A little history about a lot of legend: Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons

I know what you’re thinking.

“For a figure skating blog, you sure write a lot about music.”

Well, today is going to be no different but I promise that tomorrow, I will focus on figure skating. It’s just that today, I haven’t spent any time with the skaters – they’ve been out on the ice since 9:30am at the Sears Center rehearsing for the “Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons Tribute on Ice,” in Chicago so I can’t exactly report back on their antics.

Wait – I’ve got a little tidbit about figure skating!! I did sit down with costume designer Denis Pizzacalla and ask him a question that’s been on my mind – “What happens with all those stunning figure skating outfits when the show is over?” (and most importantly, is there any way I could get one in a size 4? I feel that it would be great to have one in my costume box in case of an emergency – is that weird?) Denis said that he takes them home with him and tries to recycle them or make other costumes out of them. It felt wrong to ask if I could get one, so I didn’t. But it’s good to know where they end up. It’s great that they make more than one appearance out on the ice.

Since Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons are headlining the upcoming show this weekend, I’m going to fill you in on a few fun facts about Frankie. Tickets can still be purchased by clicking here. Again, this makes for great pub trivia game questions, so don’t miss this:

Frankie’s real name (it’s a mouthful!): Francis Stephen Castelluccio

Frankie’s real age: When The Four Seasons finally made it, their age was something of an embarrassment. They were a good ten years older than The Beach Boys. The record companies thought no teenagers would listen to a band in their thirties. Valli was 28 when "Sherry" became a hit, and the record company thought it would be better if he were considered 25, so his age was changed. (The Internet Movie Database)

There are about a million hits to go over starting with 29 Top 40 hits and five number one hits with the Four Seasons including “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Walk Like a Man,” “Rag Doll,” and “December, 1963 (oh, What a Night).” As a solo artist, Frankie had nine Top 40 hits and two number one hits, “My Eyes Adored You,” and “Grease.” His best known solo recording maxed out at number two in 1967, “Can’t Take My Eyes of You” which confuses me a little bit. How can you have number one hits, yet your best known recording top out at number two? Hmmm....(Wikipedia)

More recently, Frankie and his music made appearances on The Sopranos. His Web site says, “The characters often spout their admiration for Frankie Valli. Tony Soprano bragged that he used the same florist as Frankie. And Frankie himself, in an acting role, guest-starred in Seasons 5 and 6 of The Sopranos as mobster Rusty Millio – until Rusty’s unfortunate demise in a hail of bullets.”

Frankie grew up in a public housing project—Stephen Crane Village—on the tough streets of Newark, New Jersey. As the character of Tommy DeVito, Frankie’s friend and fellow Four Season, says in Jersey Boys: “If you’re from my neighborhood, you got three ways out: You could join the army. You could get mobbed up. Or—you could become a star.” At an early age, Frankie chose Door No. 3. When he was seven, his mother took him to New York City’s Paramount Theater to see Frank Sinatra. “I saw Sinatra coming out on stage,” Frankie recalls, “and the way he was lit up, it was like he had an aura around him. I decided then and there that’s what I was going to do—be a successful singer.”

If you consider five decades of timeless hits and cameo invitations on popular tv shows 'success,' than yes, Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons have 'made it.' Now let's see if they can deliver the kind of show that we have come to expect from our favorite figure skaters!