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the Four Seasons
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the Four Seasons
the Four Seasons The Four Seasons (clockwise from top): Bob Gaudio, Tommy DeVito, Frankie Valli, and Nick Massi, 1966.

the Four Seasons

American music group
Also known as: the Four Lovers
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Britannica Editors
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the Four Seasons, American rock-and-roll group that was among the best-selling recording artists of the early and mid-1960s. Best remembered for lead singer Frankie Valli’s soaring falsetto, the Four Seasons had a string of more than 25 hits over a five-year period that began with “Sherry” in 1962. The principal members were Frankie Valli (original name Francis Castelluccio; b. May 3, 1937, Newark, New Jersey, U.S.), Tommy DeVito (b. June 19, 1928, Belleville, New Jersey—d. September 21, 2020, Henderson, Nevada), Bob Gaudio (b. November 17, 1942, New York, New York), and Nick Massi (original name Nicholas Macioci; b. September 19, 1935, Newark—d. December 24, 2000, West Orange, New Jersey).

Evolved from a Newark vocal group called the Varietones and briefly known as the Four Lovers, the Four Seasons developed a harmony-based style that shared Italian American doo-wop origins with Dion and the Belmonts. Keyboard player Gaudio, along with producer Bob Crewe, became the group’s chief songwriter as the Four Seasons cranked out rhythm-and-blues and rock-and-roll hits, first for Vee Jay and then for Philips Records. Among the top-10 hits from the group’s golden period were “Sherry” (1962), “Big Girls Don’t Cry” (1962), “Walk Like a Man” (1963), “Dawn (Go Away)” (1964), and “Let’s Hang On!” (1965). Valli, who possessed a three-octave range, began a parallel solo career with the hit “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” (1967). His popularity and that of the group declined in the late 1960s but rebounded in the mid-1970s when Valli had number one singles with “My Eyes Adored You” (1975) and “Grease” (1978), while the Four Seasons had hits with “Who Loves You” and “December 1963 (Oh What a Night)” (both 1975) before being relegated to the oldies circuit.

The story of the Four Seasons was dramatized in the long-running Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Jersey Boys (2006; film 2014). The Four Seasons were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.