BIG GIRLS DON'T CRY, DECEMBER 1963, RAG DOLL, SHERRY & OTHERS - "THE FOUR SEASONS"
Nov 19 '04 (Updated Jan 10 '05)
The Bottom Line THE ORIGINAL MEMBERS OF "THE FOUR SEASONS" WERE, FRANKIE VALLI LEAD VOCALS, TOMMY DeVITO VOCALS AND GUITAR, NICK MASSI VOCALS AND BASS & CHARLIE CALELLO ON VOCALS AND BASS
CIn 1953 "Frankie Valli" born "Francis Castelluccio" in Newark, NJ on 3 May 1937 was seen by Country & Western singer "Texas Jean Valley" while he was singing "White Christmas" in his school play. Frankie had a high shrill falsetto singing voice and Jean introduced him as her kid brother "Frankie Valley". He recorded his first song this year "My Mother's Eyes" for "Mercury" records on their subsidiary label "Corona" records and it was credited to "Frank Valley & The Travelers". The song written by comedian "George Jessel" (also known as Georgie) who died in 1981 failed to make the charts for either artist. He next releases "Somebody Else Took Her Home" this year and it also failed to make the charts.
In 1954 Frankie decides to join "The Variety Trio" a vocal group comprised of "Hank Majewski" and brothers "Nick DeVito" and "Tommy DeVito". They begin working at the Bellbrook Tavern, the El Morocco Club, the Broadway Lounge and the Silhouette club all located in New Jersey and change their name to "The Varitones". In 1956 they sign a contract with "RCA" records and change their name once again to "The Four Lovers". They record "(You're The) Apple Of My Eye" written by R&B singer "Otis Blackwell" and it debuts on the chart on 26 May where it later peaks at #62 during a 5 week stay. Despite an appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show" on CBS TV several follow-up records all failed to garner any interest.
In 1958 Nick left the group and he was replaced by "Charlie Calello" formally of "The Victorians". Charlie was born in Newark, NJ in 1938. His father was a musician and he was introduced to music at the age of 10. He started playing accordion and instead of going to the local high school in his neighborhood in New Jersey which is where he was from, he went to a music and arts high school called Arts High in central Newark. Charlie would later produce the #3 pop hit in 1964 for "Shirley Ellis" titled "The Name Game". The next year he produced his 1st #1 hit with "Lightnin' Strikes" for "Lou Christie". Charlie would eventually become the group's arranger. Some of the artists that Charlie had worked with over time were "Danny Cannon", "D.C. Larue", "Troy Keen", "The Kokomos", "Kevin McQuin", "Lenny O'Henry", "Mathew Reid" and many others.
In 1959 they rename once again this time to "Frankie Tyler" and they release "Go Ape" on the "Okeh" record label and it fails to chart. They go through another name change to "Frank Valle & The Romans" and record "Comme Si Bella" on the "Cindy" record label and this record also fails to make the charts. In 1960 Hank leaves the group and is replaced by "Nicholas Macioci" going by the name of "Nick Massi" formally of "Hugh Garrity & The Hollywood Playboys". They next join New York producer "Bob Crewe" as his sessions vocal back-up group and are heard on his first charting single "The Whiffenpoof Song" that debuts on 1 February but only makes it to #96 on the pop singles chart. They next sign a deal with Crewe and his own "Topix" label where they record "Redlips" as "The Village Voices". This is followed up by "I Am All Alone" which is credited to them as "Billy Dixon & The Topics" but both records fail to make the charts.
In January 1962 they back-up "Danny & The Juniors" on "Twistin' All Night Long" that also included "Freddy Boom Boom Cannon" and the song peaks at #68 on the pop singles chart. In February Crewe leases the group's version of "The Bell Sisters" #7 pop hit in 1952 "Bermuda" to "George Goldner" and his "Gone" record label. The record credits the group as "The Four Seasons" which was the name of a bowling alley in Union, NJ where the group as "The Four Lovers" had previously played in the Branch Room, which was a cocktail bar in the alley. The single fails to chart and they begin playing at the Martell Sea Breeze Resort in Point Pleasant Beach in New Jersey.
Bob writes the song "Sherry" in 15 minutes and the group decides to release it as their next record. The song was originally written as "Terry" and then changed to "Jackie" before settling on "Sherry". It is said to be a tribute to either First Lady "Jackie Kennedy" or to New York City DJ "Jack Spector's" daughter. Crewe was originally thinking on leasing the song to "Perry" records but decided on the "Vee-Jay" record label instead. They release the single on 25 August and the day after appearing on "Dick Clark's", "American Bandstand" TV show on ABC and singing the song the label gets orders for over 180,000 copies. On 15 September after being on the pop chart for only 4 weeks it tops the chart where it stays for 5 consecutive weeks. It also becomes #1 on the R&B chart and goes to #8 in the UK and would eventually sell over 2 million copies.
On 20 October they release "Big Girls Don't Cry" and on 17 November it also hits #1 on both the pop & R&B charts. It stays at #1 for 5 weeks on the pop chart and at #1 for 4 weeks on the R&B chart and peaks at #13 in the UK. The song co-written by "Bob Crewe & "Bob Gaudio" is said to come from a line that actor "John Payne" (not Wayne) said to a girl after slapping her in a Movie they had seen. Gaudio was formally a member of the group "The Royal Teens" who had a #3 pop hit in 1958 with "Short Shorts". In December they release their debut album "Sherry & 11 Others" which includes an updated version of "Apple Of My Eye" and it would peak at #6 on the US pop chart and peak at #20 in the UK. They also release this month "The Four Seasons Greetings" with a "Sherry" like version of "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" and it peaks at #23 on the pop album chart. On 9 December they perform on "The Ed Sullivan Show". On the 15th "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" debuts on the singles chart during a 3-week stay where it peaks at #23.
