Franki Valli (born in 1937) and the Four Seasons came out
of the Italo-American music scene of New York and New Jersey that also
included Dion and the Belmonts and the Crests. The group's name came from a
bowling alley lounge in Newark.Building a sound around Valli's incredible
falsetto the group had its first No. 1 hit, Sherry, in 1962. They
were originally on the Vee-jay label, the same label that acquired the
rights for the Beatles in 1964. The label was unable to meet the demand for
these two groups records and they both quickly left for larger companies.
Before that happened Vee-jay put out a disc called The International
Battle of the Century featuring the two groups. Franki Valli enjoyed a
career on his own after the group broke up. His record Grease,
written by Barry Gibb (of the Bee Gees) in 1978, sold over two million
copies.
The songs of the Four Seasons featured romance of course but also, in
songs like Rag Doll and Big Man in Town, they celebrated the
underdog---the kid from the wrong side of the tracks who would somehow
overcome all odds and make good.
In recent years Valli has enjoyed a new career as an actor; he has played
a minor role as a New York don in HBO's The Sopranos.
