Frankie Valli is a famous Italian American singer who is best known as the frontman for The Four Seasons. He was particularly famous during the 1960s and 1970s and it was during this era that he and his group had many number one hits. Here are some more interesting facts about this talented Italian-American.
- Francesco Stephen Castelluccio was born in Newark, new Jersey, on May 3, 1934.
- He is the eldest of three sons born to Mary Rinaldi and Anthony Castelluccio.
- Before becoming a singer, Frankie Valli worked as a barber.
- Frank Sinatra was the inspiration for Valli becoming a performer. At the age of seven, Valli’s mother took him to the theater to watch Sinatra and he knew straight away that he wanted a musical career.
- Valley thought his birth name was too long so he decided to change it. He chose the surname Valley after singer Texas Jean Valley. To make his name more Italian, he then changed the spelling to Valli.
- The Four Seasons was originally called The Four Lovers.
- The members of The Four Seasons were Frankie Valli, Nick Massi, Tommy DeVito, and Bob Gaudio.
- It was Joe Pesci, the actor, who introduced Frankie Valli to Bob Gaudio.
- The Four Seasons hit ‘Rag Doll’ was the inspiration behind Billy Joel’s ‘Uptown Girl’ which told a follow-up flip-side story.
- Between 1982 and 1978, Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons sold over 100 million records.
- Frankie Valli also had a minor acting career and appeared in several TV series.
- Valli was married three times and had a stepdaughter, a daughter, and three sons. His stepdaughter died in 1980 when she fell from a fire escape and his other daughter died from a drug overdose just six months later.
Sources:
- Main Image: James Seddon on Unsplash
