B-side "Mystic Mr. Sam" Format 7" Genre Rock | Released May 1976 Recorded 1975 | |
Length 3:48 (single), 6:03 (album) | ||
"Silver Star" is the lead song on the Four Seasons album Who Loves You. As was the case of all the songs on the LP, it was written by Bob Gaudio and Judy Parker and produced by Gaudio. Drummer Gerry Polci sang lead. Frankie Valli's contribution was limited to harmony vocals, since he was gradually losing his hearing in the 1970s due to otosclerosis. An operation restored most of Valli's hearing in the 1980s.
Released on the heels of the #3 (US) hit "Who Loves You" and the #1 "December 1963 (Oh, What A Night)", both of which Polci was also lead or co-lead, the single was an edited version of a six-minute, nine second, song that married lyrics of love and Western movies with a disco beat that was the signature of "Who Loves You". The single reached only #38 on the Billboard Hot 100, but in the United Kingdom, acceptance was much more widespread, as "Silver Star" reached #3 on the UK singles chart, although its chart run was short-lived and somewhat erratic there.