129-398: The Mary Jane Girls were an American girl group formed in 1983, best known for their songs " In My House ", " All Night Long ", "Candy Man", and their cover version of " Walk Like a Man ". They were protégées of musician Rick James and disbanded in 1987. Joanne "Jojo" McDuffie was the lead singer, the others filling out the group's style and appearance. On the studio recordings, McDuffie
258-739: A Man " (their third #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
387-590: A Man ", which was heard in the film A Fine Mess . It charted at number 41 on the Billboard Hot 100. Another single, "Shadow Lover", was also released in 1986, and the Mary Jane Girls appeared on Soul Train to lip sync it, but the single was not promoted by the label. Ghant obtained other work in 1986 when James and Motown were in dispute, since the Mary Jane Girls had no label support. The Mary Jane Girls officially disbanded in 1987. Cheri Wells
516-603: A cheerleader/ valley girl (Wells, then Marine), and a dominatrix (Wuletich). The group released their second album, Only Four You , in February 1985. McDuffie was featured on most of the songs, and the Waters sisters were hired to provide background vocals, since the other members were vocally limited. The lead single " In My House " became the group's biggest hit, reaching number 3 on the R&;B chart and then crossing over to
645-530: A crush or lover, and heartache. Some songs sounded upbeat or cheerful and sang about falling in love, whereas others took a decidedly more melancholic turn. Groups like the Shangri-Las , with the song " I Can Never Go Home Anymore " sang about the darker side of being in love. An especially prevalent theme was adolescence. Since most of the girl groups were composed of young singers, often still in high school, songs mentioned parents in many cases. Adolescence
774-666: A female group, and a film, the Spice Girls became the most commercially successful British group since the Beatles . Unlike their predecessors who were marketed at male record buyers, the Spice Girls redefined the girl group concept by going after a young female fanbase instead. The cultural movement started by the Spice Girls produced a glut of other similar acts, which include the British-Canadian outfit All Saints , Irish girl group B*Witched , Atomic Kitten and
903-502: A house party with famous celebrities such as David Beckham , Russel Simmons , Kevin Garnett , Missy Elliott , Katy Perry , and Mark Gonzales . Members of the 1970s lineup of the group (Polci, Ciccone, and Shapiro) reunited without Valli in 2011 as The Hit Men ; it toured with several other session musicians of good repute. Shapiro has continued The Hit Men as a standalone project after Ciccone died in 2016 and Polci withdrew from
1032-484: A jury ruled against Marine. In 1995, the song "All Night Long" was remixed by Mike Gray and Jon Pearn, subtitled "The Hustlers Convention Remixes" and released on 12" vinyl and CD single. These remixes gained attention in dance clubs and rose to number 51 in the UK. Also in 1995, McDuffie, Ghant, and Wuletich performed on television on The Jenny Jones Show , billing themselves as MJG. They continued performing occasionally for
1161-419: A large portion of lead vocals to ease the load on an ailing Frankie Valli (who was gradually losing his hearing due to otosclerosis , though eventually surgery restored most of it); Polci, in turn, recruited The Happenings ' guitarist John Paiva (who had also worked as a session musician) to replace Callas on guitar. Don Ciccone , whose career with The Critters had come to an abrupt end due to his entry into
1290-573: A more potent sound allowed girl groups to sing powerfully and in different styles than earlier generations. Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller would likewise foster the Exciters , the Dixie Cups , and the Shangri-Las . The Shangri-Las' hit single, " Leader of the Pack ", exemplified the "' death disc ' genre" adopted by some girl groups. These songs usually told the story of teenage love cut short by
1419-457: A new quartet of singers to back him. Beard, Fournier, and the Brigham brothers performed as The Four Seasons for 15 years, longer than any other lineup and longer than any of the band's other members except Valli, Gaudio and Robinson. In 2020, the group launched a YouTube channel. During that same year, and continuing into 2021, during earlier phases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic ,
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#17327875205121548-412: A non-album cover version of The Beatles ' " We Can Work It Out " (from All This and World War II ). The band broke up in 1977 as Shapiro got married, Polci began working for Barry Manilow , and Valli—who also had surgery to restore his worsening hearing —accepted an offer to sing the theme song for the movie Grease . Both the film and song were major hits, the latter reaching #1, and by 1980
1677-597: A number of girl groups emerged, such as the Andrews Sisters . The late 1950s saw the emergence of all-female singing groups as a major force, with 750 distinct girl groups releasing songs that reached US and UK music charts from 1960 to 1966. The Supremes alone held 12 number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 during the height of the wave and throughout most of the British Invasion rivaled
1806-620: A one-off single for the Warner Bros. label in England, "Sleeping Man", backed by "Whatever You Say", which was never released in the USA. John Stefan, the band's lead trumpeter, arranged the horn parts. Around this time, Gaudio stopped touring with the band, focusing on songwriting, production, and recording. Long later told a Four Seasons fansite that he believed that Gaudio stopped touring because of constant stage fright. Following that single,
1935-535: A rendition of " And That Reminds Me ", which peaked at number 45 on the Billboard chart. Frustrated by the group's workload, and facing debts from gambling and a divorce, DeVito accepted a buyout and left the band in 1970. In DeVito's place, the Seasons hired their first non-New Jersey member, Maryland native Demitri Callas. Callas stayed with the group until 1974. After leaving Philips, the Four Seasons recorded
