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Al Ruzicka
The Four Seasons is an American 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 band evolved out of a previous band called The Four Lovers, with Frankie Valli on lead and falsetto vocals, Bob Gaudio on keyboards and tenor vocals, Tommy DeVito on lead guitar and baritone vocals, and Nick Massi on bass guitar and bass vocals. The Four Seasons had two distinct eras of widespread success: the 1960s, during which Massi departed in 1965, and was replaced initially by Charles Calello and more permanently by Joe Long, and the mid- to late 1970s, with the lineup consisting of Valli, Don Ciccone (bass guitar and baritone/soft falsetto vocals), John Paiva (lead guitar and harmony vocals), Gerry Polci (drums and tenor vocals), and Lee Shapiro (keyboards), with Gaudio still working with th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Four Lovers
The Four Lovers was a band formed in 1956 which was the result of vocalist Frankie Valli joining The Variatones (first Tommy DeVito (musician), Tommy DeVito, lead guitar; James Gregorio Valeo, then Henry Majewski, rhythm guitar; Frank Cottone, accordion; and Billy Thompson, drums) in 1954. The Four Lovers achieved minor success before a name change to The Four Seasons (band), The Four Seasons in 1960. During those five years, the group members also included Nicolas DeVito (vocals, electric bass), Hugh Garrity (vocals, guitar), Charles Calello (bass), Nick Massi (bass, vocals), Bob Gaudio (keyboards, vocals), and Philip Mongiovi (drums). History RCA Victor, 1956–1958 The Four Lovers' big break came in early 1956 when backing up a female singer's audition for two New York City, New York record men. One of the two record men, Peter Paul, was suitably impressed enough to become their manager. A week later, they were themselves auditioning for RCA Victor and were signed that day. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Teens
The Royal Teens were an American rock and roll band that formed in New Jersey in 1956 and originally consisted of Bob Gaudio on piano, Tom Austin on drums, Billy Dalton on guitar, and Billy Crandall on saxophone. The group is best known for its single "Short Shorts", which was a number 3 hit in the United States in 1958. The follow-up single, 1959's "Believe Me", hit number 26. They never recorded an album, and broke up in 1965. History The term "Short Shorts" in the song referred specifically to very short cutoff jeans as worn by teenage girls. The term appears to have originated with Bob Gaudio and Tom Austin. According to the group's website, they coined the term in 1957, and hit on using it as a song theme and title that summer when they saw two girls in cutoffs leaving a local teen spot. Originally, the group's name was simply "The Royals", but they were persuaded to add the word "Teens" in order to avoid having the same name as an existing band. The performers on the 1957 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known for its coverage of rock music and political reporting by Hunter S. Thompson. In the 1990s, the magazine broadened and shifted its focus to a younger readership interested in youth-oriented television shows, film actors, and popular music. It has since returned to its traditional mix of content, including music, entertainment, and politics. The first magazine was released in 1967 and featured John Lennon on the cover, and was then published every two weeks. It is known for provocative photography and its cover photos, featuring musicians, politicians, athletes, and actors. In addition to its print version in the United States, it publishes content through Rollingstone.com and numerous international editions. The magazine experienced a rapid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Best-selling Music Artists
The following list of best-selling music artists includes musical artists from the 20th century to the present with claims of 75 million or more record sales worldwide. The sales figures are calculated based on the formula detailed below. The tables are listed with each artist's claimed sales figure(s) and their total independently certified units and are ranked in descending order by claimed sales. If two or more artists have the same claimed sales, they are then ranked by certified units. The claimed sales figure and the total of certified units (for each country) within the provided sources include sales of albums, singles, compilation-albums, music videos as well as downloads of singles and full-length albums. Sales figures, such as those from SoundScan, which are sometimes published by '' Billboard'' magazine, have not been included in the certified units column. Definitions Gold/Platinum certifications issued after 2016, especially on singles, are in some cases more th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jerry Corbetta
Gerald Anthony James Corbetta (September 23, 1947 – September 16, 2016) was an American singer-songwriter, keyboardist and organist, record producer, best known as a frontman for the Colorado rock band Sugarloaf, best known for their classic rock hit " Green-Eyed Lady". Corbetta also toured for nearly five years with Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons as the "fifth season" nicknamed "Guido" by Frankie Valli. Biography Corbetta was born on September 23, 1947, in Denver, Colorado. He began his career locally playing drums. As a teenager, he started playing keyboards and joined a few Denver-based bands. The Moonrakers was one of them, and in '67-'68 Jerry led a locally popular five piece band "The Half Doesn't" that drew crowds in Denver's "3.2" beer bars like the "La Pichet" that served up 3.2% / low-alcohol beer and live music to Colorado's 18-year-olds. In 1968, Corbetta and guitarist Bob Webber formed the band Chocolate Hair, along with drummer Myron Pollock and bassist ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Don Ciccone
Donald Joseph Ciccone (February 28, 1946 – October 8, 2016) was an American singer, songwriter and musician. He was a founding member of the pop group the Critters, singing their biggest hits " Younger Girl" and "Mr. Dieingly Sad". The latter he wrote about his girlfriend Kathy Cobb before he entered the Air Force during the time of the Vietnam War. Cobb later became his wife. When the Critters' first album started to take off, Ciccone was in the Air Force and the band had to tour without him. This is why many videos on YouTube do not feature him, but instead have Ken Gorka lip-syncing Ciccone's part. Ciccone was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, on February 28, 1946. He was the son of an immigrant father, Vito Ciccone, who owned and operated Bill Williams Auto Sales in the 1950s. From the age of 5, Ciccone grew up in a 56-room mansion in Plainfield, New Jersey. During his time with the Critters, he wrote " Mr. Dieingly Sad", produced by Artie Ripp, which reached #17 for t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lee Shapiro (musician)
