded | 2017 |
Studio | Metropolis Studio Milano |
Genre | |
Length | 3:31 |
Label | |
Songwriter(s) | |
Producer(s) | Lucio Fabbri |
Italian rock band Måneskin performed a cover of the song during the eleventh season of X Factor Italia. A studio version of the song later appeared on their debut extended play Chosen, released in 2017. Recording sessions for the Chosen EP took place at the Metropolis in Milan, and mostly occurred at night, while the band was still competing on the show, and lasted only a few days. They were held at the recording studio owned by Lucio Fabbri, who served as the track's producer.[73] Fabbri described the recording process for "Beggin'" as the result of a low-budget session. The song was "almost recorded live", in a spontaneous manner which, according to him, helped to preserve the "human component, which disappeared in today's music, often processed and filtered".[73] Their cover largely follows the structure of the Madcon version, including the rap verse. Although it was not released as a single, it peaked at number 39 on the Italian Singles Chart and in 2018 received a gold certification by FIMI in their native country.
Following the band's Eurovision victory in late May 2021, the song alongside the band's other releases started appearing on music charts across Europe and beyond; viral success for the song on video sharing service TikTok soon followed.[74] "Beggin'" has reached number one on the weekly charts in Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Lithuania, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia and Switzerland, the top five in Australia, Finland, France, Hungary, Ireland, Malaysia, New Zealand, Norway and Sweden, and the top ten in Canada, Denmark, India, Philippines, Singapore and the United Kingdom.
On its first charting week on the UK Singles Chart (issue date June 24, 2021),[75] the song debuted at number 73, but in the following The Official Chart: First Look Top 20, it moved 56 places to number 17.[76][77] In the second charting week it peaked at number 10, becoming the band's third UK Top 20 hit in less than a month, and as their song "I Wanna Be Your Slave" charted again in the Top 10 it was the first time they simultaneously had two songs in the Top 10 of the UK Singles Chart, thus becoming the first Italian act and the first Eurovision-associated act to achieve this.[78][79] On its third charting week in the UK it peaked at number 7.[80] It debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 78, later peaking at number 13, and has also reached the top five on the Billboard Global 200 and Global Excl. US charts.[74]
Their cover received a nomination for Favorite Trending Song at the American Music Awards of 2021, where they also performed the song, eventually losing to Megan Thee Stallion's "Body".[81][82] They also performed the song on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, during the January 22, 2022 episode of Saturday Night Live, during the twenty-first season of The Voice USA, and on the final of the fifteenth season of X Factor Italia, returning as guests four years after their first performance there as contestants.[83][84][85][86][87]
A live recording of the song was released as a digital single on September 27, 2021.[88]
Weekly charts |
Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA)[185] | 4× Platinum | 280,000‡ |
Austria (IFPI Austria)[186] | 3× Platinum | 90,000‡ |
Belgium (BEA)[187] | Platinum | 40,000‡ |
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[188] | 2× Diamond | 320,000‡ |
Canada (Music Canada)[189] | 5× Platinum | 400,000‡ |
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[190] | Platinum | 90,000‡ |
France (SNEP)[191] | Diamond | 333,333‡ |
Germany (BVMI)[192] | 3× Gold | 600,000‡ |
Italy (FIMI)[193] | 3× Platinum | 210,000‡ |
Mexico (AMPROFON)[194] | Diamond | 300,000‡ |
New Zealand (RMNZ)[195] | Platinum | 30,000‡ |
Norway (IFPI Norway)[196] | Platinum | 60,000‡ |
Poland (ZPAV)[197] | 3× Platinum | 150,000‡ |
Portugal (AFP)[198] | 3× Platinum | 30,000‡ |
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[199] | 3× Platinum | 180,000‡ |
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[200] | Gold | 10,000‡ |
United Kingdom (BPI)[201] | Platinum | 600,000‡ |
United States (RIAA)[202] | 3× Platinum | 3,000,000‡ |
Streaming | ||
Greece (IFPI Greece)[203] | 2× Platinum | 4,000,000† |
Sweden (GLF)[204] | 2× Platinum | 16,000,000† |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
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