Francesco Stephen Castelluccio was born on May 3, 1934 in Newark, New Jersey to a working class Italian family. His mother nurtured his
love of music at a young age, and he was influenced by jazz, doo-wop and soul,
along with artists like The Drifters, Rose Murphy and Frank Sinatra. The young Castelluccio would listen to some of
his favourite singers on record at home and then practice what he’d heard.
Realizing he needed a stage name, he changed Castelluccio to “Valley” and
eventually “Valli,” after friend and country singer Texas Jean Valli.
Working with a variety of acts and as a solo artist from
the mid-1950s to early ‘60s with limited success, Valli eventually came to be
with the group that, in 1961, would be known as The Four Seasons. With members
who were all vocalists and instrumentalists, the group consisted of Valli, keyboardist/songwriter
Bob Gaudio, who would pen an array of the Seasons’ songs, guitarist Tommy
DeVito and bassist/vocal arranger Nick Massi.
The group hit it big in 1962 with their single “Sherry,”
produced by Bob Crewe, which went to No. 1 on the Billboard pop and R&B
charts, propelled by Valli’s very high, celebrated falsetto. Outside of a
holiday song, the group’s next two singles—“Big Girls Don’t Cry” and “Walk Like
a Man”—hit No. 1 pop as well.
The Four Seasons became one of the biggest pop acts of
the 1960s, exploring different musical styles and continuing to amass chart
hits even during the British invasion. They would go on to have more than two
dozen Top 40 hits during the decade, which included songs like “Candy Girl”,
“Dawn (Go Away), “Rag Doll,” “Working My Way Back to You” and “Opus 17 (Don’t
You Worry About Me).”
In 1967, after a string of solo artist singles, Valli
released “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You,” a silky ode to romance that joyfully
swings by mid-song and which reached No. 2 on the pop charts. With Four
Seasons' membership coming to shift over the years and the group switching
labels, Valli also released a number of solo albums during the 1970s that
included Closeup (1975), Our Day Will Come (1975) and Lady Put the Light Out
(1977).
He charted with singles once again with the Top 10 up-tempo
ditty “Swearin’ to God” and the sentimental “My Eyes Adored You,” which reached
No. 1. The Four Seasons also made a comeback
with songs from the 1975 Who Loves You album, including the Top 10 title track and the No. 1 “December, 1963 (Oh What a Night).” Later, in the summer of 1978, Valli was the voice of an iconic anthem; namely, the title song from the movie adaptation of the musical Grease. Valli once again topped the charts, with the track penned by Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees.
with songs from the 1975 Who Loves You album, including the Top 10 title track and the No. 1 “December, 1963 (Oh What a Night).” Later, in the summer of 1978, Valli was the voice of an iconic anthem; namely, the title song from the movie adaptation of the musical Grease. Valli once again topped the charts, with the track penned by Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees.
Valli has experienced several personal struggles over the
years. In 1967, he learned that he was losing his hearing from otosclerosis,
hardening of the bone in the middle ear. He suffered from the condition until a
surgery in 1980 restored most of his hearing. That year, he also suffered the
devastating loss of his daughter Celia in an accident, followed six months
later by the death of his youngest daughter Francine from a drug overdose.
In 2005, the story of Valli and The Four Seasons hit
Broadway in the critically acclaimed musical Jersey Boys, which features music
by Gaudio. The musical won four Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and has
traveled the world in various touring productions. It was also adapted into a
2014 film directed by Clint Eastwood.
Over the years, Valli has continued to tour with
different iterations of The Four Seasons. His last “Farewell Tour” in 2018 included
a visit to venues in the UK.
