The Four Seasons were an American pop and rock band formed in 1960 in Newark, New Jersey. Since 1970, they have also been known at times as Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. They are one of the best-selling musical groups of all time, having sold an estimated 100 million records worldwide.
The Four Seasons were founded in 1960 when singer Frankie Valli and guitarist Tommy DeVito, the two remaining members of the 1950s novelty act The Four Lovers, joined forces with The Royal Teens keyboardist Bob Gaudio and with Valli's friend, bassist Nick Massi. All four were Italian Americans who hailed from the state of New Jersey. Massi and DeVito left the band in 1965 and 1970 respectively, while Gaudio moved to being a studio-only member in 1972; Valli has remained the group's frontman through its most recent performances in 2026. The band's number one singles are "Sherry" (1962), "Big Girls Don’t Cry" (1962), "Walk Like A Man" (1963), "Rag Doll" (1964), and "December, 1963 (Oh, What A Night)" (1976). The Four Seasons are known for their longevity and for Valli's powerful falsetto.
The original lineup of the Four Seasons was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990, the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999, and the New Jersey Hall of Fame in 2017. The Hollywood Walk of Fame awarded a star, jointly credited to Valli and to the group, in 2024.
History 1953–1960: Before the Four Seasons
In 1954, Frankie Valli, who had already had a minor hit with his cover of "My Mother's Eyes" a year prior, joined Tommy DeVito's Variety Trio to form The Variatones,Walter Gollender. Bim Bam Boom No. 8 (December 1972). a group that rebranded as the Four Lovers, based upon a Latin lover gimmick, in 1956.Joe Sasfy. Liner notes to Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons: 1962-1967 (Warner Special Products, 1987: Time-Life Music The Rock 'N' Era 2RNR-15) The band released several singles, the only successful one being "You're the Apple of My Eye" (1956), which peaked at No. 62.
In 1959, DeVito revamped the Four Lovers, leaving only himself and Valli. Bob Gaudio left The Royal Teens and became the group's keyboardist. In 1960, Nick Massi--at the time, frontman for the Nite-Lites"Record Reviews." Cashbox. October 24, 1959. p. 12 and a mentor of Valli's who had occasionally played with Valli and DeVito throughout the 1950s--joined the band, which by this point was performing and recording under several aliases. In 1960, the quartet failed an audition for a lounge at a Union Township, Union County, New Jersey bowling establishment. According to Gaudio, "We figured we'll come out of this with something. So we took the name of the bowling alley. It was called the Four Seasons."
1961–1963: Rise The Four Seasons signed as artists to Crewe's production company, and they released their first Crewe-produced single under their new name in 1961 ("Bermuda"/"Spanish Lace" on Gone Records); the non-charting record would be their only record for Gone, which was itself gone by July 1962 when Morris Levy bought and dissolved the label."Roulette Unveils Billing Plan; Absorbs Gone and End Records." Billboard Music Week. July 7, 1962. p. 22 The band continued working with producer Bob Crewe as background vocalists and sometimes leads under different names, for productions on Crewe's own Topix label. As a follow-up, Bob Gaudio wrote a song that, after some discussion between Crewe and Gaudio, was titled "Sherry". After the song was recorded, Crewe and the members of the band solicited record labels to release it. It was Frankie Valli who spoke with Randy Wood, West Coast sales manager for Vee-Jay Records (not the founder of Dot Records) who, in turn, suggested the release of "Sherry" to the decision-makers at Vee-Jay. "Sherry" made enough of an impression that Crewe was able to sign a deal between his production company and Vee-Jay for its release. They were the first white artists to sign with Vee-Jay.Goldmine. Issue 60. May 1981.
In 1962, the band released their first album, featuring the single "Sherry", which drew the attention of WPOP in Hartford, Connecticut, known for launching new hit songs; WPOP disc jockey Joey Reynolds heavily promoted the record. "Sherry" gave the Four Seasons their first No. 1 song. Under the guidance of Bob Crewe, the Four Seasons followed up "Sherry" with several million-selling singles, generally composed by Crewe and Gaudio, including "Big Girls Don't Cry" (their second No. 1 hit), "Walk Like a Man" (their third No. 1), "Candy Girl" (written by Larry Santos), "Ain't That a Shame", and several others. Also, they released a Christmas album in December 1962 and charted with a unique rendition of "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town".
From 1962 to early 1964, the Beach Boys were the only band to match the Four Seasons in record sales in the United States, and their first three Vee-Jay non-holiday single releases (i.e., ignoring their version of "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town") marked the first time that a rock band hit No. 1 on the Billboard singles charts with three consecutive entries. The band was purposely marketed as clean-cut Italian boys, even shaving several years off the ages of most of the members' ages, in contrast to the greaser style of many of the rock and roll acts of the era, and deliberately hid some of the members' criminal pasts (particularly DeVito, who had a sizable rap sheet of petty crimes). Their traditional stylings combined with a songwriting style that appealed to lovelorn younger listeners and a musical sound that was both ethnically and stylistically ambiguous—its fusion of rhythm & blues, rock & roll, and doo-wop made some listeners mistakenly believe the quartet was black—gave them a broad, all-ages appeal.
