Robby Robinson is a music director, keyboardist, composer, arranger, and producer living in the Los Angeles area. He is best known as the music director and keyboardist for

Frankie Valli Francesco Stephen Castelluccio (born May 3, 1934), better known by his stage name Frankie Valli, is an American singer, known as the frontman of the Four Seasons beginning in 1960. He is known for his unusually powerful lead falsetto voice. ...

since 1978, and in this capacity has conducted orchestras such as the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

, the Houston Symphony, the

Pacific Symphony The Pacific Symphony is a symphony orchestra located in Orange County, California. The orchestra performs at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall as a part of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, California. From 1987 to 2016 ...

, and the

National Symphony Orchestra The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1930, its principal performing venue is the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. It also performs for the annual National Mem ...

. Robinson is a Hammond USA "family artist".

Early life and education

Robinson is originally from Litchfield, Illinois. He studied piano from age 7, saxophone from age 8, and started playing in rock bands at age 14. He majored in music at Southern Illinois University of Edwardsville. From high school through college, Robinson played in a variety of bands in the Southern Illinois-St. Louis area, after college he toured the US with

Phil Driscoll Phil Driscoll (born November 9, 1947) is a trumpeter, singer, composer, and producer. He performs in varying music genres and styles which include rock and roll, rhythm and blues, and patriotic music, and is best known for his work in Christian ...

and "Patch & Didi" (with his brother Rex Robinson, Lynn Hamman, and Didi Carr). The Robinson brothers moved to Los Angeles in 1976.

Career

From 1976 to 1978 Robinson played, arranged, and produced with a broad range of musicians such as

Liza Minnelli Liza May Minnelli ( ; born March 12, 1946) is an American actress, singer, dancer, and choreographer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli is among a rare group of performers awarded an Emmy, Grammy ...

Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer * Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in ...

, Alphonse Mouzon, Buddy Greco, and

Les DeMerle Lester William DeMerle (born November 4, 1946, Brooklyn) is an American jazz drummer, vocalist, and bandleader. Career DeMerle first picked up drums at age ten. He studied drums and percussion with Bob Livingstone in New York from 1960 to 1965, j ...

. In 1978, at the recommendation of long-time friend Richie Gajate Garcia, Robinson joined

Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons The Four Seasons are an American rock and pop band formed in 1960 in Newark, New Jersey. Since 1970, they have also been known at times as Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. The band evolved out of a previous band called The Four Lovers, with ...

, he has been the group's music director, conductor and keyboardist for over 40 years. In some circles, Robinson is known as the Fifth Season. Robinson founded the annual Christmas concert, Jam for Jesus, in 1991, which is hosted at Bethlehem SCV in Canyon Country, Santa Clarita, California. In 2017, and in 2019, the Robinson brothers returned to Litchfield to perform in benefit concerts for St. Francis Hospital, the two shows raised a quarter of a million dollars for the small-town hospital.

Personal life

Robinson lives in California.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Robby American male organists American record producers Musicians from Illinois People from Litchfield, Illinois Southern Illinois University Edwardsville alumni Music directors 21st-century American composers 20th-century American composers American music arrangers The Four Seasons (band) members Year of birth missing (living people) Living people