Frankie Valli was born Francesco Stephen Castelluccio on the 3rd of May 1934 in Newark, New Jersey, USA. As the frontman of The Four Seasons, he became, and remains to this day, one of the most iconic pop stars of all time.
Born to a working class Italian family, Valli was inspired to become a singer by his mother taking him to see Ol’ Blue Eyes himself, Frank Sinatra, at the Paramount Theatre in New York City when he was a mere seven years old. After that he was hooked, supporting himself by working in his father’s barber shop all the while working on a singing career.
In 1951 Valli landed his first professional gig with The Variety Trio (that contained two members of the future Four Seasons), who offered him a guest spot during their concerts. However, a year later the Trio split, leading Valli to start playing as a sideman for various artists on the bass guitar.
One of the groups he played in was named the Four Lovers, and after some success with them, they were whittled down to the core quartet of Valli on lead vocals, backed by Bob Gaudio, Nick Massi and Tommy DeVito. With that, pop history was made.
Come the end of the fifties and the start of the sixties, they were the biggest band in the world before The Beatles came along. With hits like “Sherry”, “Big Girls Don’t Cry” and “Walk Like A Man” all hitting number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
Such was Valli’s stock as a singer that he was able to have solo success while The Four Seasons were still active, something that only Buddy Holly had achieved before him. In 1967 he released his signature song “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” and with that, he became as big a draw as the band was. The era of “Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons” had begun.
Over the years, he's kept that unmistakeable falsetto and the kind of charisma that brings any audience he faces to their feet.
Steve Aoki
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