Frankie Valli

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Frankie Valli (born Francesco Stephen Castelluccio; May 3, 1934) is an American singer, known as the frontman of The Four Seasons beginning in 1960.

He is known for his unusually powerful head voice. Valli scored 29 Top 40 hits with The Four Seasons, one Top 40 hit under The Four Seasons alias The Wonder Who?, and nine Top 40 hits as a solo artist. As a member of The Four Seasons, Valli's number-one hits included "Sherry" (1962), "Big Girls Don't Cry" (1962), "Walk Like a Man" (1963), "Rag Doll" (1964) and "December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)" (1975). Valli's recording of the song "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" reached number two in 1967. "You're Ready Now", a Valli solo recording from 1966, became a surprise hit in the UK as part of the Northern soul scene and hit number eleven on the British pop charts in December 1970. As a solo artist, Valli scored number-one hits with the songs "My Eyes Adored You" (1974) and "Grease" (1978).

Valli, Tommy DeVito, Nick Massi and Bob Gaudio – the original members of The Four Seasons – were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990[1] and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGFToiLtXro

T5

"Can't Take My Eyes Off You" is a 1967 single credited to Frankie Valli. The song was among his biggest hits, earning a gold record and reaching No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 for a week, stuck behind "Windy" by The Association. It was co-written by Bob Gaudio, a bandmate of Valli's in The Four Seasons. It was Valli's biggest solo hit until he hit #1 in 1974 with "My Eyes Adored You".

"Can't Take My Eyes Off You" has had hundreds of cover versions, many of which have been on the charts in different countries. The song is a staple of television and film soundtracks, even being featured as part of the plot of some films, such as when the lead characters sing or arrange their own version of the song. Its chorus has also become a popular football chant, with supporters of various teams inserting their club's name or a popular player's name into the beat (for instance, A.S. Roma fans sing "Francesco Totti, la la, la la la la!"). The Valli version was also used by NASA as a wake-up song for a mission of the Space Shuttle, on the anniversary of astronaut Christopher Ferguson.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8yvnqHmFds

"Big Girls Don't Cry" is a song written by Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio and originally recorded by The Four Seasons. It hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on November 17, 1962, and, like its predecessor "Sherry," spent five weeks in the top position. The song also made it to number one, for three weeks, on Billboard's Rhythm and Blues survey.

According to Gaudio, he was dozing off while watching the John Payne/Rhonda Fleming/Ronald Reagan movie Tennessee's Partner (1955) when he heard Payne's character slap Fleming in the face. After the slap, Fleming's character replied, "Big girls don't cry." Gaudio wrote the line on a scrap of paper, fell asleep, and wrote the song the next morning.

However, the now-famous line does not appear in the Ronald Reagan film. According to Bob Crewe, he himself was dozing off in his Manhattan home with the television on when he awoke to see John Payne manhandling Rhonda Fleming in Slightly Scarlet, a 1956 film noir based on a James M. Cain story. The line is heard in that film.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDxhugRKZ8g

"December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)" is a song by the Four Seasons, written by original Four Seasons keyboard player Bob Gaudio and his future wife Judy Parker, produced by Gaudio, and included on the group's album, Who Loves You (1975).

The song features drummer Gerry Polci on lead vocals, with the usual lead Frankie Valli singing the bridge sections and backing vocals, and bass player Don Ciccone (former lead singer of The Critters) singing the falsetto part (And I felt a rush like a rolling ball of thunder / Spinning my head around and taking my body under).

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xqz9eyakGqY

T5

My Eyes Adored You" is a 1974 song written by Bob Crewe and Kenny Nolan.  It was originally recorded by The Four Seasons in early 1974. After the Motown label balked at the idea of releasing it, the recording was sold to lead singer Frankie Valli for $4000. After rejections by Capitol and Atlantic Records, Valli succeeded in getting the recording released on Private Stock Records, but the owner/founder of the label wanted only Valli's name on the label. The single was released in the US in November 1974 and topped the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1975. "My Eyes Adored You" also went to number 2 on the Easy Listening chart. Billboard ranked it as the No. 5 song for 1975.

The single was Valli's first number 1 hit as a solo artist on Billboard's Hot 100, and remained there for one week, being knocked out of the top spot by another Crewe/Nolan-penned song, "Lady Marmalade". Although it was released as a Valli solo effort, the song is sometimes included on Four Seasons compilation albums. It is from the album Closeup.

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Frankie Valli - Walk Like A Man

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9m4WMNVYJds

The song features the counterpoint of Nick Massi's bass voice and the falsetto of lead singer Frankie Valli. It was their third number one hit, initially reaching the top of the Billboard Hot 100 on March 2, 1963, remaining there for three weeks. "Walk Like a Man" also went to number three on the R&B singles chart

During the sessions that produced the hit recording, the fire department received an emergency call from the Abbey Victoria Hotel (the building that housed the Stea-Phillips Recording Studios). As producer Bob Crewe was insisting upon recording the perfect take, smoke and water started to seep into the studio; the room directly above the studio was on fire, but Crewe had blocked the studio door. He continued recording until a few firemen used their axes on the door and pulled Crewe out.

Cover versions of the song have been recorded by other musicians such as the Mary Jane Girls (1986), Divine (1985), Dreamhouse and Jan & Dean (1963) off the album Jan & Dean Take Linda Surfin. Plastic Bertrand did a cover version in French, entitled C'est Le Rock 'n' Roll (1978) and Hungarian band Bon Bon also covered the song with the title Sexepilem (1999).

The song features prominently in the 1996 film Sleepers.

The song "Walk Like a Man" is part of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll list.

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Rag Doll

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYBZqfOZiS4

"Rag Doll" is a popular song written by Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio. It was recorded by The Four Seasons and released as a single in 1964.

It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on July 18, 1964, and remained on top for two weeks. The song was also a number one hit in Canada, and reached number two in the UK and number four in Ireland.