There’s no denying Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons’ considerable importance to music. No other white American group of the time, save the Beach Boys, boasted such intricate harmonies, though the Four Seasons were much more firmly in the Italian-American doo wop tradition. Their uptown production values were contemporary and innovative in certain respects. The R&B influence in their music was large, and some of their early singles enjoyed success with the R&B audience. They were immensely successful, making the Top Ten thirteen times between 1962 and 1967 with hits like “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Dawn,” “Rag Doll,” and “Let’s Hang On.” The Four Seasons returned to the top of the charts in the mid-’70s with Who Loves You and the nostalgic “December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)”; at the same time, Valli had a resurgence as a soloist, reaching number one with “My Eyes Adored You” and making the Top Ten with “Swearin’ to God.” In the mid-2000s, Jersey Boys – nothing less than a stage biography of the Four Seasons – was developed by Frankie and opened on Broadway to critical acclaim, going on to win the Tony Award for best musical. Valli signed a new recording contract with Universal Motown and, on October 2, 2007, released his first solo album in 27 years, Romancing the ’60s, a collection of covers of ’60s hits he’d never recorded before. Frankie and the boys continue to tour the world.
