Frankie Valli

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Frankie Valli (2012)

Frankie Valli (* 3. May 1934 in Newark , New Jersey ; actually Francis Stephen Castelluccio ) is an American rock and pop - singer , who primarily as head of the Four Seasons became known. His falsetto singing, which is unusually high in many songs, is very striking .

Life

Frankie Valli (2013)

Francis Castellucio chose his stage name after the hillbilly singer Jean Valli, who supported him in his youth and took him to auditions. His singing career began in 1952 with a recording contract with the Mercury Records label Corona . In the following year he released his solo debut single My Mother's Eye under the name Frankie Valley , which, like its successor Forgive and Forget, hardly achieved any commercial success. Then he joined the Variety Trio , which was renamed Variatones and in 1956 with a record deal with RCA Victor to the Four Lovers with Valli as lead singer. This quartet was renamed The Four Seasons in 1962 . Valli is the main voice on all of the band's recordings and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the band in 1990. In the 2004 musical Jersey Boys , his person is one of the main characters.

In addition to his work with the Four Seasons, Valli began to publish solo productions in the mid-1960s. At the end of 1965, (You're Gonna) Hurt Yourself, the first single released under his own name, was released. After all, it reached number 39 in the pop charts. He worked with Bob Crewe , who as a songwriter and producer was also responsible for the success of the Four Seasons. In his own publications he renounced the falsetto singing, which he used at the Four Seasons, and accompanying harmony singing. After The Proud One , which appeared in 1966 and made it into the bottom half of the Top 100, the greater success came in 1967. Can't Take My Eyes off You reached number 2 in the US singles charts and was awarded gold as a million seller .

A month later, Valli's debut solo album, Frankie Valli: Solo , was released, followed by Timeless in 1968. Half & Half was released in 1970, half of which featured recordings from the Four Seasons and half of Valli's solo productions. In the next three years Valli then completely concentrated on the band again. The band's days only came to an end in 1974 when they left Motown . He signed with a new label and recorded his second big hit single, My Eyes Adored You . In 1975 he not only reached number 1 in the USA , but also made it into the top 5 in the British charts . The single was his second million seller in the USA.

This was followed by more recordings with the Four Seasons, but he faded into the background until he parted ways with the band in autumn 1977 after a farewell tour, which split up two years later. This was followed in 1978 by his internationally successful single Grease , the title track from the musical film with John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John . The song was written by Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees . The song was his second US number one hit . In America he sold two million copies, in Great Britain half a million copies and in Switzerland and Germany it was the only one of his solo songs in the charts. But it was also his last big hit. In the late 1970s, he had health problems and was struggling with otosclerosis , a disease that attacked his hearing.

In the 1980s there was a reunification with the Four Seasons, with whom he subsequently continued to perform and tour. As an actor he appeared in the recurring role Rusty Millio in the mafia series The Sopranos . In 2007, after 27 years, he released a solo album with 60s hits under the title Romancing the '60s , with which he returned to the US album charts. He was involved as executive producer on the musical version Jersey Boys , which was released in 2014 . He himself was portrayed in this film by John Lloyd Young .

In 2008, Rolling Stone listed Valli 80th of the 100 best singers of all time .

Solo discography

For publications with the Four Seasons see The Four Seasons / Discography .

Albums

year title Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements
(Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) 		Remarks
US US
1967 Frankie Valli - Solo US34 (23 weeks)
US
1968 Timeless US176 (5 weeks)
US
1970 Half & Half US190 (2 weeks)
US
half contains recordings with the Four Seasons
1975 Closeup US51 (28 weeks)
US
Our Day Will Come US107 (8 weeks)
US
Frankie Valli Gold US132 (8 weeks)
US
Best of album
1978 Frankie Valli… Is the Word US160 (7 weeks)
US
2007 Romancing the '60s US167 (2 weeks)
US

Singles

year Title
album 		Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) 		Remarks
DE DE CH CH UK UK US US
1966 (You're gonna) hurt yourself
 - - - US39 (7 weeks)
US
Authors: Charles Calello, Bob Crewe
The Proud One
 - - - US68 (6 weeks)
US
Authors: Bob Crewe, Bob Gaudio
1967 Can't Take My Eyes off You
 - - - US2
gold
gold

