Frankie Valli’s Still A Big Man in Town
March 18th, 2006Reporter Paul Liberator of the Marin Independent Journal provides an insightful interview with legendary Four Seasons leader Frankie Valli. Valli talks about his forty-plus years of success in the music business; his four-decade partnership with original Four Seasons member Bob Gaudio; his guest role in the hit HBO series “The Sopranos,†and the smash hit Broadway musical Jersey Boys that tells the story of the Four Seasons.
Even though Valli is over 70, he continues to play up to 100 concert dates a year, singing the dozens of hits including “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Rag Doll,” and “Walk Like a Man. ” Reflecting on his success, Valli says,
“When you’ve had a lot of hits, it’s impossible to cover all of them. It’s exciting to know that there’s a whole generation of people who see you as being a part of their life.”
Gaudio’s songs and the struggles that he and Valli and the other group members went through on their way to selling 100 million records inspired Jersey Boys, the Broadway smash that that Broadway.com calls “a knockout.â€
Although it was “strange†at first for Valli to see someone playing his life on stage, he feels that Broadway newcomer John Lloyd Young does a good job and “adds a dimension to it that’s his own.â€
What about Valli’s future? Good news for Valli fans—looks like he’s not quite ready to retire. He states,
“Tony Bennett is in his 80s; Sinatra sang until he was 79. I’m sure Pavarotti will be singing in his 80s and 90s, if he lives that long. You do it until you know you shouldn’t anymore.”
