FRANKIE VALLI NEVER GETS OLD

STILL TOURING AND WITH A NEW BOXED SET, THE FOUR SEASONS’ LEAD SINGER IS ALIVE AND WELL.

Rhythm and blues was barely pregnant with rock ‘n’ roll when a Jersey boy called Francesco Stephen Castelluccio (aka Frankie Valli) took his first teenage steps in music. The New York Times bestselling author Ken Sharp asked 89-year-old Valli about The Four Seasons’ birth and musical legacy. ON THAT FOUR SEASONS SOUND

“We always recorded songs that we loved, whether it was ‘Beggin’ or ‘Bye, Bye, Baby.’ We did all kinds of music. But it still sounds like us. I’m Frankie Valli. I sing like Frankie Valli. I never tried to sing like anybody else.”

ON THE ESSENCE OF THEIR MUSIC

“Growing up in Newark and being so close to New York City, something’s always happening. It’s a cop blowing a whistle. It’s an ambulance going by. It’s the ghetto. It’s the dream of being successful. It’s How do I get out of here? It’s What am I going to do with my life? It’s Am I going to work in a factory for my whole life? When you

grow up that way the time comes for you to make up your mind as to what you really wanna do. The Four Seasons music came out of that.”

ON ENDURING SUCCESS

“To sustain a success, you have to keep working at it all of the time. You can’t say, ‘Okay I’m successful now, bring me a hit.’ You have to do things with love. It’s all down to the material. It’s timing. It’s luck. It’s being relentless.”

ON THE FANS

“I hope that with all the records and performances I’ve done through the years that I’ve brought an hour or two of enjoyment to people. I hope I’ve given them some peace of mind from this troubled world. That’s so important and it’s so rewarding to know I’ve been able to do that.”