Happy Birthday, Bob Gaudio!!
November 17th, 2005On November 17, 1942, original Four Seasons member Bob Gaudio was born. He shot to musical fame at the age of 15 as a member of the Royal Teens when he wrote the hit “Short Shorts”. Following a chance meeting organized by Joe Pesci (yes, the actor), Gaudio teamed up with Frankie Valli, Tommy DeVito, and Nick Massi, all from Newark, New Jersey, forming the group that eventually became the Four Seasons.
Gaudio played keyboards and wrote the Seasons’ first hit, “Sherry”, in 1962. Together with producer Bob Crewe, Gaudio wrote a string of subsequent ’60s hits for the Seasons, including “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Walk Like a Man,” “Rag Doll,” “Save It For Me,” “Bye Bye Baby” and, of course Valli’s first monster solo hit, “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You”.
Gaudio was instrumental in launching “Jersey Boys”, a musical play based on the lives of The Four Seasons, ran from October 2004 through January 2005 (being held over 3 times!!) at the La Jolla Playhouse and is now a major Broadway smash!!
