Big Girls Don't Cry

I'm watching the million dollar movie. Some cheesy John Payne western. He hauls off and smacks Rhonda Fleming across the mouth and says, 'What do you think of that?' She looks up at him defiant, proud, eyes glistening - and she says, 'Big girls don't cry.' ...

(Bob Gaudio, taken from Jersey Boys)

The Film was Tennessee's Partner (1955) starring cowboy US President Ronald Reagan would-you-believe-it. So there we have it, the creation of possibly my favourite Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons song. The chorus is dang-good, it kinda has a ska flavour to it - definitely a black influence - really feel good music. However, the real punch (literally) comes from this darker subject matter that the idea sprung from; that incidence of domestic abuse and female heroism, a comment I'm sure on the partiarchy of the real west ... and the 1950s ideology in general ... maybe ... But for me the concept of taking an idea from the TV and shaping it to craft a seperate piece of art in it's own right is a phemoninon that revelutionised my own creative thinking, and it's nice to see that they were also doing it back in the day and produce some really sweet material.

For your information, Rhonda Fleming is the ginger (see below).

What is Jersey Boys?: http://www.jerseyboyslondon.com/

What does 'Big Girls Don't Cry' sound like?: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVBvy2cc0Io

Tennessee's Partner: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZifDG9V00E