The Four Seasons, the #57 Artist of the Rock Era, Part One

"Long live the Four Seasons!"

"They were simply amazing."

"These men had #1 songs when the Beatles were at their height. That's impressive."

"They have a dynomite discography."

"Some of the greatest music ever."

"The real deal of amazing talent and genuine sound."

"Sheer magic."

"Their harmony never fails to knock me out!"

"I have seen them four times and they are always impressive!"

"One of the best bands of the '60s."

"Super harmonies!"

This legendary group can be traced to the group the Variatones, formed by lead singer Frankie Valli and guitarist Tommy DeVito.  The Variatones eventually became known as the Four Lovers and enjoyed the hit "You're The Apple Of My Eye" in 1956.  Bassist Nick Massi joined them around this time.  

The group wasn't able to generate any further success, but they continued to perform in clubs and lounges under 18 different stage names for their act.  In 1958, Charles Calello replaced Massi.

In 1959, the group began an association with songwriter and producer Bob Crewe, who helped transform them into superstars.  Later in the year, the Four Lovers performed with the Royal Teens, who enjoyed a big hit with "Short Shorts", co-written by then-15-year-old Bob Gaudio.  Gaudio joined the Four Lovers on keyboards and guitar, and Massi returned to the group the next year on bass, with Calello staying on as the band's arranger.

In 1960, the group was turned down for a gig at the bowling alley in Union Township, New Jersey known as the Four Seasons.  After some discussion, the Four Lovers decided they liked that name better and changed to the Four Seasons.

 

The group continued to record and do session work for Crewe and his recording label, Topix Records.  The Four Seasons' first single did not chart, but the group felt they had something with a Gaudio song called "Sherry".  Valli convinced Randy Wood, West coast sales manager of Vee-Jay Records, to take the song to executives of the company.  They loved it, and Crewe signed a deal for his production company to allow Vee-Jay to release the single.  This brilliant example of falsetto harmony rose all the way to #1, where it stayed for five weeks, and sold over one million copies.

 

In 1962, the Four Seasons released their first album, Sherry & 11 Others, which yielded another big hit--"Big Girls Don't Cry" also topped the chart for five weeks and went Gold.  

 

The group scored their third #1 with "Walk Like A Man", which presided at the top for three weeks.  In five months, the group had already accumulated 13 weeks at #1.  With their rich harmonies led by the incomparable Valli and thick production, the Four Seasons had a sound completely unique at the time and they had become one of the top groups in the world.

"Candy Girl" followed later in the year to reach #3.

The Four Seasons were arguably the top group in the world, with the Beach Boys being their closest rivals.  But the success of the Four Seasons didn't translate to success for Vee-Jay, who experienced cash flow problems as a result of not being able to handle the demand for a few early Beatles singles on their label.

By 1964, the Four Seasons' success wasn't matched by payments from Vee-Jay, and after a court battle, the group switched to Phillips, a division of Mercury Records.

 

The group released "Dawn (Go Away)" as their first single for their new label.  With "Dawn", the group had taken the best the Beatles had in 1964 and unlike hundreds of their counterparts, the Four Seasons were still standing.  It will forever be remembered that in that famous week in 1964 when the Beatles held down four of the Top Five hits, it was the Four Seasons that provided the sole competition with "Dawn" at #3.

 

The follow-up, "Stay", a remake of the song by Maurice Williams & the Zodiacs, stalled at #16.

 

But the Four Seasons were back with "Ronnie", which hit #6.

After Beatlemania hit, it destroyed nearly all of the then-popular artists in its wake.  The Four Seasons and the Beach Boys are two of the only notable exceptions.  Vee-Jay, which still had the rights to Four Seasons recordings with them, issued a double album The Beatles vs. the Four Seasons:  The International Battle of the Century!, which was a repackaging of the albums Introducing...The Beatles and Golden Hits of the Four Seasons.  If you own that album today, it is worth a decent amount of money.

 

"Rag Doll" became one of the band's biggest career hits, going to #1 against that wave of hits from the Beatles and others, and selling over one million singles.

 

The Four Seasons racked up their fourth Top 10 of the year with "Save It For Me".

 

Later in the year, the group released the single "Big Man In Town", a worthy song despite peaking at #20.

Hear the rest of this sensational group in Part Two!