(Edited mainly fro biography.com)
2 comments:
For “Frankie Valli - This Is My Story - The Early Years 1953-1959” go here:
https://www.upload.ee/files/9910461/Frankie_Valli-1953-1959.rar.html
Disc 1
1. MY MOTHERS EYES
2 THE LAUGH'S ON ME
3. SOMEBODY ELSE TOOK HER HOME
4. FORGIVE AND FORGET
5. THE GIRL IN MY DREAMS
6. YOU'RE THE APPLE OF MY EYE
7. HONEY LOVE
8. PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME
9. JAMBALAYA
10. BE LOVEY DOVEY
11. HAPPY AM I
12. NEVER NEVER
13. SHAKE A HAND
14. THE STRANGER
15. NIGHT TRAIN
16. DIDDILLY DIDDILLY BABE
17. WHITE CHRISTMAS
18. IT'S TOO SOON TO KNOW
19. SAN ANTONIO ROSE
20. CIMARRON
Disc 2
1. LAWDY MISS CLAWDY
2. JOY RIDE
3. SUCH A NIGHT
4. THIS IS MY STORY
5. I LOVE YOU FOR SENTIMENTAL REASONS
6. I WANT A GIRL JUST LIKE THE GIRL THAT MARRIED DEAR OLD DAD
7. MEMORIES OF YOU
8. WHAT IS THIS THING CALLED LOVE
9. LOVE SWEET LOVE
10. YOU'RE THE APPLE OF MY EYE
11. PLEASE DON'T LEAVE
12. PUCKER UP - THE FOUR LOVERS
13. MY LIFE FOR YOUR LOVE
14. I GO APE
15. IF YOU CARE
16. PLEASE TAKE A CHANCE
17. IT MAY BE WRONG
18. COME SI BELLA
19. REAL (THIS IS REAL)
20. AN ANGEL CRIED
Frankie Valli is one of the most popular acts of all time. In a career spanning 60 years he has scored 7 American No. 1's, 17 top ten singles and amassed global record sales of over 175 million.
Here we focus on his early recordings including many gems such as 'You're the Apple of My Eye', 'I Go Ape', 'Real (This Is Real)' and many more! Also featured are several tracks from the long running Broadway musical of Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons career, including 'My Mothers Eyes', 'Apple of My Eye' and 'An Angel Cried'.
For “FRANKIE VALLI & THE FOUR SEASONS – Anthology” go here;
https://www.upload.ee/files/9910485/FRANKIE_VALLI_-_Anthology.rar.html
1. Sherry
2. Big Girls Don't Cry
3. Walk Like A Man
4. Candy Girl
5. Marlena
6. Dawn (Go Away)
7. Stay
8. Ronnie
9. Rag Doll
10. Silence Is Golden
11. Save It For Me
12. Big Man In Town
13. Bye, Bye, Baby (Baby Goodbye)
14. Girl Come Running
15. Let's Hang On!
16. Don't Think Twice
17. Working My Way Back To You
18. Opus 17 (Don't You Worry 'Bout Me)
19. I've Got You Under My Skin
20. Tell It To The Rain
21. Beggin'
22. Can't Take My Eyes Off You
23. C'mon Marianne
24. Will You Love Me Tomorrow
25. Who Loves You
26. December, 1963 (Oh, What A Night)
1962: 1, 2. 1963: 3-5. 1964: 6-12. 1965: 13-16. 1966: 17-20. 1967: 21-23. 1968: 24. 1975: 25, 26.
Big girls don't cry and big boys don't sing like that ... except in the romantic musical world of doo-wop. And the Four Seasons were the grandest culmination of that genre, producing hit singles that were often epic teen mini-operas. Producer Bob Crewe borrowed liberally from Phil Spector (definitive proof: the drum intro to "Rag Doll" is damn near sampled from "Be My Baby"), and even Brian Wilson has called them "the East Coast Beach Boys." A condensation of Rhino's three-disc 25th-anniversary collection, Anthology neglects "The Proud One," probably their final classic moment--but 24 of the 26 tracks here cover the group's '62-'68 golden era, pausing only momentarily for the misguided late-'70s "disco" comeback. Truly great stuff. --Bill Holdship
There is little to be said about Frankie that hasn't already been said. Thanks Bob.
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