Chapter Six
We recorded Sherry, and after we released it, it was almost like the world exploded.
Every time you turned on a radio, we were on there. One guy even played it for a whole day straight! I remember hearing it a few days before we were on American Bandstand, which was probably this generation's version of MTV (the good one, not the shitty 2000's MTV. I'm talking the one that was strictly music).
"You're listening to me, Barry Belson, WCFA Radio! We're in our 17th hour being locked inside the studio, and yes... We're still playing the same song! I mean, is that a different sound or what? Who are these people? Five black guys? Three guys and two girls? What can I say? I love this record! Ha-ha-ha! Whoo! We're gonna see this one go right to the top, my friends! And we're gonna see it happen this Saturday on American Bandstand. Oh, what the hey, I'm gonna play it again. So put down that girl and lend an ear to The Four Seasons!" Barry laughed once more.
That Saturday, I remember feeling anxious. The guys had one dressing room together, while I was given a separate one, since I was female. Frankie and the guys wore black slacks, dress shoes, socks, and bowties with a white shirt and red jackets. I wore a red dress with a black slash in the middle that tied in the back as a bow, black buttons, and black trimming on the top, my heels also being black. I walked out to where the guys were getting their hair done by professional hair stylists. I gotta say, they looked very good. I sat in my chair that was next to Bobby, who was apparently somewhere else at the moment, and Crewe, having talked to everyone else, walked over to me.
"How you doing, Tyler? You nervous?"
"Crewe..." I shook my head, trying not to let him see my hands, which shook violently in my lap. "I have never been this nervous in my life. Now, when I was doing live plays that was a different story, but this is live TV." I looked at him and a stylist hurried over to me, fixing my hair the way it should go. "What if I screw up?"
"Tyler. You're a great performer, and you've got a beautiful voice. You're very mature for your age and you get right down to business. I promise you, once you start performing, you'll forget the whole audience is out there. Trust me." He stopped for a second. "Red looks amazing on you by the way."
"Think so?"
"I know so. Bobby's going to lose it when he sees you, honey, trust me."
"Turn your head this way please, Ms. Hampton."
I turned my head a little to the right, just like the woman wanted me to.
"How long do we have until we go on?" I asked.
"Fifteen minutes, I believe." Crewe looked at his watch. "Unless this useless thing has stopped again." He shook his wrist a little and looked at the clock. "Thirteen minutes, actually, my watch is two minutes off." I tried to hide my fright, but Crewe saw through it. "Don't worry about a thing, you'll be amazing up there. I'll go on and let you get ready." He smiled softly and left my side. The woman finished with my hair, which looked a little like it did the way it was when I first got here over a month ago, just a bit longer. She did my make up, giving me light brown eye shadow and liquid black eyeliner that made a little wing at the end, and a little mascara that made my eyes pop. I had slight blush, giving my cheeks a soft pink tint and made my lips dark red with lipstick. She stopped and smiled.
"You look beautiful."
"Thank you." I smiled back at her and the woman hurried off to do something else. I looked around, biting the inside of my mouth. I stopped when I felt blood and grimaced a little. There was a tap on my right shoulder and I looked over it. I saw no one and then looked over my right shoulder and saw Bobby in his seat, getting his hair fixed a little more. I smiled softly. "Hi."
"Hey." Bobby grinned. "You look beautiful."
"Thank you." I blushed a little as Frankie returned to his seat. He looked at me for a minute.
"Is that Tyler?"
"Frankie..." I tried not to laugh.
"I swear to God it looks like her, but different."
"Frankie, stop!" I giggled. Frankie smiled a little.
"Doesn't she look beautiful?" Bobby couldn't stop grinning.
"She does." Frankie nodded. "Red's your color."
"Thanks." I laughed a bit.
"Four Seasons five minutes!" a man called. Tommy and Nicky walked over, fixing their jackets. Bobby and Frankie stood, doing the same. I stood, making my dress less wrinkled. Bobby leaned down a little.
"You nervous?" he whispered.
"Yeah." I whispered back and nodded my head.
"Me too." He stood back up, and I took his hand. I saw Tommy glance over and refrain from rolling his eyes.
"Try not to have so much PDA, okay?"
"Whatever, Tommy." I rolled my eyes.
"Did you just whatever me?" His eyebrows shot up and his temper began to flare. "Don't you do that again, Tyler Hampton, or—"
"You're on!" a woman hissed at us. We hurried to our spots onstage and either went behind our microphone (in my and Frankie's case) or to our instruments. Sherry began to play, and almost automatically I saw the people in the crowd begin to dance. We all began to sing.
"Sherry
Sherry baby
Sherry
Sherry baby
Sherry
Sherry baby."
"Baby." Here, Frankie began to take the lead.
"Sherry baby."
"Sherry, can you come out tonight?"
"Come, come,
Come out tonight."
"Sherry baby."
"Sherry baby."
"Sherry, can you come out tonight?"
"Why don't you come out?" Nicky's deep voice sang. I smiled, the nervousness going out.
"Come out." The rest of us sang.
"To my twist party." Frankie sang.
"Come out."
"Where the bright moon shines."
"Come out."
"We'll dance the night away
I'm gonna make you
Mine
You better ask your mama."
"Sherry baby."
"Tell her everything is alright."
"Why don't you come out?"
"Come out."
"With your red dress on."
"Come out."
"Mm, you look so fine." Frankie shook his hips a little, and I suppressed a giggle. He turned to me and dipped me once before twirling me back to my microphone.
"Come out."
"Move it nice and easy." The five of us jumped in unison. Do I know why? No. Just the choreography called for it. "Girl, you make me lose my mind!"
Then we sang together again.
"Sherry."
"Sherry baby."
"Baby."
"Sherry baby."
"Sherry can you come out tonight?"
"Come, come
Come out tonight."
"Come out tonight."
"Come, come." Our voices melted together again. "Come out tonight."
"Sherry." Frankie sang.
"Come, come
Come out tonight."
"Sherry, baby."
"Come, come."
"Sherry."
"Come out tonight."
"Sherry baby."
"Come."
I swear to God that was the longest note I ever held in my life. When the song was over, the audience lost it and automatically stood, clapping and cheering. The five of us stepped left one time from where we were and bowed.