(16 weeks)US
Authors: Bob Crewe, Bob Gaudio
I Make a Fool of Myself
 - - - US18 (8 weeks)
US
Authors: Bob Crewe, Bob Gaudio
To Give (The Reason I Live)
 - - - US28 (8 weeks)
US
Authors: Bob Crewe, Bob Gaudio
1969 The Girl I'll Never Know (Angels Never Fly This Low)
 - - - US52 (7 weeks)
US
Authors: L. Russell Brown, Raymond Bloodworth
1970 You're ready now
 - - UK11 (13 weeks)
UK 		-
Authors: Bob Crewe, Bob Gaudio published
in USA as early as 1966
1974 My eyes adored you
 - - UK5
silver
silver

(11 weeks)UK 		US1
gold
gold

(23 weeks)US
Authors: Bob Crewe, Kenny Nolan
1975 Swearin 'to God
 - - UK31 (5 weeks)
UK 		US6 (14 weeks)
US
Authors: Bob Crewe, Denny Randell
Our Day Will Come
 - - - US11 (12 weeks)
US
Original: Ruby & the Romantics (1963 number 1 in USA)
Authors: Bob Hilliard, Mort Garson
1976 Fallen Angel
 - - UK11 (7 weeks)
UK 		US36 (8 weeks)
US
Authors: Guy Fletcher, Doug Flett
We're all alone
 - - - US78 (3 weeks)
US
Author: Boz Scaggs
1978 Grease
 DE24 (10 weeks)
DE 		CH7 (8 weeks)
CH 		UK3
gold
gold

(14 weeks)UK 		US1
platinum
platinum

(22 weeks)US
Theme song of the film Grease ; Author: Barry Gibb
1979 Fancy dancer
 - - - US77 (4 weeks)
US
Authors: L. Russell Brown, Bob Crewe
Where Did We Go Wrong
 - - - US90 (4 weeks)
US
Authors: Richard Kerr, Marty Panzer
with Chris Forde
1991 Grease - The Dream Mix
 - - UK47 (2 weeks)
UK 		-
Remix by Phil Harding & Ian Curnow
with John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John

gray hatching : no chart data available for this year

More singles

  • My Mother's Eye (1953, as Frankie Valley)
  • Forgive and Forget (1954, as Frankie Valley)
  • I Go Ape (1958, as Frankie Tyler)
  • The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine (Anymore) (1965, a hit with the Walker Brothers a year later)
  • You've Got Your Troubles (1970, hit Fortunes in 1965 )
  • Circles in the Sand (1970)
  • Love Isn't Here (Like It Used to Be) (1972)
  • The Scalawag Song (And I Will Love You) (1973)
  • Life and Breath (1976)
  • Boomerang (1977)
  • Easily (1977)
  • Second Thoughts (1977)
  • I Need You (1977)
  • Rainstorm (1977)
  • Save Me, Save Me (1978)
  • Heaven Above Me (1980)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Biography on Frankie Vallie's website. Retrieved August 2, 2014.
  2. ↑ a b c Chart sources: DE CH UK US
  3. ↑ 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. Rolling Stone , December 2, 2010, accessed August 9, 2017 .
  4. ↑ US singles: Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-2006. Billboard Books, New York 2007, ISBN 0-89820-172-1 . / US albums: The Billboard Albums by Joel Whitburn , 6th Edition, Record Research 2006, ISBN 0-89820-166-7 .
  5. ↑ Gold / platinum awards: US (RIAA) UK (BPI, database search)
  6. ↑ Grease - The Dream Mix (Frankie Valli, John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John) from Discogs, accessed on May 21, 2017
personal data
SURNAME Valli, Frankie
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Castelluccio, Francis Stephen (real name); Valley, Frankie (another pseudonym)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American pop singer
DATE OF BIRTH May 3, 1934
PLACE OF BIRTH Newark , New Jersey , United States