Frankie Valli is 90 today: Happy Birthday!
[Hat tip: commenter “artfldgr.”]
Time does fly.
You may find his voice grating. To me, he’s no Barry Gibb, but I’ve always very much liked The Four Seasons and they provided a major part of the soundtrack to my youth. I find it difficult to pick a favorite Four Seasons song, but this one comes to mind, although the choice is somewhat arbitrary:
There are a bunch of quite recent videos of Valli singing, but looking at a few I suspect they might be lip-synced. Oh, well, the guy is 90, so I’ll forgive him. Happy Birthday, Frankie!
And speaking of Barry Gibb, I can’t resist mentioning the song that is the intersection between the two men, because Gibb wrote it for Valli:
Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey had written a different title track for Grease for its original Chicago production, but the song was discarded when the show was picked up on Broadway. Barry Gibb was commissioned to compose a new title song for Robert Stigwood’s film of the stage musical.
… Gibb invited … Peter Frampton to play guitar on the Grease session, while also providing backing vocals himself. … Frankie Valli was approached to provide the vocals, due to his vocal range being similar to that of Barry Gibb, his being under the management of Allan Carr at the time, and his status as a popular singer from the pre-British Invasion era that Grease represented. Gibb had a long-standing respect for Valli as “one of the hallmark voices of our generation”. … When Valli recorded “Grease”, he did not have a recording contract, having been contracted to Private Stock Records which had folded earlier in 1978. After the single was released on the RSO label, which also issued the soundtrack, Valli quickly landed a deal with Warner Bros., which had Valli’s group The Four Seasons under contract at the time. …
“Grease” became a number-one single in the United States in 1978 and also reached number forty on the R&B charts in the same year. Later in 1978, Valli released a follow-up album, the title of which, Frankie Valli… Is the Word, echoes the “grease is the word” lyric contained in the chorus of “Grease”. “Grease” was Valli’s final Top 40 hit.
“Grease” never was a big favorite of mine, but Barry Gibb was a hit machine, and he certainly did right by Valli.
NOTE: I see from that Wiki entry that backing vocals on “Grease” were also provided by The Sweet Inspirations, a group I liked at the time and many of whose members were related to Dionne Warwick (an early member) and Whitney Houston. Another family loaded with musical talent.
Yes, I knew him back in the day, but he’s the Mayor of Munckinland to me now.
Roy Orbison had a Top Voice w/ range also – that voice got him into the Traveling Wilburys “supergroup”:
Now we got rap ‘n stuff…
Real name Francesco Stephen Castelluccio. Happy Big 9-0 Frankie!
Some people believe “Grease is the word” is the national anthem of Greece.
I’ll take ‘My Eyes Adored You’ over the early falsetto stuff every day.
“December 1963 (Oh what a night)” is their best work. Valli wasn’t even on the hit recording, but they worked him into the production later. 3 members perform lead duties on the song.
“Grease,” “Saturday Night Fever”, “FM” (not a great success as film or album, but it had hits). It was the era of the massive double album soundtrack. And if your song got on one, even the back side of record two, it could be a frigging pension for life.
We were just back in CT and spent 2 nights at Mohegan Sun. Saw that Valli is going to be there in June. It is amazing he’s still going. Though Stevie Nicks also to be there. Must be the geriatric summer.
Karmi (4:39 pm), it’s always fun meeting another fan of the Big O. I’ve been a big fan of Roy Orbison ever since waaay back to “Only The Lonely”, released in mid-1960.
But this is all about Frankie Valli, so I’ll respect that. See ya . . .
One of many relatively unknown albeit excellent Four Seasons tracks is “Connie-O”.
Judging by You Tube comments, I’m *hardly* the only one who *really* likes this one.
It was the B-side of “Big Girls Don’t Cry”; have a listen, why don’tcha?
“Connie-O” by The Four Seasons
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Onlx9-UOFlE
(I was at a high school party, and the “Big Girls Don’t Cry” single was there; I flipped it over, saw “Connie-O”, and thought to myself, “looks interesting”. Much later, I gave it a spin, and I was very pleased at what I’d discovered.)
First of all, congratulations to a man who was probably of goodwill, and who did little intentional harm.
My personal recollection of that music is limited to memories of walking home in the early fall [ seems vaguely summerlike in my mind’s eye] from second grade or whatever it was and turning on the radio and hearing a relentlessly repeated selection of screechy songs that gave me a headache. Perhaps being young for my grade was part of it for lack of appreciation.
That and “Soldier Boy” and “Johhny Angel” and several others seem burned into a crevice of my brain which produces a childlike nausea, reminiscent of having the flu. I’m not even sure they are really from the same time, but when one crosses my mind so do the others.