In 1962, they were invited to perform their hit "Big Girls Don't Cry" on the show American Bandstand.
1964: From Vee-Jay to Philips In January 1964, after several successful albums but a lack of money from Vee-Jay, the Seasons left Vee-Jay and moved to Philips Records, then a division of Mercury Records. In the 1965 settlement of a lawsuit between the two parties, Vee-Jay retained release rights for all material the band recorded for the label. Vee-Jay exercised those rights liberally over the following year. The group was obligated to deliver one final album to Vee-Jay, which they did in the form of a faux "live" LP. At the same time, Vee-Jay was overwhelmed when it found itself as the rightsholder not only to the Four Seasons, but the Beatles, which it had acquired in a sidecar deal with Frank Ifield in 1962;Chris Norby, "Vee-Jay label", Archer2000.com. Retrieved 19 January 2017 unable to meet demand for both bands, and with the Beatles' rights eventually reverting to Capitol Records in October 1964 after another protracted legal battle, Vee-Jay was finally declared bankrupt in 1966. With the bankruptcy, the Four Seasons' Vee-Jay catalog reverted to the band, who promptly licensed the rights to Philips.
The change of label did not diminish the popularity of the Four Seasons in 1964, nor did the onslaught of the British Invasion and Beatlemania. However, "Dawn (Go Away)" was kept from the No. 1 spot on the Hot 100 by no fewer than three Beatles singles in the March 21, 1964, edition (two weeks later, the top five slots were filled by Beatles singles). In a two-record set dubbed The Beatles vs the Four Seasons: The International Battle of the Century!, Vee-Jay created an elaborate two-disc package that the purchaser could use to write on and score individual recordings by their favorite artist. The discs were reissues of the albums Introducing... The Beatles and Golden Hits of the Four Seasons, featuring each original album's label, title, and catalog number. Today, this album package is a collector's item. Valli credited the band's continued success in the face of the British Invasion to staying true to their original mission of an original sound and not trying to imitate British acts. The summer of 1964 saw the Seasons achieve their fourth US No. 1 single with "Rag Doll", which also became their biggest hit in the UK to that point, reaching No. 2 there.
1965–1968: Departure of Nick Massi; One band, several acts
Nick Massi left the Four Seasons in September 1965, the same month another big hit for the band, the No. 3 charted "Let's Hang On!", was released. Although this was Massi's last "Four Seasons" single, he also appeared on the band's follow-up single, a cover of Bob Dylan's "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right", which was issued under the name "the Wonder Who?", and went top 20. The band's musical arranger, Charles Calello (a former member of the Four Lovers), stepped in as a temporary replacement. During Calello's brief tenure as a member, the band scored their first hit without Massi, "Working My Way Back to You", which went top 10. A few months later, Joe Long was hired to replace Calello, who returned to his role as musical arranger. Long would be a member of the band, on bass and backing vocals, until 1975. His first single with the Four Seasons was "Opus 17 (Don't You Worry 'bout Me)", which reached No. 13 in mid-1966.
Massi's departure coincided with the addition of new songwriters, such as Sandy Linzer and Denny Randell, who eased the burden on Gaudio, while Randell absorbed some of Massi's arranging duties.McIntosh, Danny (November 7, 2011). Songfacts Interview with Denny Randell, Retrieved September 27, 2023. This period also saw Valli launch a parallel solo career, although every Valli "solo" recording from 1965's "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine (Anymore)" to 1974's "My Eyes Adored You" was recorded with the Four Seasons at the same time and in the same sessions as material released under the Four Seasons' name; these were usually distinguished in that material written and marketed as Valli solo numbers did not have Valli's trademark falsetto. Valli's first post-1960 single without the Seasons was 1975's "Swearin' to God".
More top 20 singles followed in 1966 and 1967, including "I've Got You Under My Skin", "Beggin'" (later covered by Norwegian duo Madcon and Italian band Måneskin), "Tell It to the Rain", and "C'mon Marianne", as well as Valli "solo" singles "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" and "I Make a Fool of Myself". Also, other Crewe/Gaudio songs that did not become hits for either Valli or the Four Seasons became international hits in cover versions, such as "Silence Is Golden" for the Tremeloes and "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine (Anymore)" for the Walker Brothers. 1968's "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" would be the band's last top 40 hit for seven years, reaching No. 24, following Valli's last "solo" hit of the 1960s, the No. 29 charted "To Give (The Reason I Live)".
1969–1973: The Genuine Imitation Life Gazette; Departure of Tommy DeVito; Declining record sales; Move to Motown By 1969, the band's popularity had declined, with public interest moving towards rock with a harder edge and music with more socially conscious lyrics. Aware of that, Bob Gaudio partnered with folk-rock songwriter Jake Holmes to write a concept album titled The Genuine Imitation Life Gazette, which discussed contemporary issues from the band's standpoint, including divorce ("Saturday's Father"), and Kinks-style satirical looks at modern life (e.g., "American Crucifixion and Resurrection" and "Genuine Imitation Life"). The decision to create a concept album was a major departure for the group, which Bob Crewe had purposely marketed as a singles act (so much so that the group's early albums were simply the name of a major hit single appended with some variation of "and Other Songs").