4 Reasons to See Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons at Wind Creek This Weekend

In a culture that still clings to the myth of Horatio Alger, the rags-to-riches story is almost a dime. After all, with enough guts and determination, any child in America can grow up to be the President of the United States, a self-made millionaire, or a successful reality show star.

One such success story is The Four Seasons. Four working-class kids started singing doo-wop on street corners, spent months in jail for attempted robbery, and then became a chart-topping vocal group. It was celebrated with the mega-hit musical ‘Jersey Boys’.

During its 10-year run on Broadway, “Jersey Boys” grossed over $2 billion at the box office, won several Tony Awards, and inspired Clint Eastwood’s feature film of the same name. It also ensures Frankie Valli’s penetrating falsetto on his No. 1 hits on the ’60s pop charts like “Rag Doll,” “Walk Like a Man,” and “Big Girls Don’t Cry.” It started ringing. It’s been heard for decades.

Subsequent forays into disco like “December 1963 (Oh, What a Night)” — Frankie Valli solo singles like “These Eyes Adored You”, Bob Gaudio with Neil Diamond (Four Seasons) keyboardist/backing vocalist) and Barba Streisand – making it easy to characterize the music of the Four Seasons as a throwback to a bygone era that has little or no relevance here and now.

But that would be wrong. Ultimately, the Four Seasons’ mainstream success wasn’t as obvious as the musical risks they took along the way, many of which didn’t pay off. With that in mind, honoring Four Seasons as a preview for Frankie Valli, here are the Four Seasons shows taking place Saturday at 8pm at the Wind Creek Event Center.

1. Genuine imitation life gazette

This 1969 album looked and sounded nothing like what the world had come to expect from Four Seasons. The original cover mimicked the front page of a newspaper with the banner headline “American Crucifixion and Resurrection,” with articles under the fold such as “The Human Torch Has Anxiety” and “Tomorrow’s News Summary.” There was an eight-page “newspaper”. ‘ inside. Aside from the oft-overlooked “Four Seasons Edition” in the top right corner of the masthead, the cover gives no indication of who the actual recording artist is.

The included songs don’t offer many clues either. Just five years ago, he had a band that topped the pop charts with “Dawn (Go Away).” / Now think about what the future will be / with a poor boy like me.

Compare that to the opening line of “American Crucifixion.” “

In addition to civil rights and anti-war lyrics, the album boasts innovative chamber pop arrangements and gorgeous vocal harmonies, rivaling The Beach Boys’ “Pet Sounds” at its finest moments. No wonder Brian Wilson and John Lennon both counted it among their favorite albums.

2. Chameleon

Four Seasons signed to Motown for this aptly titled 1972 album, taking Motor City sound in previously unexplored directions. A must-hear track is “The Night,” a bass-heavy single that could be mistaken for virtually German trance-his band Can, at least until the group’s trademark harmonies break in at his half-hour mark. is.

The single did not chart in the US, but became an underground hit in the UK’s northern soul scene, with dance club deejays taped white labels to record singles and what rival crate diggers played. I tried not to know if it was there. Almost three years after him, “The Night” reached his No. 7 spot on the UK Singles Chart. It has since been covered by Lene Lovich, Soft Cell and Pulp.

3. Watertown

It’s not on the Four Seasons playlist, mainly because it hasn’t been recorded by Four Seasons.

A deeply moving series of songs with stories I won’t spoil here, Sinatra’s best albums, his most enduring contributions to American culture, and his “only truly felt.” Chance” was selected by “The Paris Review”. A listener hundreds of years from now. At this point, Sinatra owned over 50 of his albums. This is the first time he hasn’t made the top 100.

4. Can’t Take My Eyes Off You

The fourth reason I respect America’s most famous white vocal groups is because they have a soul. “Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You” — a 1967 single written and produced by Gaudio and Bob Crewe, released under the name Frankie Valli — features the likes of Isaac Hayes and Aretha It has been covered by nearly 200 artists, from Franklin to Nancy Wilson.Lauryn Hill

So you have it. If you’re still not convinced The Four Seasons is worth taking seriously, that’s fine. But you are missing.

Bill Forman is a freelance writer.