On 26 January 1963 "Walk Like A Man" makes its' debut and goes to #1 where it stays for 3 weeks on the pop chart, it goes to #3 on the R&B chart and peaks at #12 in the UK on the singles chart. On 2 March they perform on "Chubby Checker's Limbo Party" show at the Cow Palace in San Francisco. On 1 April "Big Girls Don't Cry & 12 Others" is released that is mostly cover versions of doo-wop group hit songs and it peaks at #8 on the US album chart. On 20 April they cover a #1 pop hit by "Pat Boone" and a #10 hit by "Fats Domino" both in 1955 in "Ain't That A Shame" and it peaks at #22 for them on the US pop chart and at #38 in the UK. The flip side of their record titled "Soon (I'll Be Home Again)" charts separately and it peaked at #77. This would be the last of their four previous singles all credited to "The Four Seasons Featuring Frankie Valli".
In June "Ain't That A Shame And 11 Others" is released with a mixture of old group cover hits and new songs to come and it peaks at #47 on the US album chart. The group now going by just "The Four Seasons" releases their first single from their recent album titled "Candy Girl" on 6 July and it goes to #13 on the R&B chart and goes to #3 on the pop chart. Vocalist "Larry Santos" (not "Santo & Johnny") from Oneonta, New York who would have a #36 hit in 1976 with "We Can't Hide It Anymore" wrote the song. The B-side of "Candy Girl" titled "Marlena" charts separately on 13 July eventually peaking at #36 on the pop chart. On 5 October the A-side "New Mexican Rose" and the B-side "That's The Only Way" both debut on the charts separately on the same day. The A-side would peak at #36 with the B-side peaking at #88 on the US pop chart. This is followed this month by "Golden Hits Of The Four Seasons" that peaks at #15.
In January 1964 after being at odds with "Vee-Jay" records over the alleged non-payment of royalties, they sign a new contract with "Mercury" records subsidiary label "Philips" records. Their first record on their new label titled "Dawn (Go Away)" debuts on 1 February and peaks at #3. The single is held back from reaching the top spot by "The Beatles" with "I Want To Hold Your Hand" that was at #1 for 7 weeks followed by the current #2 song "She Loves You" that would replace it at #1 for 2 weeks. On 15 February "Vee-Jay" releases one of their leftover songs in "Stay" a cover version of the #1 hit in 1960 by "Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs" that peaks at #16 on the US pop chart for them. They release their first album on their new label called "Born To Wander" but it only peaks at #82 on the US chart. Over the next 8 months both "Vee-Jay" and "Philips" would release a total of 7 singles with the biggest of these being "Rag Doll" on "Philips" that peaks at #1 for 2 weeks. They would also release a total of 6 albums this year between the 2 labels with the biggest of these being "Dawn (Go Away) And 11 Other Great Songs" that peaked at #6.
In October "Vee-Jay" records released a 2-album set repackaging “Introducing The Beatles” originally titled “Please Please Me” and “Golden Hits Of The Four Seasons” into “The Beatles Vs. The Four Seasons” that only peaks at #142 on the US album chart. The original 1st printing of this double-set is a very sought after and said to be a very expensive collectible. On 9 September they made their only TV appearance this year on the BBC-1 TV Music series from the UK “Top Of The Pops”. This episode also included “The Kinks”, “The Supremes” and “Elvis Presley”. On the day after Christmas, 26 December they released their second holiday single in “I Saw Mommy Kissing Sata Claus” but because of the poor timing of the release it was on the chart for just that 1 debut week at #19. Also this year “Vee-Jay” released a newly re-recorded version of “You’re The Apple Of My Eye” as “Apple Of My Eye” but it only peaked at #106 on the Billboard “Bubbling Under The Top 100” chart.
In 1965 they had a total of 6 singles on the US pop chart with only one and the very final “Vee-Jay” record on Christmas Day titled “Little Boy (In Grown Up Clothes” that peaked at #60. The biggest charting single for them this year was “Let’s Hang On!” that made its’ chart debut on 9 October and went all the way to #3 on the US pop chart. This would be the first year that they did not have a charting record in the UK. They released only one album this year in May titled "The Four Seasons Entertain You" on "Philips" that peaked at #77 on the US album chart. They appeared one time this year on TV on "Hullabaloo!", on 4 May hosted by "Trini Lopez" on NBC. In August this year Massi tired of all the touring leaves the group and is replaced by Calello temporarily who is still their music arranger. In September "Joe Long" replaces Charlie so he may return to his studio in Bloomfield, NJ. Charlie would go on to be a great arranger, conducter, producer and orchestra leader. He would lead "The Charlie Calello Orchestra" who had one big hit album in 1994 "Calello Serenade" and a hit single that year in "Sing Sin Sing". He would also go on and form "The Charlie Calello Singers" as well. He is currently living in Boca Raton, Florida and is co-owner of his own record label with "Sandy Linzer" called "Linzer/Calello" records. They currently have signed on their label "Ronnie Millsap", "Laurie Morgan" and "Juice Newton".
On 6 November they released "Don't Think Twice" a novelty falsetto version of "Bob Dylan's" song "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright" but this time it is credited to "The Wonder Who?". Frankie did an impersonation of 1940's Jazz singer "Rose Murphy" on this record. Rumors surfaced during this time as everyone could easily tell it was really "The Four Seasons" that they were using this assumed name for tax purposes. The real reason is said to be that since they had just released "Let's Hang On!" the previous month and this being a novelty song instead of their usual fair that they didn't want it to ruin the sales of their other hit song still on the charts that ended up becoming their 5th gold single.
