KWXY Presents ● an Interview with Frankie Valli

Frankie Valli - Publicity Photo / Private Stock Records / Management Three, LTD.

Frankie Valli is a singer and actor best known for his work as lead vocalist of the rock group, The Four Seasons.  His singing career dates to 1953 and his work with The Four Seasons dates to 1960.  He scored thirty Top 40 hits with The Four Seasons and nine as a solo artist. 

Valli and the original members of The Four Seasons (Tommy DeVito, Nick Massi and Bob Gaudio) were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999.  His most recent album, Touch of Jazz, was released in June 2021.  As an actor, Valli has appeared in both film and television, including his role as mobster Rusty Millio in the HBO crime drama, The Sopranos. 

He was born Francesco Stephen Castelluccio in Newark, New Jersey on May 3, 1934.  At age seven, he saw Frank Sinatra perform in New York City which inspired him to pursue a career in music. 

Another early favorite of his, hillbilly singer/bassist/fiddler “Texas” Jean Valli, was the inspiration for his stage name.  Jean Valli eventually became a mentor, introducing him as her brother to music publishers Paul and Dave Kapp.  His first single with the Kapp brothers, a cover of the 1929 song “My Mother’s Eyes” had him credited as “Frankie Valley” which he later changed to the same spelling as his mentor’s name.  Prior to its release, Valli was a member of a band called The Variety Trio with future Four Seasons vocalist Tommy DeVito and bassist Nick Massi. 

Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons – Frankie (center) Publicity Photo

Their first hit as The Four Seasons was the Bob Gaudio composition “Sherry,” released in August 1962 and which went to number one the following month. Throughout the remainder of the 1960s, Valli took the unprecedented step of recording solo records outside of the main group.  His biggest success at that time came in 1967 with the number two hit, “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You.”

Valli’s solo success continued into the 1970s with such hits as “My Eyes Adored You” and “Swearin’ To God,” both in 1975, and the number one theme from the 1978 film adaptation of the stage play, Grease.  

A Tony Award-winning stage musical, Jersey Boys, opened in 2005 which chronicled the history of The Four Seasons told from the point-of-view of its members.  In 2014, the play was adapted into a motion picture directed by Clint Eastwood.

Frankie Valli remains active as a performer as the front man of “Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons” with concerts and performance across the US.   

Listen to the Music of Frankie Valli and a Classic Interview today at 1pm on KWXY Music Radio 92.3FM ● 1340AM ● streaming at kwxy.com and ivoxradio.com