In my Joan Osborne post, I wrote about an age of "radio autonomy". A musician who I saw later in March was connected to my music listening from before that developmental imputus. With parents born in the 1950's ("baby boomers", as we call them in the United States), I grew up listening to WBGB Oldies 103.3. That, with additional albums such as "Thriller", "Glass Houses", Innocent Man". "River of Dreams", "Rod Stewart Unplugged", Springsteen's first two "Born" albums, a Jimmy Buffett boxset, and key figures in the 70's folk singer/songwriter movement. Ironically, I was the one who introduced my mom to the original Abbey Road recording of James Taylor's "Carolina in My Mind", and Carole King's "Out in the Cold" (which didn't make the original cut for 1971's "Tapestry" album). I digress. The programming for Oldies 103.3 had a strong focus on on music from the late 50's, early 60's, and mid 60's. The radio station's programming format would follow some musicians' discographies further into the 60's, while avoiding the more experimental and heavy songs. No early music from the Scorpions, Judas Priest, or Black Sabbath. Deep dives into surf rock mainly stopped at the Beach Boys, Jan & Dean, and the Ventures' "Walk Don't Run". Much more Beatles material than the Who or the Kinks, and Oldies may have been afraid of Cliff Richard getting confused with Elvis. Limiting as it was, 40 minute drives back from my grandparents' house usually were filled with a the Ronnettes, the Supremes, the Beach Boys, Richie Valens, the Big Bopper, Burt Bacharach songs, and Frankie Valli.
At such a young age, I didn't quite know who Frankie Valli was. I just knew the music, and the band name "the Four Seasons". "Down the Cape" (Cape Cod), I first saw "Grease". I'm not 100% sure, but it could have been through the same cousins who introduced me to "the Labyrinth". That's when I first heard Valli's solo work. I placed a face to the name in 1995 when Jason Marston's Nelson character hired Frankie Valli to sing as an attempt to get D.J. Tanner to choose him over Viper. If those context clues didn't give it away, this was halfway through the final season of "Full House"). The next little Four Seasons touchstone for me would be when Heath Ledger's Verona character sang "You're Just to Good to Be True" to Julia Stiles' Kat in a famously grand gesture. Maybe Heath Ledger's soccer practice serenade helped in some part to get the Four Seasons' story turned into a musical theater production. "Jersey Boys" was initially performed in La Jolla, CA. Then Broadway, London, and on tour. The Broadway show won a Tony award. Seeing Frankie Valli in 2024 tied into seeing S Club the previous month since Jon Lee played Mr. Valli on the West End stage.
I took the train over to Boston's Theater District on a rainy Saturday night. As people were chanting for Frankie and audience members were trying to carefully travel along the balcony aisle, I was taking in the ornate architecture. I drew a few sketches and took some quick photos. I wasn't entirely sure, but if the Wang had similar house rules to the neighboring Shubert and Wilbur theaters, it would probably be prohibited for audience members to photograph or record video footage of the performers. Drawing the performers was particularly challenging since the current incarnation of the Four Seasons (who now sing backup to Frankie Valli) perform dance routines through most of their music numbers. I waited for the "Four Seasons" to hold a pose. The dancing singing group is a tradition dating at least back to 60's r&b groups like the Drifters and the Temptations but extends forward to pop groups like *NSYNC and S Club. The song stylings actually compared so closely to S Club's that it's easy to see how one of their leading men acclimated to a "Jersey Boys" production. That Motown inspired lineation could be compared to how the Crystals and the Ronnettes music (from Phil Spector's Phillies Records) inspired punk bands from the Ramones to the Shang Hi-Los.
At almost 90 years-old, Frankie Valli isn't that animated on stage and he particularly shines when working up the crowd. While welcoming to all audience members, he particularly connect fans who grew up in the 60's and (in a Venn diagram way) the Italian American diaspora. Stemming from the Boston's North End neighborhood, there is still a large community that fits with those two consumer markets. The Jersey Boys rose up doing a boom time for Italian American teen idols. A generation after the Sinatra's "Brat Pack". Annette Funicello was from Utica, New York (also home of the regional dish "riggies"), Dion DiMucci (check out the Regrettes cover of his work) is from the Bronx, Fabian Forte and Frankie Avalon were from Philadelphia (just across the river from Valli). Frankie & Annette famously starred in the Beach Party film series for American International Pictures. Fabian joined Avalon and Funicello for the moonshine running indie stock car movie "Fireball 500". Think of it as being like a Fast Furious of 1967. Automotive races and pre-Smokey & the Bandit alcohol smuggling. In sort of a proto-Brat Pack of their own, Avalon and Valli both appeared in 1978's "Grease". Frankie Avalon and Annette also happened to make guest appearances on Full House in a Beach Party homage. Annette is since passed away, but I would like to thank that the guys still keep in contact with one another.
I took in this show as a celebration of just how impactful Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons have been on pop culture. Beyond Billy Joel's homage in "Uptown Girl", Ledger's cover, and the S Club comparison, "Bye Bye Baby" was a huge realization for me. Immediately, it me brought me back to the funeral at the beginning of "Love Actually". Liam Neeson's character refers to the Bay City Rollers (likely out of respect to the band's coming from the UK), I have a strong feeling that the Four Seasons' releasing the original version in 1965 may have been more impactful in Neeson's generation connecting with the tune. I also had no idea how far back the song "Stay" tracked. I knew it mostly for being coupled with "the Load-Out" by Jackson Browne (with David Lindley singing in falsetto). The Four Seasons' version from the 60's Valli performing in that integral role. This song traces back another decade to Maurice Williams (the original songwriter) and his band the Zodiacs. Henry Gaston providing that original falsetto.
That sums up my experience of seeing Frankie Valli, his current Four Seasons lineup and the backing band live. Personally, I feel like it is a show to take in at least once. It was important to honor and recognize the contributions that Valli and his group have made to pop culture, to recognize where his music was largely inspired, and to see where that traction continues into younger music acts. It's like how Elton John's 2022 setlist included his collaboration with Dua Lipa. At the age of 89, Valli's voice hasn't aged as well as Rob Halford's or Leonard Cohen's, but I'd definitely recommend seeing him perform.
Til Next time readers.
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