Anyway, God bless the guy, and though it was kind of maudlin and sappy naive , I recall years later almost enjoying listening to ” Abraham, Martin, and John”
Fun Note: Someone driving an Avalon had put “Frankie” above it.
I like his music. My Era. And of course the Big O – one of the Greats
M J R:
How could anyone NOT be a fan of Roy Orbison? I know there are such people, but they must be few and far between.
“Jersey Boys” tells the story of the Four Seasons and Frankie Valli. It’s long, but it’s a good flick. It certainly tells you a lot about the group and their ups and downs. For another look at the era and its music “Spector,” the Phil Spector documentary, is also worth seeing.
BTW, Paul Auster passed away the other day. I first encountered his work 30 years ago with the movie “The Music of Chance.” It fascinated me. The other films and the novels didn’t really do it for me. His tough guy voice on books on tape was fun, but I felt like he ran out of ideas somewhere along the way.
Say what you will about Frankie Valli’s voice, kudos for keeping going. I always liked the vocal harmonies of the Four Seasons, among other groups of that era.
From that era, here is a cover of Little Peggy March’s hit. Dee Dee Sharp: I Will Follow Him. Beautiful voice.
On the popular The Rewatchables podcast, all 3 co-hosts on the Grease episode thought that the title track was a Bee Gees song.
@physicsguy –
Wife and I saw Heart last weekend at Jazzfest in NOLA. They killed it. Ann’s voice is still commanding, and Nancy looked and sounded as good as ever (full disclosure – I’ve had a crush on Nancy Wilson for…well, a long, long time).
You and a lot of us, mikeski. My ex’s first husband met her wandering around after a concert–probably late 70s. She was very depressed, and maybe hoping someone would talk her down. He did. She came back to their apartment and they talked through the night. For years afterwards she would call when a tour passed near, and offer tickets and backstage passes.
I am told she is soft spoken and quite modest for one whose riffs are classics. She credits all of them to her influences.
Now that you mention it, “Stayin’ Alive” and “Grease” do have lyrical similarities.
alex (7:26 pm), Roy’s youngest son is Alex, although he goes by “Orbi”.
“How could anyone NOT be a fan of Roy Orbison?” I know from decades and decades on this planet, that people’ musical tastes vary considerably, very considerably.
(I’m gonna guess that you’ve found that as well, and that your question is essentially rhetorical, an expression of appreciation for the man’s talent.)
Anyway thanks for the up-vote. “MERCY!” Rrrowwrrr . . .
[Actually, “Oh, Pretty Woman” is *not* a favorite Orbisong for me. It’s a good rocker, but it did not showcase his extraordinary talents. Oh well, getting off-topic now . . . ]
alex,
As a kid in the early 80s I found Orbison creepy and his voice ridiculous. Then as a well adjusted teenager in 1987 I saw him as the musical guest on SNL. He opened with Crying, with background singers and a small orchestra section. I was left speechless.
I can’t find actual video anywhere online but there are YouTube clips with just the audio and they’re well worth the effort.
mikeski,
I think Ann’s voice and control is much better now than when Heart was at their peak. She’s definitely someone who has gotten much better with age.
sharksauce (9:27) and neo,
When Robin Gibb was very ill and in a coma, “he was able to nod and communicate with his family who have held a constant vigil at his bedside in a central London hospital. . . . Gibb’s wife Dwina has revealed he cried when she played him Roy Orbison’s 1962 song Crying.” [It was 1961, but who’s counting? — M J R ]
Bee Gees singer Robin Gibb wakes from coma
https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-17798956
(Robin spoke very highly of Roy; I’ve seen interviews.)
I’m sad. I want to love you ,enoy someone to play with. Someone wskobea me. It hutrs
Ok I let it go
It’s ok I needed to let it go
, I figuratively gave mys elf op for fresh dead. But I can’t do it
Be my lady.
It’s ok I needed to let it gohoneyu fatlime.
Physicsguy,
Yep. Ann Wilson was a great singer when she was young. To her credit she has gotten better and better.
I especially like her phrasing. Right up there with Sinatra.
Someone observed that the closest thing to a time machine we are likely to get is a car with the audio playing music that we remember well.
Ok I let it go. Go in go.
YAWN.
I’ll stick with classical and bluegrass, thanks to Sirius FM and my huge CD collection. Ever hear of Jimmie Rodgers from MS, the originator of country music in the 1930s?
OK. I am going to call you, with regards to a movie dance/song try this one!
https://duckduckgo.com/?va=g&t=hf&q=Dirty+Dancing%2Bvideo%2Bdance&iax=videos&ia=videos&iai=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D3jQMMCq4kmc