In 1966 Crewe formed "The Bob Crewe Generation" and had one big hit with "Music To Watch Girls By" that peaked at #15 on the US pop chart. The song was composed by "Sid Ramin" originally as a jingle and given to the Pepsi Company to use for a Diet Pepsi commercial. Sid was next asked to expand the jingle to a longer version so it could be used as a song. "The Four Seasons" had 6 more songs on the US pop singles chart this year including a double-sided top 100 novelty record as "The Wonder Who?" once again in "On The Good Ship Lollipop" with the B-side charting separately that was "Your Nobody Till Somebody Loves You". "On The Good Ship Lollipop" was originally sung by "Shirley Temple" in the 1934 Musical Drama "Bright Eyes". It was also a #4 hit in 1935 for "Rudy Vallee". The song "You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You" was originally released on a 78 rpm record in 1946 by "Russ Morgan & His Orchestra" who took the song to #14 on the chart. The song was also a #14 hit for "Dean Martin" in 1965. They had 2 big hits this year both peaking at #9 in "Working My Way Back To You" in January and "I've Got You Under My Skin" in September. They had 3 albums on the charts this year with "The Four Seasons Gold Vault Of Hits" the biggest of these peaking at #10. They appeared on TV on 11 different occasions this year to include "Where The Action Is" 7 times, "The Ed Sullivan Show" 2 times, "Hullabaloo" and "Top Of The Pops".
Also this year Frankie decided to start recording and releasing solo records with the other members as back-up vocalists. His first release was on “Smash” records and was "(You're Gonna) Hurt Yourself" that debuted on 15 January and would peak at #39 on the US pop singles chart. This would mean that they had 3 songs on the chart all at the same time under 3 different names of “Frankie Valli”, “The Four Seasons” and “The Wonder Who?”. Also this month a settlement was finally reached between Crew, “Vee-Jay” records and the group. The agreement stated the group was allowed to continue releasing records on the “Philips” label but still owed them one additional album. Before the group to get to the recording studio to begin this album “Vee-Jay” went bankrupt and therefore all their recorded masters became the legal property of the producer and the group. Frankie’s only other solo release this year was on “Philips” records titled “The Proud One” on 12 November that peaked at #69 on the singles chart. The group had a total of four hits on the UK singles chart this year.
The group had 4 singles on the US pop charts in 1967 which included their final one under the pseudonym of “The Wonder Who?”. Their final song under their assumed group name was “Lonesome Road” that debuted on 29 July and later peaked at #89. The song was previously a #3 pop hit in 1930 for Big Band Leader “Ted Lewis” who was born “Theodore Leopold Friedman”. The groups’ biggest hit single of the year was “C’mon Marianne” that debuted on 10 June and later peaked at #9 on the pop chart. The group had 4 albums on the pop chart this year, which also included their 2nd holiday album “The Four Seasons Christmas Album” that peaked at #8. The biggest album of the year for them was their first release of the year in January titled ׀nd Vault Of Golden Hits” that peaked at #22.
Frankie had 2 solo singles on the chart this year and the biggest of these was “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” that peaked at #2 on the pop chart and became his first solo million selling record. The song was co-written by Calello & Crew and was a #7 hit as a medley the next year by “The Lettermen”. Both “Nancy Wilson” and “Lauryn Hill” would also cover it again as a single release in later years. Frankie released his solo debut album this year titled “Frankie Valli: Solo” and it peaked at #34 on the US pop album chart. On 8 January this year they performed at the Philharmonic Hall in New York City for the “Nat King Cole” Cancer Fund along with “Tony Bennett” and “Connie Francis”. The group appeared on TV 2 times this year both of them were on “The Red Skelton Comedy Hour” also called “The Red Skelton Show” on CBS.
In 1968 they had only 2 singles on the pop chart. The biggest of these was “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” co-written by “Gerry Goffin” and his soon to be wife “Carole King” for “Don Kirshner” who gave it to “The Shirelles” to release as a single in 1960 and was the first of their 2 #1 pop hits. “The Shirelles” originally released the song as “Tomorrow” but when it was re-issued with the same “Scepter” records label #1211 “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” was on the record. The flip side of “The Shirelles” hit was the song “Boys” that “The Beatles” covered in 1965 and was released on “Capitol” records special “The Star Line” series record label along with 5 other records but none of the 6 records were considered for Billboard chart status. It was re-released by “The Beatles” on their “Apple” records label as a 4 song EP in 1995 along with “Baby It’s You”, “I’ll Follow The Sun” and “Devil In Her Heart” and it peaked at #67. They did have one record this year “Saturday’s Father” that was their first record not to make it on any of the singles charts.
They did not release any albums this year for the first time in over 7 years. Frankie did not release any singles this year but “To Give (The Reason I Live)” that debuted for him on the singles chart the previous December 30th did all its’ climbing up the chart this year and peaked at #29 on the pop chart. His one album release this year “Timeless” peaked at #176. They appeared on TV 2 times this year first on "The Kraft Music Hall" on NBC. They also appeared on "Happening '68" hosted by "Paul Revere & The Raiders" on Saturdays on ABC. In 1969 Frankie released only one record which was “The Girl I’ll Never Know (Angels Never Fly This Low)” on 14 June and it peaked at #52 on the singles chart. The group had 3 singles on the chart this year with the biggest of these being “And That Reminds Me (My Heart Reminds Me)” on “Crewe” records that peaked at #45. They had 2 albums on the chart this year and the biggest of these was "Edizione D'Oro (The Four Seasons Gold Edition & 29 Hits) that peaked at #37. They had one TV appearance this year on "American Bandstand" hosted by "Dick Clark" on ABC.
