Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons

Francis Stephen Castelluccio, best known as Frankie Valli, was born in the Italian First Ward of Newark, New Jersey. Frankie Valli is best known as the lead singer of The Four Seasons. At the age of 7, he decided he wanted to be a singer when he attended one of Frank Sinatra’s performances. In the mid-50s he joined The Variety Trio (consisting of Tommy DeVito, his twin brother Nick and Hank Majewski) which eventually, after going through several names, renamed itself The Four Seasons.

In 1960 Nick DeVito and Hank Majewski left the group and their spots were filled by Bob Gaudio and Nick Massi. In 1962 the group, with Frankie Valli as lead singer, recorded its first number one hit “Sherry”. The song was followed by their next hit “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” both songs were certified platinum after remaining Number One hits for five weeks. The Four Seasons continued scoring hits like "Walk Like a Man," "Rag Doll", "Ain't That a Shame," "Candy Girl", and "Marlena". The group was even able to resist the British Invasion (while American artists were having a hard time) achieving three Top Five hits in 1964.

In 1996 Frankie Valli tried his luck recording a solo album but without stopping his work with the Four Seasons. He was able to enter some singles into the top 40 with both his work with the group and his work solo. In 1974, Frankie Valli came back to the top of the charts with "My Eyes Adored You" that became platinum. Next year “Swearing to God” became gold. In 1976 The Four Seasons were number one on the charts for three weeks with the fantastic "December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)". Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons were included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.