Frankie Valli

Frankie Valli aka Francesco Stephen Castelluccio is an American singer. He was the lead singer of the American rock and pop band “The Four Seasons” which began in 1960. He has an unusually powerful falsetto voice. He was born in an Italian family on 3 May 1934, in Newark, New Jersey. He was eldest of three sons. His father (Anthony Castelluccio) was a display designer and a barber. His mother (Mary Rinaldi) was an employee in a beer company. He was married three times. He has two daughters with his first wife who already had one when they married. Then he married MaryAnn Hannagan whom he divorced in 1982. In 1984, he married Randy Clohessy with whom he has three sons. They separated in 2004.

He got interested in singing after his mother took him to The Paramount Theatre to see Frank Sinatra. He learned music from "Texas" Jean Valli, from whom he took his last name. He worked as a barber to make his living until he got a break in the music industry. In 1951, he started his professional singing career with Nickie DeVito, Nick Macioci and Tommy DeVito (Variety Trio). He earned a guest spot for singing when the group performed. The group disbanded in 1952 after which Vallli and Tommy DeVito joined The Strand in New Jersey. He sang and played bass. In 1953, Valli did his first single named “My Mother’s Eyes” as Frankie Valley. After this, he and DeVito left The Strand and formed The Variations along with Frank Cattone, Billy Thompson and Hank Majewski. In 1956, they impressed Peter Paul ( New York Click to look into! >> Read More... record man) who had them fixed for auditions for RAC Victor. They named themselves “The Four Lovers” and went on to record many tracks. They produced a small hit “You’re the Apple of my Eye.”

In 1956, Hank Majewski and Nickie DeVito left the group after which Hugh Garrity and Nick Macioci joined it. After few more additions and removals, it finally got renamed as “The Four Seasons.” In 1962, he had a hit song named “Sherry.” In 1965, Charlie Calello replaced the vocal arranger and bassist, Nick Massi, of the group. After a short time, Joseph LaBracio (Joe Long) replaced Calello. During the 1960s, he worked with Bob Crewe and Gaudio and produced various hit recordings. He gave both solo and group performances, and this paved a path to pursue in the music industry. He released a song “Can’t take My Eyes off you.” It became a success and reached number two on the charts. An England-based group named The Walker Brotherscopies exactly his song “The Sun Ain’tGonna Shine” which became a successful composition. He released many albums such as Timeless, Half & Half, etc. In 1970, his solo from the year 1966 became a hit in UK reaching the eleventh position on the UK Pop Charts. In 1975, his song “My Eyes Adored You” garnered number one place on the Billboard Hot 100. “Swear to God” reached at the sixth position. He was in UK charts as a single singer as well as with the “The Four Seasons.” He did the cover of A Day in the Life, a Beatles song, for a musical documentary named “All This and World War II.”

From 1967 on he started suffering from otosclerosis. In 1978, he sang the theme song for the film adaptation of the play “Grease.” In 1980, he had a surgery and his hearing ability got restored. In 1985, he appeared in an episode of Miami Vice as Frank Doss. In 1992, Hope and Glory, a new The Four Season album, was released. In 2005, Jersey Boys Click to look into! >> Read More... , the musical, got opened on Broadway which showed the life of Valli. John Lloyd Young John Lloyd Mills Young, or JLY, is an American act >> Read More... did Valli’s portrayal. It won six Tony Awards. In 1998, he appeared in a TV movie named Witness to the Mob. He did parts in The Sopranos in season five and six. In 2006, he received NIAF Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2007, he released an album with covers of all the romantic songs that he likes. In 2008, NIAF gave scholarships to American-Italian music students in his name. In 2012, he debuted on Broadway with a week-long concert at the Broadway Theater in New York. He received the Ellis Island Medal of honour. From 2016 to 2017, “The Four Seasons” will perform throughout the US. In 2014, he did a role in the movie, And So It Goes. He appeared in Hawaii Five-0 as Leonard Cassano. He had a very rough personal life. His stepdaughter died after she fell off a fire escape. His youngest daughter died of drug overdose. Gaddar