They had only one single on the charts in 1970 with “Patch Of Blue” that stalled at #94 and was on the chart only 2 weeks. This would be their last record on the “Philips” label and the last time their records would be credited to “Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons”. Their only album release this year was “Half & Half” with ½ group songs and ½ Frankie solo songs. This would be the last album on the “Philips” label and it stalled at #190 on the pop album chart. Frankie did not have any albums or singles released this year. In January 1971 DeVito retires because of hearing problems and is temporarily replaced by “Bob Grimm”. They also add “Gary Wolfe” drummer to the group this month. In February “You’re Ready Now” a solo single by Frankie originally released in 1966 but failing to chart is re-released in the UK and peaks at #11 there. In November a UK only compilation album release titled “The Big Ones” is released and peaks at #37. Also this month, both Grimm and Wolfe leave the group and are replaced by “Demetri Callas” on bass and “Paul Wilson” on drums and they also add “Al Ruzicka” on keyboards.
In January 1972 the group signs a new contract with “Motown” records and their subsidiary “Mowest” label. They release several singles this year and one album “Chameleon” on their new label but they all fail to make the charts. In December they perform at An Evening Of Solid Gold before a sellout crowd at Madison Square Garden in New York City along with “Jay & The Americans”, “The Four Tops” and “Martha Reeves & The Vandellas”. In 1973 they are switched to the main “Motown” records label and release “How Come” from the Movie “Tom Sawyer” and “Scalawag Song” from the Movie “Scalawag” but neither makes the charts. They make one TV appearance this year on “The Midnight Special” on NBC on 26 October. It is hosted this night by “Sly & The Family Stone” with guests “Little Sister”, “Melissa Manchester”, “Freddy Weller” and others.
They do not release any records in 1974 as a group and have one TV appearance, once again on “The Midnight Special” on 1 November. This night the host is “Fats Domino” with “The Coasters” as the other special guest. Frankie released one single this year on his new “Private Stock” label titled “My Eyes Adored You” on 23 November and it became his 1st solo #1 record. It would peak at #2 on the Adult Contemporary chart, peaked at #5 in the UK and became his 2nd million selling solo hit.
In March 1975 Long quits the group to continue working in the business but later becomes an insurance agent in New Jersey. The group signs a new contract with “Warner/Curb” records and has 2 singles on the chart this year. “Who Loves You” released on 23 August peaks at #3 on the singles pop chart and peak at #6 in the UK in October. It would peak at #15 on the new Disco singles chart and peak at #7 on both the Adult Contemporary chart and the Club Play singles chart. On 27 December they released “December 1963, (Oh What A Night)” peaked at #1 the next year where it stayed for 3 weeks on the pop singles chart and also tops the UK charts and sells over a million copies. It was there first #1 hit in the US in 11 years and became their final #1 hit as a group. They released one album this year in December titled “Who Loves You” that would peak the following year at #38 in the US. They released “Fallen Angel” in the UK only on the “Private Stock” label but it failed to chart.
Frankie had 2 big solo hits this year with the first being “Swearin’ To God” that peaked at #31 on the R&B chart, at #6 on the pop chart, at #4 on the Club Play Singles chart and at #2 on the Disco singles chart. Released on 17 May it would peak at #31 in the UK in July. On 18 October he released his cover version of “Our Day Will Come” that was a #1 hit in 1963 by “Ruby & The Romantics”. His version peaked at #15 on the Club Play Singles chart, at #11 on the pop chart, at #6 on the Disco singles chart and peak at #2 on the Adult Contemporary chart. He had 3 solo albums released this year in “Closeup” on “Private Stock” in the UK only, “Motown” released his final album with them “Inside You” and “Our Day Will Come” on “Private Stock”. Only “Closeup” made the charts as it peaked at #51 on the US pop album chart. He had one solo appearance this year on TV on the “Cher” show on CBS that also included “Dion” and “Frankie Avalon”. As a group they had 4 TV appearances this year all on “The Midnight Special”.
In May this year “Motown” re-releases “The Night” in the UK only and it peaks at #7 there. It was originally released the previous year but failed to make any of the charts. Also in May Gaudio decides to assemble a new group around lead singer Frankie. He selects "John Pavia" on guitar formally of "The Classaires", "Lee Shapiro" on keyboards from the Manhattan School of Music, "Don Ciccone" on vocals formally with "The Critters" and "Gerry Polci" on drums. The new group has one single on the chart in 1976 with “Silver Star” with new member Polci on lead vocals that peaked at #38 on the US pop chart and at #3 in the UK. “Who Loves You” released in December the previous year peaks at #38 on the US album chart this year. Their only group album release is “The Four Seasons Story” a double album compilation in January that would peak at #51 in the US and at #20 in the UK.
Frankie had 2 solo songs on the chart this year with the first being “Fallen Angel” that peaked at #36 followed by “We’re All Alone” written by “Boz Scaggs” that peaked at #78 on the US pop chart. He has 2 solo albums on the US pop chart this year in “Frankie Valli Gold” that peaked and #132 and “Our Day Will Come” that peaked at #107. On 13 February this year Frankie appears solo on 3rd Anniversary show of “The Midnight Special” with host “Wolfman Jack” and guests “Elton John”, “Herb Alpert”, “Linda Ronstadt”, “Glen Campbell”, “The O’Jays” and others. He hosted “The Midnight Special” on 5 November with guests “Joe Cocker”, “Bob Seger”, “Flash Cadillac & The Continental Kids” and others. Also in November he has a UK only release album on the “K-Tel” records label “Greatest Hits” that peaks at #4 there. The group appeared in a Military Documentary Movie titled “All This & World War II” this year with “The Bee Gees”, “Elton John”, “Peter Gabriel”, “Helen Reddy”, “Keith Moon”, “Rod Stewart”, “Tina Turner” and many others.