Lee Shapiro is an American musician/arranger who was a member of the band The Four Seasons and the founder of The Hit Men, a brand of supergroups featuring session and touring musicians from other bands. Early life Shapiro was born in Passaic, New Jersey in 1953 and was raised in Glen Rock, New Jersey. In interviews, Shapiro has stated an early favorite band of his was The Beatles, but that he soon became a bigger fan of The Four Seasons when he noticed it had a dedicated keyboard player, Bob Gaudio, which the Beatles did not at the time. In 1972, Gaudio was seeking to withdraw from touring and seeking a new arranger (they had largely relied on New York City studio arrangers after their own in-house arranger Nick Massi left in 1965 and wanted to be able to compose more while on the road). Shapiro was 19 and studying at the Manhattan School of Music at the time he was offered an audition to replace Gaudio, the man he had idolized as a child. Shapiro's first task was to com ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gerry Polci
Gerald Michael Polci (born June 9, 1952) is an American singer and musician who was a member of the American rock and pop band The Four Seasons. Polci played and sang in the band variously between 1973 and 1990. He sang lead and played drums on a number of their major hits, including the 1976 and 1994 worldwide hit, "December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)". Polci was married briefly to Antonia Valli, the only surviving daughter of Frankie Valli. Their daughter, Olivia Valli, is now a musical theatre performer, including taking the role of her own grandmother in the musical ''Jersey Boys'' that dramatizes the early days of the band. He was also married to Rhea Gay Chiles, daughter of late U.S. Senator and Florida Governor Lawton Chiles and Rhea Grafton Chiles. Interspersed with performing with the Four Seasons, Polci arranged for Barry Manilow for his television specials and did other musical work. After leaving the Four Seasons, he returned to college at Montclair State University ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joe Long
Joseph Louis LaBracio (September 5, 1932 – April 21, 2021), better known by his stage name Joe Long, was an American musician. He was best known for his tenure as the bass guitarist and vocalist for the Four Seasons from 1965 to 1975, having succeeded original bassist Nick Massi in those positions. Life and career Long was a classically trained musician who studied with Alfonse Strazza, the principal bassist for the New York Philharmonic. However, a severe hand injury forced Joe to give up the rigors of playing classical bass and switch to the Fender bass guitar. He then began listening more to rock and roll music and became a bass player for several local New Jersey rock bands before joining the Four Seasons in 1965. Long recalled that Tommy DeVito had called Long's agent regarding an opening in the band following Nick Massi's abrupt resignation that year, and that in lieu of an audition, Long was sent on tour to West Virginia and thrown into the band's lineup without wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Calello
Charles Calello (born August 24, 1938) is an American arranger, composer, conductor, record producer, and singer born in Newark, New Jersey. Calello attended Newark Arts High School and the Manhattan School of Music, in New York City. His track record of successfully collaborating with various artists to produce or arrange Billboard hit songs led to his nickname in the industry as the "Hit Man." In the late 1950s, Calello was a member of Frankie Valli's group The Four Lovers, but left before the group was transformed into The Four Seasons. In 1962, he became the group's musical arranger. In 1965, he briefly filled in for Nick Massi (who was Calello's replacement in The Four Lovers five years earlier but had abruptly quit the band) while the band prepared Joe Long to take the role on a permanent basis. Following his stint with the Seasons, he became a staff arranger/producer at Columbia Records. In 1968, he became an independent producer and arranger and a year later arranged Fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nick Massi
Nicholas E. Macioci (September 19, 1927 – December 24, 2000) was an American bass singer, songwriter, and bass guitarist. He is best known for his work as the bassist and bass vocalist for The Four Seasons, for whom he performed under the stage name Nick Massi. Biography Born in Newark, New Jersey, Nicholas "Massi" Macioci was first taught to play the bass fiddle by Newark native and musician Anthony Gaeta. As a bass singer, Massi had been playing with several bands before he joined The Four Lovers in 1958, including some groups that featured future Four Lovers and Four Seasons members Frankie Valli and Tommy DeVito. Valli credited Macioci as one of his most influential early mentors in the music business. In October 1959, Macioci, by this point billed as "Nickie Massey," was signed to Brunswick Records as frontman for the Nite-Lites; he recorded one single, the self-composed "Tell Me You Care," which received a positive review in '' Cashbox'' but eventually failed to chart. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tommy DeVito (musician)
Gaetano "Tommy" DeVito (June 19, 1928 – September 21, 2020) was an American musician. He was best known as a founding member, vocalist, and lead guitarist of rock band the Four Seasons. Early years DeVito was born in Belleville, New Jersey, the youngest of nine children in an Italian-American family. At eight years old, he taught himself to play his brother's guitar by listening to country music on the radio. By the time he was 12, he was playing for tips in neighborhood taverns. He quit school after the eighth grade. ( Belleville High School made him an honorary graduate in 2007.) By 16, he had his own R&B band and was making $20 or $25 a night. Career In the early 1950s, DeVito formed "the Variety Trio" with his brother Nick DeVito and Hank Majewski. This core group performed under various names and changing lineups. The band expanded to a quartet and changed its name to "the Variatones" including the addition in 1954 of singer Francis Castelluccio (later known as F ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
