June 30, 2010

Reflections from Frankie Valli

June 30th, 2010

Legendary performer Frankie Valli recently sat down with Michael Kay after Yankees Post Game. Here’s a preview to the interview:

On how he got the name “Valli” and how his dad ‘Italianized’ it…:

Frankie Valli: I did my first record when I was about 16 years old. It was one of these nights, I went into a place and got up and sang. And there was this country singer, a girl singer. Her name was Texas Jean Valli. So she heard me sing and came to me after I got off and said, “Hey,” she said, “You sing really good,” she says, “Do you do anything, or is anybody managing you or anything?” I said, “No no, I just manage.” She says, “I would like to take you to New York and let you meet some people, some friends of mine.” So she did, and she told this guy that I was her brother. And the guy she brought me to was a publisher-a music publisher. His name was Paul Kapp. His brother was Dave Kapp from the Dave Kapp Records. They are the people that brought Decca Records to America.

Anyway, he signed me to a contract, I did a record. I did an old Georgie Jessel song, My Mother’s Eyes. And, in the metropolitan area, a lot of disc jockeys were playing it. But this manager, when he found out that my name was Castelluccio, he said, “Oh, that’s too long,” he says, “Forget that.” And he says, “Let’s, use Valli.” So Valli, now with the record, was established and there was no real reason to change it. Now, in the interim, while I was still going out and trying to get a record deal, different producers would change my name. But I always worked as Frankie Valli. And my father was already annoyed with the fact that it wasn’t Castelluccio. He says, “What kind of name is Valley, V A L L E Y?” you know? And, and he was really leaning on me with it, so he shortened it and made it Italian.

Visit YesNetwork.com to read the full interview with Frankie Valli.

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