In 1977 the group has 2 singles on the charts in “Down The Hall” that peaks at #65 on the US pop chart and peaks at #34 in the UK. This was followed by a UK only release of “Rhapsody” that peaks at #37 there. Their only album release is “Helicon” that peaks at #168 on the US chart. Frankie has no solo record releases this year. On 7 January they appear on “The Midnight Special” with host “Wolfman Jack” and guests “The Commodores”, “Hot Chocolate”, “The Staple Singers” and others. In September Frankie announces publicly that he is leaving the group to continue his solo career. On 25 November he is the host of “The Midnight Special” with guests “Pat Boone”, “Olivia Newton-John”, “Link Wray” formally of “Link Wray & The Ray Men” and others.
On 27 May 1978 Frankie has his biggest solo record “Grease” on the “RSO” record label debuts on the singles chart peaking at #1 for 2 weeks. It peaks at #40 on the R&B chart, peaks at #3 in the UK and sells over 2 million copies. The song is written by “Barry Gibb” of “The Bee Gees” for the Rock Musical Movie of the same name starring “John Travolta”, “Olivia Newton-John”, “Stockard Channing”, “Jeff Conaway”, “Eve Arden”, “Sha-Na-Na” and many others. He has his final ever charting solo album this year in “Frankie Valli…Is The Word” that peaked at #160 on the US pop album chart. The new group lineup without Frankie would not release any records this year.
On 18 August Frankie hosted “The Midnight Special” with guests “Atlanta Rhythm Section”, “Nick Gilder”, “A Tastes Of Honey” and others. He next appeared and sang on “The American Bandstand” on 9 September. On the 29th he appeared once again on “The Midnight Special” this time hosted by “Dolly Parton” with guests “Alice Cooper”, “Paul McCartney”, “Queen”, “Rita Coolidge” and others. His final appearance on TV this year was on the syndicated “Soul Train”. Frankie would also appear this year in the Rock Musical Movie “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” with “The Bee Gees”, “Peter Frampton”, “Donald Pleasance”, “Steve Martin”, “Aerosmith”, “Alice Cooper”, “Billy Preston”, “Earth, Wind & Fire”, “George Burns”, “Connie Stevens”, “Joe Simon”, “Tina Turner”, “Al Stewart”, “Helen Reddy”, “Johnny Rivers”, “Gary Wright”, “Dr. John”, “Wolfman Jack” and many, many others.
Frankie had one solo single in 1979 with “Fancy Dancer” that peaked at #77 on the US pop chart. This song never appeared on any of his albums. This is not the same version that the group “Bread” recorded and was on their “Guitar Man” album in 1972. It is also not the same version that “The Commodores” released as a single in 1977 and went to #39 on the pop chart for them. Frankie appeared as himself in a Crime Drama made for TV Movie this year titled “Ebony, Ivory & Jade” also starring “Martha Smith” as Ivory, “Bert Convy” as Mick Jade, “Debbie Allen” as Ebony, “Ted Shackelford”, “Claude Akins” and others. He next appeared on “The Midnight Special” again on 9 November with host “The Commodores” and guests “Captain & Tennille”, “Abba” and others.
In May 1980 “The Four Seasons” begin a reunion tour but without Frankie who was recuperating from his 3rd ear surgery. Frankie had developed otosclerosis a rare disease, which had made him deaf. The group had a new lineup for this tour with Polci, Ciccone adding “Larry Lingle” on guitar and “Jerry Corbetta” on keyboards. In July Frankie released his final ever solo single in “Where Did We Go Wrong” that had the label crediting “Frankie Valli Introducing Chris Forde”. It would be his final charting record and it peaked at #90 on the pop chart but went all the way to #4 on the Adult Contemporary chart. The new lineup of “The Four Seasons” released only one record this year on 13 December in “Spend The Night In Love” that stalled at #91 on the US pop singles chart. Frankie did finally reunite with the new group temporarily in 1981 and they released one record only in “Reunited: Live With Frankie Valli” but it failed to make the charts. They do not release any records for the next few years until they team up with “The Beach Boys” in 1984 to record the album “East Meets West” on “FBI” records but it is never officially released.
In 1985 Frankie finally rejoins the group permanently as they record and release “Streetfighter” on “Curb/MCA” records but it fails to make any of the album charts. On 1 November this year Frankie played “Frank Doss” on an episode of “Miami Vice” on NBC TV. In 1987 Frankie plays “Macho Marty Benedictine” in the Comedy Movie “Dirty Laundry” also starring “Sony Bono”, “Leigh McCluskey”, “Jeanne O’Brien”, “Carl Lewis” and others. In June 1988 “The 20 Greatest Hits” is released in the UK only on “Telstar” records and it peaks at #38 there on the album chart. “Rhino” records releases 㦅th Anniversary Collection” a 3-CD set this month as well in the US but it fails to chart. In October a new remixed version of “December, 1963 (Oh What A Night) and “Big Girls Don’t Cry” are released in the UK only but fail to chart. This new remixed version of “Big Girls Don’t Cry” will also appear on the Soundtrack album for the Movie “Dirty Dancing II”.
In January 1990 Crewe inducts “The Four Seasons” into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame at the 5th annual dinner at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City. The group sings “Uptown Girl” on December 5th at the NARAS Living Legends award ceremony, honoring “Billy Joel”. 2 Greatest hits compilation albums were released this year on “Priority” records in “Live, Vol. 1” and “Live, Vol. 2” but neither made the charts. This year Frankie played “Mr. Hoskins” in the “Robby Benson” directed Comedy Movie “Modern Love” also starring “Robbie Benson”, “Rue McClanahan”, “Burt Reynolds” and others. He also played Guido in the Romantic Drama “Eternity” starring “Jon Voight”, “Armand Assanti”, “Wilford Brimley”, “Eileen Davidson” and others. In January 1991 a new remixed version of “Grease” by “John Travolta” and “Olivia Newton-John” featuring Frankie is released in the UK only and it peaks at #3 there on the singles chart.
