Frankie Valli:
"Sherry was a nonexistent person ...
the name made it easier to sing,
Sherrrrry Sherry Baby."
Four seasons
Rock version:
By Tim Ryan
Frankie Valli brings his band
to Waikiki
Star-BulletinThe Four Seasons have become an institution whose history spans musical eras from the barbershop harmonies of the '50s to the disco beat of the '70s and beyond.
Lead vocalist Frankie Valli, who has sold more than 100 million records, continues to dazzle audiences with his 3-1/2 octave range. And in 1990, the Four Seasons were inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame.
The Four Seasons make their Hawaii debut tomorrow.
Valli joined up with singers Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio in 1962, releasing "Sherry," a brilliant example of falsetto and harmony pop that established the group when it reached No. 1. Two months later, they were back at the top with "Big Girls Don't Cry" followed by "Walk Like a Man."
The Star-Bulletin caught up Valli at his home in Los Angeles.
SB: Why the name Four Seasons?
Valli: We lifted it from an East Coast club because it sounded like a great name for a group. We were the Four Lovers; we changed the name without telling anyone.
SB: Who have been your inspirations?
Valli: Frank Sinatra, and jazz greats like the Hi-Lo's and the Four Freshmen.
SB: When did you realize you wanted to be an entertainer?
Valli: I used to sing around the Newark area where I grew up. I'd always wanted to be a singer, ever since my mother took me to see Sinatra at the Paramount Theatre in New York as a kid. I decided then and there that's what I was going to do -- be a successful singer.
SB: What's your favorite Four Seasons' song?
Valli: I have several favorites for lots of different reasons. But the most sophisticated song we ever recorded was Cole Porter's classic "I've Got You Under My Skin."
SB: What was your big break?
Valli: In 1956 we recorded an album called Joy Ride for RCS and scored big with the song "The Apple of My Eye." It was written by a guy named Elvis Black, who had written songs for Elvis Presley. Just from that song we got on the Ed Sullivan show three times. The publicity was incredible. Suddenly everyone knew who I was. But my next hit didn't come for six years, with "Sherry."
SB: Who was Sherry?
Valli: Sherry was a non-existent person and (the song) was written by Bob Gaudio, one of the Four Seasons. It was just a song and the name made it easier to sing, Sherrrrry Sherry Baby. It was impossible to do that with the name Linda or Laurie. See, we were creating a sound.
SB: What about the title "Big Girls Don't Cry?"
Valli: It was taken from a Clark Gable movie when he tells a girl he's leaving that big girls don't cry.
SB: Did anyone ever advise you against singing without your falsetto?
Valli: Oh yeah, all the record companies. My first major solo hit not using falsetto -- "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You" -- laid in the can for two years before the record company would release it. It's a fallacy to believe that record companies actually know what a hit is.
SB: Didn't the Four Seasons once record for Motown?
Valli: Yeah, we released an album called "Chameleon."
SB: Has the music industry changed in 40 years?
Valli: Well, the bottom line is still getting radio stations to play your records. But there are so many new people in radio these days, and program directors are so young. They look at many long-time artists as not being in touch with the times. But music is timeless. And it all boils down to talent.
SB: Meaning?
Valli: How many people can go out on stage and reproduce what they've recorded in a studio? How many people go out on stage and lip synch? You want to know? The biggest of the big, that's who. You see them wearing head sets and mouthing words and they look like they're singing, but that's such a joke. Let me tell you: Tom Jones is singing, Gladys Knight is singing, Diana Ross is singing, the Four Tops are singing.
SB: What's left for Frankie Valli to do?
Valli: I've just started doing some acting and want to do more. I like the refreshing challenge of a new career.
Frankie Valli
and the Four SeasonsShowtime: 8 p.m. tomorrow
