Frankie Valli
Frankie Valli
Frankie Valliis an American popular singer, known as the frontman of The Four Seasons beginning in 1960. He is known for his unusually powerful falsetto voice...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionPop Singer
Date of Birth3 May 1934
CityNewark, NJ
CountryUnited States of America
close possibly strange
I think he's as close as I could possibly imagine, ... But it's still a strange feeling. At first it was very uncomfortable, and then you kind of get used to it.
grew life organised
Where I grew up, in New Jersey, there was a lot of organised crime activity. It was a part of life.
came echo groups hall hang jobs locker people pool reached room
At school, I'd sing in groups in the locker room or in the bathroom, which was like an echo chamber. The problem is I didn't know how to get started singing professionally. The pool hall was my Facebook. I'd hang out there to keep up with what was going on and to let people know where I could be reached if singing jobs came up.
band chords cool emerson four groups harmony individual jazz late loved musicians night radio stan swing vocal
When I was a kid, I used to listen to my Emerson radio late at night under the covers. I started by listening to jazz in the late 1940s and then vocal harmony groups like the Four Freshmen, the Modernaires and the Hi-Lo's. I loved Stan Kenton's big band - with those dark chords and musicians who could swing cool with individual sounds.
apartment cars close family heat hot late lined lived remember rooms train
If I close my eyes, I can remember the first apartment where I lived with my family in Newark, N.J., in the late 1930s. The rooms were lined up like train cars - you had to go through one to get to another - and there wasn't any heat or hot water.
fear high jersey kids people seen stay
I'd seen so many people become stagnant in New Jersey - I had this fear I'd just stay there. They'd come out of high school, get a job, get married, have kids and die in Jersey. I wanted more.
flair gaga jackson madonna michael respect whatever
I think Lady Gaga is talented. Madonna is talented, and the flair that Michael Jackson had. He was talented! Whatever it is that they do, they must be doing something right. They do have an audience out there, so I respect that.
apartment cold corner harmony lake lobby mom near paid park rent singing standing starting
Starting in my teens, I was always standing on the corner near our apartment singing harmony with friends. We'd also go to the park and sing under the bridge near the lake for the echo. When it was cold out, we'd stand in the little heated lobby in the project's administration building, where my mom paid the rent each month.
became delivered early home learn lived projects school time until wholesale work worked
I went to school to learn to be a hairdresser. I worked at a wholesale florist, where I delivered to florists all over New Jersey. I'd come home and go out to work down at the Shore. The early jobs, I remember, were $5, $6 a night. And I lived in the projects right until the time I became successful.
felt happened instance learned life people sang sing
I learned by listening to other people sing and doing impressions of them. And there are things no one can ever teach you, like phrasing. By listening to Sinatra, for instance - you felt that everything he sang had happened in his life.
maybe meant people
People don't get married to get divorced. Maybe people weren't meant to be together forever.
love
I don't play golf or tennis, I don't ski, I don't snowboard. If you love what you do, you never get enough of it.
audience believe forgot hits people reaction top
I have to believe that most people know that 'Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You' is my song. But the reaction we get from the audience at 'Jersey Boys' is that they didn't remember how many hits we had. A lot of 'Oh yeah, I forgot they did that song.' We had 20 Top 10 hits in the U.S... people forget.
business came creativity fact great grown influenced listened lyrics magical music rock songs time
The '60s was a magical time in the music business. So much creativity and talent. I think a lot of it came from the fact that we had grown up before rock n' roll. We listened to all the great songwriters and big bands, songs with great lyrics and melodies. I think that really influenced everybody.