In February 1992 “Hope & Glory” is released on “Curb” records but it fails to make the charts. Also this month “The Very Best Of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons” is released in the UK only and it peaks at #7 there on the album chart. In March 1993 Frankie is presented with a gold disc outside 10 Downing Street in the UK by members of the Parliament “Peter Brooke” and “Greg Knight” for sales of over a million copies of “The Very Best Of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons”. On 13 August 1994 a new remixed dance version of “December, 1963 (Oh What A Night) is released and it peaks at #22 on the Adult Contemporary chart, #14 on the pop chart and at #6 on the Top 40 mainstream singles chart. “Sing For You” is released this year but it fails to make any of the album charts. Also this year Frankie duets with “The Manhattan Transfer” on “Let’s Hang On” that is released on their “Tonin’” album.
On 3 January 1995 Frankie plays himself in an episode of “Full House” on ABC TV. On 30 January Frankie and “The Manhattan Transfer” present the award for Best Pop/Rock Female artist to “Mariah Carey” at the 22nd Annual American music Awards show held in Los Angeles at the shrine auditorium. In May Gaudio & Crewe are both inducted into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame at the 26th annual ceremonies in New York City. “Oh What A Night” is released this year and it fails to make any of the album charts. “The Very Best Of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons” is reissued in the UK only in September 1996 and peaks at #63 there this time. They also release “Four Seasons With Frankie Valli” on “DJ Specialist” records but it fails to make the album charts. In 1998 Frankie played Frank LoCascio in the 2-part Mafia Mob Crime made for TV Movie with “Nicholas Turturro”, “Tom Sizemore”, “Debi Mazar”, “Abe Vigoda” and others. Also this year Frankie releases a solo single titled “Grease 㤆” on “Polydor” records to coincide with the re-release of the original “Grease” Movie on its’ 20th anniversary but it fails to make the charts.
In 2004 Frankie played Rusty Millio in 3 episodes of “The Sopranos” on HBO on 28 March, 25 April & 23 May. The album I am going to rate today is ”GOLD VAULT OF HITS” that was released on “Curb” records on 8 July 1997. The songs on this CD are listed in the order, as they appear followed by the length of each and then my rating of the song.
1. Let’s Hang On – 3:16 – 5
2. Rag Doll – 2:57 – 5
3. Ronnie – 2:58 - 5
4. Big Man In Town – 2:46 – 5
5. Silence Is Golden – 3:22 – 5
6. Bye, Bye, Baby (Baby, Goodbye) – 2:31 – 5
7. Dawn (Go Away) – 2:47 – 5
8. Save It For Me – 2:37 – 4
9. Girl Come Running – 3:00 – 5
10. Betrayed – 2:57 - 4
11. Toy Soldier – 2:32 – 4
12. Cry Myself To Sleep – 2:51 – 4
TOTAL POINTS: 56POINTS DIVIDED BY 12 SONGS = 4.66 or 4 1/2 STARS
Rating Key:
5 –Great
4 – Very Good
3 – Good
2 – Fair
1 – Poor
0 – This song does not belong here!
Billboard US Top 100 Pop Singles for “THE FOUR SEASONS”
1. You’re The Apple Of My Eye – Debut 05/25/56, Peaked at #62 (The Four Lovers)
2. SHERRY - Debut 08/25/62, Peaked at #1 for 5 weeks (GOLD)
3. BIG GIRLS DON’T CRY - Debut 10/20/62, Peaked at #1 for 5 weeks (GOLD)
4. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town – Debut 12/15/62, Peaked at #23
5. WALK LIKE A MAN - Debut 01/26/63, Peaked at #1 for 3 weeks (GOLD)
6. Ain’t That A Shame –Debut 04/20/63, Peaked at #22
7. Soon I’ll Be Home Again – Debut 05/11/63, Peaked at #77
8. Candy Girl – Debut 07/06/63, Peaked at #3
9. Marlena – Debut 07/13/63, Peaked at #36
10. New Mexican Rose – Debut 10/05/63, Peaked at #36
11. That’s The Only Way – Debut 10/05/63, Peaked at #88
12. Dawn (Go Away) – Debut 02/01/64, Peaked at 3
13. Stay – Debut 02/15/64, Peaked at #16
14. Ronnie – Debut 04/11/64, Peaked at #6
15. Alone – Debut 06/06/64, Peaked at #28
16. RAG DOLL - Debut 06/20/64, Peaked at #1 for 2 weeks (GOLD)
17. Save It For Me – Debut 08/29/64, Peaked at #10
18. Sincerely – Debut 08/29/64, Peaked at #75 (Co-written by DJ “Alan Freed”)
19. Big Man In Town – Debut 11/07/64, Peaked at #20
20. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus – Debut 12/26/64, Peaked at #19
