The LuLac Editiion #5, 011, October 24th, 2023

 

MAYBE I’M AMAZED

Our “Maybe I’m Amazed”  logo

Our Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons Edition

MAYBE I’M AMAZED…..that on . On nearly all of their 1960s hits, they were credited as The 4 Seasons. The band had two distinct lineups that achieved widespread success: the original featuring Valli, Gaudio, DeVito, and Massi (with that success continuing after Joe Long succeeded Massi in 1965) that recorded hits throughout the 1960s, and a 1970s quintet (sometimes billed as Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons) consisting of Valli, Lee Shapiro, Gerry Polci, Don Ciccone and John Paiva, with Gaudio and Long providing studio support.

MAYBE I’M AMAZED…….that the group used to play primarily in bowling alleys.

MAYBE I’M AMAZED……that Frankie Valli's first commercial release was "My Mother's Eyes" (as Frankie Valley) in 1953. So in effect Frankie Valli has been active for 70 years.

Here is his version from his 1967 album.

MAYBE I’M AMAZED…….that the 4 Seasons hit “Candy Girl” was written by Larry Santos who scored a solo hit with “We Can’t Hide It Anymore” in 1976.

MAYBE I’M AMAZED…….that  the Seasons had more top 20 singles followed in 1965, 1966, and 1967, including "Let's Hang On!", "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" (as the Wonder Who?), "Working My Way Back to You", "Opus 17 (Don't You Worry 'bout Me)", "I've Got You Under My Skin", "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" (released under Valli's name as a "solo" single), "Beggin'" (later covered by Norwegian duo Madcon and Italian band Måneskin), "Tell It to the Rain", "C'mon Marianne", and "I Make a Fool of Myself" (Frankie Valli "solo"). Also, other Crewe/Gaudio songs that did not become hits for either Valli or the Four Seasons became international hits in cover versions, such as "Silence Is Golden" (the Tremeloes) and "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine (Anymore)" (the Walker Brothers). However, 1968's "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" was the band's last top 40 hit for seven years (reaching #24), just after Valli's last "solo" hit of the 1960s, the #29 charted "To Give (The Reason I Live)".

MAYBE I’M AMAZED……that by 1969 , the band's popularity had declined, with public interest moving towards rock with a harder edge and music with more socially conscious lyrics. Aware of that, Bob Gaudio partnered with folk-rock songwriter Jake Holmes to write a concept album titled The Genuine Imitation Life Gazette, which discussed contemporary issues from the band's standpoint, including divorce ("Saturday's Father"),  

and Kinks-style satirical looks at modern life (e.g., "American Crucifixion and Resurrection" and "Genuine Imitation Life"). The decision to create a concept album was a major departure for the group, which Bob Crewe had purposely marketed as a singles act (so much so that the group's early albums were simply the name of a major hit single appended with some variation of "and Other Songs". Then there was the campy "Idaho" cut.

MAYBE I’M AMAZED……In 1975, record sales exploded for both Valli and the Four Seasons as both acts had million-selling singles in the United States ("My Eyes Adored You" hit #1 on the Hot 100 for Valli in March, "Who Loves You" peaked at #3 in November for the band and number 6 in the UK chart). In the United Kingdom, Tamla Motown released "The Night" as a single on the 'Mowest' label and saw it reach the #7 position on the UK Singles Chart. "My Eyes Adored You" was also a top 10 hit in the United Kingdom in February of that year. Valli had his first truly solo hit in the summer of 1975 when the Bob Crewe-produced "Swearin' to God" followed "My Eyes Adored You" into the upper reaches of the Hot 100, peaking at the #6 position and capitalizing on the growing disco craze. The song was released in three forms: the eight-minute album version, the ten-minute extended 12-inch single version, and the four-minute single version. This record featured Patti Austin on bridge vocals before she became well-known. Valli followed this with a discofied #11 hit version of Ruby & the Romantics' "Our Day Will Come", also featuring Austin.were the only band to match the Four Seasons in record sales in the United States.  Frankie Valli was quick to give credit to the Beach Boys when I interviewed him in 1975 after a concert at King’s College. When I asked Valli how he felt having so many hits that countered the British invasion, he quickly retorted by saying “Don’ forget the Beach Boys, Gary Lewis, Sonny and Cher”.

MAYBE I’M AMAZED……In 1984, that in 1984  a long-awaited collaboration between the Four Seasons and the Beach Boys, East Meets West, was released on FBI Records, owned by the Four Seasons Partnership, which included most of the surviving Beach Boys (including Brian Wilson). However, the record did not sell well.

MAYBE I’M AMAZED,......that a A limited-edition 44-disc career box set called "Working Our Way Back to You: The Ultimate Collection" was initially going to be released in the summer of 2021 by The Four Seasons Partnership and Snapper Records,[39] but it missed the release due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the box set was later rescheduled for release on December 9, 2022, before the release date was pushed back to April 14, 2023. The box set was eventually released on June 2, 2023, 

MAYBE I’M AMAZED,…that you can buy that set on Amazon for…………………WAIT FOR IT…..$385.00!!!!

 MAYBE I’M AMAZED…..that after all these years Frankie Valli and a version of the Seasons are still touring. But for a water main break at the F.M. Kirby Center earlier this month, Valli would have played Wilkes Barre again.  The concert as well as the tour is aptly named “The Last Encore”.

  (wikipedia, 590 WARM blog, LuLac archives)