This was written by Dion DiMucci (Dion’s full name) and Ernie Maresca. Dion had split from his backing group, the Belmonts, and recorded the song in 1961 with a group of mainly black musicians. When it was filmed for TV the musicians were replaced with whites to ensure that it would be shown in the South. It was a No 1 hit in America and reached No 11 in Britain.
This is the record:
and this is the TV film, which has inferior sound.
British actor/singer Doug Sheldon released it in 1962 and got to No 36 in Britain.