21. Bye, Bye, Baby (Baby, Goodbye) – Debut 01/16/65, Peaked at #12
22. Toy Soldier – Debut 04/10/65, Peaked at #64
23. Girl Come Running – Debut 06/19/65, Peaked at #30
24. Let’s Hang On – Debut 10/09/65, Peaked at #3 (GOLD)
25. Don’t Think Twice – Debut 11/06/65, Peaked at #12 (The Wonder Who?)
26. Little Boy (In Grown Up Clothes) – Debut 12/25/65, Peaked at #60
27. Working My Way Back To You – Debut 01/29/66, Peaked at #9
28. Opus 17 (Don’t You Worry ‘Bout Me) – Debut 05/21/66, Peaked at #13
29. On The Good Ship Lollipop – Debut 07/02/66, Peaked at #87 (The Wonder Who?)
30. You’re Nobody Till Somebody Loves You – Debut 07/16/66, Peaked at #96 (The Wonder Who?)
31. I’ve Got You Under My Skin – Debut 09/03/66, Peaked at #9
32. Tell It To The Rain – Debut 12/10/66, Peaked at #10
33. Beggin’ – Debut 03/04/67, Peaked at #16
34. C’mon Marianne – Debut 06/10/67, Peaked at #9
35. Lonesome Road – Debut 07/29/67, Peaked at #89 (The Wonder Who?)
36. Watch The Flowers Grow – Debut 10/28/67, Peaked at #30
37. Will You Love Me Tomorrow – Debut 02/24/68, Peaked at #24
38. Electric Stories – Debut 12/28/68, Peaked 61
39. Something’s On Her Mind – Debut 03/29/69, Peaked at #98
40. Idaho – Debut 04/05/69, Peaked at #95
41. And That Reminds Me (My Heart Reminds Me) – Debut 09/13/69, Peaked at #45
42. Patch Of Blue – Debut 05/09/70, Peaked at #94
43. Who Loves You – Debut 08/23/75, Peaked at #3
44. DECEMBER, 1963 (OH, WHAT A NIGHT) - Debut 12/27/75, Peaked at #1 for 3 weeks (GOLD)
45. Silver Star – Debut 05/29/76, Peaked at #38
46. Down The Hall – Debut 07/16/77, Peaked at #65
47. Spend The Night In Love – Debut 12/13/80, Peaked at #91
48. December, 1963 (Oh, What A Night) – Debut 08/13/94, Peaked at #14 (dance remix)
SOME SONG LYRICS – ALL #1 HITS
BIG GIRLS DON’T CRY
Big girls don't cry
Big girls don't cry
Bi-ig girls do-on't cry-yi-yi they don't cry
Bi-ig girls do-on't cry-yi-yi who said they don't cry
My-y girl said goodbye-yi-yi my oh my
My-y girl didn't cry I wonder why
Silly boy told my girl we had to break up
Silly boy hoped that she would call my bluff
Silly boy then she said to my surprise
Big girls don't cry
Bi-ig girls do-on't cry-yi-yi they don't cry
Bi-ig girls do-on't cry-yi-yi who said they don't cry
May-y-be I was cru-u-uel I was cruel
Bay-y-be I'm a fool I'm such a fool
Silly girl "Shame on you" your mama said
Silly girl "you're cryin' in bed"
Silly girl "Shame on you, you told me lies"
Big girls do cry
Bi-ig girls do-on't cr-y-y they don't cry
Bi-ig girls do-on't cr-y-y that's just an alibi
DECEMBER,1963 (OH, WHAT A NIGHT
Oh, what a night, late December back in 63
What a very special time for me
As I remember what a night!
Oh what a night,
You know I didn't even know her name
But I was never gonna be the same
What a lady, what a night!
Oh, I got a funny feeling when she walked in the room
And I, as I recall it ended much too soon
Oh what a night,
Hypnotizing, mesmerizing me
She was everything I dreamed she'd be
Sweet surrender, what a night!
I felt a rush like a rolling bolt of thunder
Spinning my head around and taking my body under
Oh what a night
Oh, I got a funny feeling when she walked in the room
And I, as I recall it ended much too soon
RAG DOLL
Ooh, oo-oo-oo-ooh Ooh-oo-ooh
Ooh-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-ooh
Ahh, ah-ah-ah-ahh Rag doll, ooh
Ooh-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-ooh
Hand-me-down When she was just a kid her clothes were hand-me-down
Hand-me-down They always laughed at her when she came into town
Called her rag doll, little rag doll
Such a pretty face should be dressed in lace
Ooh, oo-oo-oo-ooh Ooh-oo-ooh
Ooh-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-ooh
Sad rag doll I'd change her sad rags into glad rags if I could
If I could My folks won't let me 'cause they say that she's no good
She's a rag doll, such a rag doll
Though I love her so, I can't let her know
Ooh, oo-oo-oo-ooh Ooh-oo-ooh
Ooh-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-ooh
Ahh, ah-ah-ah-ahh Rag doll, ooh
I love you just the way you are
SHERRY
Sher-er-rry, Sherry baby
Sher-er-rry, Sherry baby
She-e-e-e-e-e-e-ry ba-a-by Sherry baby
She-er-rry, can you come out tonight Come come, come out toni-i-ight
She-e-e-e-e-e-e-ry ba-a-by Sherry baby
She-er-rry, can you come out tonight
Why don't you come out come out to my twist party
Come out Where the bright moon shines
Come out We'll dance the night away
I'm gonna make-a you mi-yi-yi-ine
She-e-e-e-e-e-e-ry ba-a-by Sherry baby
She-er-rry, can you come out tonight
Come come, come out toni-i-ight
Come come, come out toni-i-ight
You-oo-ooh better ask your ma-a-ma Sherry baby
Te-ell her everything is all right
Why don't you come out come out with your red dress on
Come out Mmm, you look so fine
Come out Move it nice and easy
Girl you'll make me lose my mi-ind
WALK LIKE A MAN
Walk like a man
Oh how you tried to cut me down to size
Tellin' dirty lies to my friends
But my own father said "Give her up, don't bother
The world isn't comin' to an end"
He said
Walk like a man, talk like a man
Walk like a man my son
No woman's worth crawlin' on the earth
So walk like a man, my son
Bye bye baby, I don't-a mean maybe
Gonna get along somehow
Soon you'll be cryin' on account of all your lyin'
Oh yeah, just look who's laughin' now
I'm gonna
Walk like a man, fast as I can
JAGUARDOG’S FINAL THOUGHTS
First let me apologize to all my friends and loyal readers for this review being so very, very, very long. I really didn’t think I could do this fantastic group justice by leaving things out. “The Four Seasons” were my 3rd favorite group in the 60’s and I had almost all of their singles and a few albums. I also owned a lot of greatest hits compilation CD’s a year or so ago but had to cut my collection way down so I only kept the one CD I reviewed above. Trust me there are many, many more greatest hits CD’s by this group that have more and better hits then this one does.
