One of the most popular and prolific gentlemen in the music business created the only American musical act that rivaled The Beatles and The Beach Boys. His name is Francesco Stephen Castelluccio, born in Newark, New Jersey in 1934. We all know him of course as Frankie Valli, leader of The Four Seasons and possessor of one of the best falsetto voices ever put to wax.
Many strict rock ’n’ roll fans think that the Top Forty period from 1959 through 1963 was weak and shallow. Most of the original rockers who molded the ’50s were gone: Elvis had joined the Army, Little Richard joined the church, Chuck Berry went to jail, Jerry Lee Lewis was ostracized, Fats was fading, Bill Haley was retiring, and Buddy Holly died in a plane crash. Who filled the void?