Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons

The Four Seasons, in 1966. (Trade ad for their single "I've Got You Under My Skin".)

The classic New Jersey Italian-American pop band with countertenor Frankie Valli in the lead. His soaring falsetto helped provide the group's trademark sound, though latter hits do not feature the falsetto. Odds are you've heard one of their songs on an oldies station, as they play in constant rotation. Some of their biggest hits include "Walk Like a Man", "Sherry", and "Big Girls Don't Cry". They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.

Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons provides examples of the following tropes:

• The Cover Changes the Gender: Covered the Shirelles' "Will You Love Me Tomorrow", though the original was not gender-specific as it was.
• Crossover: A duet between the Four Seasons and The Beach Boys would have been a surefire hit, right? Sadly, "East Meets West" was released in the early 80's, at a time when both groups were considerably less relevant.
• The Fifties: Actually, the early and mid-60s outside of Apple Of My Eye (1956), but the group's signiature sound was a style more associated with the early 60s than anything. In fact, some don't even realize that the later 70s hits are The Four Seasons.
• Jukebox Musical: Jersey Boys is their story.
• One-Woman Song: "Sherry", "Marlena", "Dawn", "Ronnie", and that's just the hit songs that have single word titles.
• Spotlight-Stealing Squad: Went from being simply The Four Seasons to being Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. However, it's justified given that as time went on and original members departed the group, the group increasingly became Frankie Valli, writer/vocalist Bob Gaudio, and a crew of studio musicians. And Valli was always the group's drawing card anyway.
  • Originally they were The Four Lovers whose lone hit was Apple Of My Eye in 1956. It'd be six more years before Frankie Valli would gain another hit. And oddly enough, before The Four Lovers, he did traditional pop, such as My Mother's Eyes in 1953.
• Step Up to the Microphone: Many of their bigger hits from the mid-70's gave Frankie a more limited role. New singer Gerry Polci in particular did large portions of their hits "December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)" and "Silver Star".