This groups’ music sound was amiable, carefree, celebratory, energetic, exuberant, fun, good-natured, happy, innocent, naive, playful, raucous, romantic, sentimental, smooth, soft, sophisticated, summery, and sweet. I want to thank everyone who has come by to read, rate and comment. I wish YOU ALL a very happy, safe and wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday. Best of Luck to all and God Bless. Up next another group who had a lot of pop charting singles a total of 45 to be exact and one of “Motown” records biggest record selling group “The Four Tops”.
(F)
FOUR TOPS, THE (Up Next)
PETER FRAMPTON
CONNIE FRANCIS
FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD
ARETHA FRANKLIN
FREDDIE & THE DREAMERS
FREE
BOBBY FREEMAN
BOBBY FULLER FOUR, THE
BILLY FURY
(G)
PETER GABRIEL
MARVIN GAYE
J. GEILS BAND, THE
GENESIS
GERRY & THE PACEMAKERS
(MORE TO COME)
SOME SOURCES INCLUDE
http://www.allmovie.com/
http://www.allmusic.com/
http://www.amazon.com/
http://www.ask.com/
http://www.billboard.com/
http://www.bizrate.com/
http://www.charliecalello.com/
http://www.leoslyrics.com/
http://www.lyrics.com/
http://www.lyricsconnection.com/
http://www.lyricsfind.com/
http://www.lyricsworld.com/
http://movies.go.com/
http://www.mtv.com/
http://www.rollingstone.com/
http://www.tvguide.com/
http://www.tvtome.com/
http://www.vh1.com/
UPDATE #1: 29 DEC 04 - I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO THANK MR. “SAM CALELLO” FOR HIS ASSISTANCE ON SOME OF THE INFORMATION HERE.
UPDATE #2: 6 JAN 05 - BOY I REALLY MESSED UP THIS TIME GUYS. I RECEIVED AN EMAIL FROM MR. "CHARLIE CALELLO" HIMSELF ONE OF THE EARLY MEMBERS AND I WAS GOING TO POST IT HERE IN THIS REVIEW BUT I ACCIDENTLY MUST HAVE DELETED IT IN ERROR BECAUSE I CANNOT FIND IT. BOY DO I FEEL FOOLISH AND UPSET ABOUT THAT SCREW UP!
UPDATE #3: 8 JAN 05 - FOLLOWING IS A SMALL TRANSCRIPT FROM A PHONE INTERVIEW BETWEEN "CHARLIE CALELLO" AND "STUART MILLER FROM THE UK MADE ON 21 OCT. 2002
THIS IS CHARLIE SPEAKING -
"I'll tell you a story that you may not know. 1963, Frankie went to England with the 4 Seasons and he came back with about a dozen records. And I went over to his house and he played me these records and he played me, "I want to hold your hand", "Please please me", the first 5 Beatles hits that were hits over in England. And he brought them to Bob Crewe, and I was there with Bob Gaudio and we played the records for Bob Crewe and Frankie says, "We should cut these songs now. These are smashes, they were hits in England, we should cut these songs." And Bob Crewe says, "I think we write better songs" and we never cut them. Now we were big enough at that particular time to where we could have cut those songs, covered them. We may not have done them as well, but we would have cut those songs and we would have released them, and some of those songs could have been hits and that would have been the end of the Beatles."
THIS IS STUART MILLER SPEAKING
"There seems to be a slight note of regret in your voice that you didn't actually cut them."
THIS IS CHARLIE SPEAKING -
"Well, I'm only saying it because Frankie was aware that this was the new hot stuff. And he said, "This is where we should be". The difference between the Beatles and the 4 Seasons was that the Beatles did it, the Beatles were copying Chuck Berry and these other records, and they were making their own version of this new music. But the Beatles were part of the culture. The 4 Seasons were still very, very straight ahead Italians that were not part of the hippy movement. They were a lot different than the casual thing that came in. Now normally what happens in music is that when music becomes huge, you notice that it affects the culture, it affects the dress. Let me back up for a second. When Elvis became successful, Elvis had people who dressed like him, they wore clothes like him. Sinatra; they dressed like him, they spoke like him, the music was also the same. When the Beatles came in, they affected the culture. They changed the clothes, they changed the hair, they changed this, they changed that. The groups or artists that wind up originating it become the superstars. So where the 4 Seasons were, they were not part of that culture. They weren't like The Who or like Led Zeppelin or like Queen or like any of these other groups. The 4 Seasons were very straight ahead, a very very dictated pop band. Rock and roll started to take place as the format for what this new music was developing into so although the Seasons had an audience, the magnitude of success would be limited based on the fact that the majority of the public were now leaning towards this direction. But there was still going to be a group that was going to appreciate this. Basically, looking at all successful eras of music, the ones that actually wind up developing the superstars are the ones that come in and affect the culture. Even today, when you look at rap music, look at the way they dress, look at the music, look at the social conditions. It really hasn't changed."
THIS INTERVIEW CAN BE FOUND AT THE FOLLOWING WEB SITE:
http://genuine-imitation-life-gazette.com/NEWS/CalelloInterviewOct212002.html
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Epinions.com ID:
JAGUARDOG
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Member: Ron Drain
Location: Jacksonville, Florida, USA
Reviews written: 235
Trusted by: 494 members
About Me:
I LOVE Music/TV/Movies & sports like Football - NFL/College, Baseball, Olympics - Summer/Winter and Wrestling.
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