The story of the Jersey Boys is the story of the Four Seasons. Frankie Valli released a song, My Mothers Eyes in 1953 as Frankie Valley. In 1954, he and guitarist Tommy DeVito formed The Variatones, which evolved into The Four Lovers. All this occurred in Newark, New Jersey. This photo was taken in 1954, with Valli to the left and DeVito in the middle. The third person is Hank Majewski.
The novelty was Frankie Valli's falsetto. Hawaiian music has long featured this form of singing, but Valli made it okay to sing pop music, with many others subsequently following.
Of course, this is not new, for the use of falsetto has been traced back to the Middle Ages, and the Tokens had a hit in 1961 for The Lion Sleeps Tonight, first made popular by the Weavers in 1951 as Wimoweh, a 1939 African song.
In 1959 the band began working with producer/songwriter Bob Crewe (on the right) when Valli was 25 years old. The Four Lovers that year performed in Baltimore on the same stage as the Royal Teens, who had a hit, Short Shorts, co-written by 15-year old Bob Gaudio, who was the Royal Teens' keyboardist. By 1960 Gaudio joined The Four Lovers, including Nick Massi.
In 1960 the four of them failed an audition at a bowling alley in New Jersey. Being rejected, they began arguing about their name. All of a sudden, the previously broken neon sign lit up, The Four Seasons, the name of the bowling alley. Cheesy, but that's how they got their name.
The Four Seasons failed to get a hit and merely backed up others. In 1961 Gaudio wrote Sherry in 15 minutes, and Crewe was able to sign a deal with Vee-Jay, a company which only had black singers. Released in 1962 in an album, the song rose to #1. Quickly followed were two other #1 hits, Big Girls Don't Dry and Walk Like a Man, written by Gaudio and Crewe. They performed Big Girls Don't Cry on American Bandstand in 1962. From 1962 to early 1964 The Four Seasons and Beach Boys led the nation in record sales.
Then came the British Invasion led by Beatlemania, and The Four Seasons just could not get to #1. By 1969 the band's popularity had declined, and they joined Motown. Without any big hits, Frankie Valli became a single, and the others began touring, mostly without Valli. The Four Seasons Story, a two-record a compilation of 1962-70 hits, reached gold.
In 1975 record sales were booming, as both Valli and The Four Seasons had hits, with My Eyes Adore You by Valli hitting #1. The band never really had a monster hit without Valli's falsetto. Valli again hit #1 with the Grease single in 1978. By the early '80's they combined again into Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, but the disco era was a problem for them.
In 1984 they all collaborated with The Beach Boys, singing East Meets West. Did not do well. They kept touring. In 2003 Valli revamped the group with others and toured for 15 years.
There have been versions of performers playing The Four Seasons and The Beach Boys as tours. Here is one.
Bob Gaudio began the push to make a jukebox musical, which in 2004 premiered in San Diego as Jersey Boys, and quickly moved to Broadway in 2005. Ran for a dozen years into 2017. In 2006 Jersey Boys won four Tony Awards. Various tours materialized, originating in 2006, and continuing to today.
The show had a Rashomon effect, for the members gave contradicting versions of their past. Tony Devito's story dominated, incorporating jail times, the Mafia and all that went sordid even though they were successful.
Clint Eastwood directed Jersey Boys in 2014, a musical drama film based on the Broadway show. Frankie Valli and Bob Gaudio served as executive producers. Read all about it here. Rotten Tomatoes did not like it, with 51/62 ratings. Can be seen on Peacock.
All of that is introduction to my experience with Jersey Boys. It was in June of 2011, I was in Las Vegas, and decided to go see the show. It was playing in the Palazzo, and at the entrance of the theater was Table 10, an Emeril Lagasse restaurant.
With the house red wine and a Louisiana beer, I had duck fat french fries, a fancy salad, roasted beef marrow bones with sauteed spinach and a bowl of chicken/andouille sausage gumbo. What a meal, bringing back memories of my time in Cajun country.
In addition to the songs (40 hits), Jersey Boys actually had a storyline, for the Four Seasons (named after a bowling alley) went through 14 name changes and constant turmoil, beginning in 1953, when Frankie Valli (Francesco Stephen Castelluccio) released his first single, My Mother's Eyes, at the age of 9. He grew up in a neighborhood where the Mob boss was like a father to him. Joe Pesci (yes, the actor) was a key linkage, for he brought in Bob Gaudio (who was all of 15 then), and wrote most of the songs. The Four Lovers was one of their early quartets. The relationship between Valli and Gaudio was on a handshake, and they remain good friends today, sharing half of what each makes.
Actually, that was not why I am posting on Jersey Boys. We just went to the show in Honolulu, with first, dinner at Doraku, located across the street from the Neil Blaisdell Center.
We began with an assortment of appetizers. I had hot sake and cold beer. Noticed next to us someone drinking a flight of Japanese whiskies. Three ounces or so I think cost around $50. I'll try that the next time I'm here.
That last one was a close-up of what I don't remember. Then we ordered a rack of lamb, which was the highlight dish.
Off to Jersey Boys.
Note that the two seats in front of us are unoccupied. Amazingly enough, no one showed up, so we had the perfect seats.
Very enjoyable combination of meal and show.
Hurricane Fiona was said to be the most intense ocean storm to ever strike Canada. Surprisingly, there was only minimal damage, and no deaths. However, Tropical Storm Ian will become a hurricane, make landfall over Cuba on Tuesday as a Category 3 and head towards the western portion of Florida. If you live in New Orleans, you should be a bit concerned, for one model sees the track leaning towards the Panhandle.
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