2064-589: A total of 20 million copies in Japan within three years, with Variety calling them "Japan's top girl group", while Max still hold the record for girl group with the second most consecutive top 10 singles in Japan. Throughout the 2010s, AKB48 sister groups have been launched or will be launched in Indonesia, China, Thailand, Taiwan, the Philippines, and Vietnam. Several new Japanese idol groups appeared in
2193-510: A variety of labels, some of which are noted here. This list includes only those Frankie Valli solo albums (the first two) that were recorded as Four Seasons productions. The US chart position on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart follows the song title. Only singles that reached a position of #30 or higher on the Hot 100 are listed. Jersey Boys , a musical play based on the lives of
2322-547: A variety of names before settling on the name The Four Lovers , based upon a Latin lover gimmick and playing country music . The same year, the quartet (DeVito, his twin brother Nick, Majewski and Valli) released their first record, Otis Blackwell 's " You're the Apple of My Eye ", which appeared on the Billboard Top 100 singles chart, peaking at #62. Five more Four Lovers singles (on RCA Victor ) were released over
2451-488: A vocal coach. In 1983, James proposed to Motown that McDuffie be offered a solo career but miscommunication caused the label to sign an all-female group , which he determined would be the Mary Jane Girls. James filled the positions behind McDuffie with Wells, Ghant, and Wuletich. He also wrote all the original songs and produced all the recordings. Often compared to the protégées of his rival Prince , Vanity 6 , who debuted in 1982, James told Jet that he had come up with
2580-416: A year or two. McDuffie recorded with James on his 1997 Urban Rapsody album, on the torch song "Never Say You Love Me". In 2001, Mary J. Blige reported that she had purchased the rights to the name "Mary Jane Girls" for the purpose of putting together a girl group composed of one Asian American, one African American, one Latina, and one white singer. Blige said she wanted the name because her own name
2709-524: 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. Nick Massi left the Four Seasons in September 1965. The band's arranger, Charles Calello (a former member of the Four Lovers), stepped in as a temporary replacement. A few months later, Joe Long
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#17327875205122838-659: Is an American vocal quartet formed in 1960 in Newark, New Jersey . Since 1970, they have also been known at times as Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons . The Four Seasons 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 band had two distinct eras of widespread success:
2967-739: The Billboard Hot 100 chart, where it reached number 7 and spent 12 weeks in the Top 40 . It also charted on the Hot Dance Club Play chart, peaking at number 1 for two weeks in April 1985. "Wild and Crazy Love" was the second single from this album and it also fared well on the R&;B (number 10) and dance charts (number 3). It barely missed the Top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 42. The last single, "Break It Up", only reached number 79 on
3096-564: The Great Depression . The Boswell Sisters , who became one of the most popular singing groups from 1930 to 1936, had over twenty hits. The Andrews Sisters started in 1937 as a Boswell tribute band and continued recording and performing through the 1940s into the late-1960s, achieving more record sales, more Billboard hits, more million-sellers, and more movie appearances than any other girl group to date. The Andrews Sisters had musical hits across multiple genres, which contributed to
3225-612: The Honeyz , who all achieved varying levels of success during the decade. Throughout the 2000s, girl groups from the UK remained popular, with Girls Aloud 's " Sound of the Underground " and Sugababes ' " Round Round " having been called "two huge groundbreaking hits" credited with reshaping British pop music for the 2000s. Despite her being a solo artist, Amy Winehouse's 2006 album Back to Black contained heavy influence from 1960s girl groups and garnered Winehouse comparisons to
3354-519: 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. Frankie Valli's first commercial release was "My Mother's Eyes" (as Frankie Valley) in 1953. The following year, he and guitarist Tommy DeVito formed The Variatones (with Hank Majewski, rhythm guitar, Frank Cottone, accordion, and Billy Thompson, drums), which between 1954 and 1956 performed and recorded under
3483-671: The Spice Girls , the 1990s also saw the target market for girl groups shift from a male audience to an increasingly female one. In the 2010s, the K-pop phenomenon led to the rise of successful girl groups including Girls' Generation , Twice and Blackpink . One of the first major all-female groups was the Hamilton Sisters and Fordyce , an American trio who successfully toured England and parts of Europe in 1927, recorded and appeared on BBC radio – they toured
3612-582: The disco craze and beyond, female acts included First Choice , Silver Convention , Hot , the Emotions , High Inergy , Odyssey , Sister Sledge , Mary Jane Girls , Belle Epoque , Frantique , Luv' , and Baccara . Groups of the 1980s like the Pointer Sisters , Exposé , and Bananarama updated the concept. In Latin America, there were a number of dance-oriented popular girl groups during
3741-544: The 1950s era would also give advice to other girls, or sing about the advice their mothers gave to them, which was a similarity to some male musical groups of the time (for example, the Miracles ' " Shop Around "). Adolescence was also important (especially starting in the 1950s) from the other end: the consumers were "teenagers [with] disposable income, ready access to automobiles, and consolidated high schools that exposed them to large numbers of other teens. Mass teen culture
3870-482: The 1960s hits written in collaboration with producer Bob Crewe . The legal name of the organization is the Four Seasons Partnership, formed by Gaudio and Valli, and was taken after a failed audition in 1960. Valli and Gaudio (who has been a non-performing member of the group since 1973) each own 50% of the act and its assets, including virtually all of its recording catalog. The touring lineup of
3999-440: The 1960s, during which Joe Long replaced Massi in 1965, and the mid to late 1970s, with the lineup consisting of Valli, Don Ciccone (bass guitar and vocals), John Paiva (lead guitar and vocals), Gerry Polci (drums and vocals), and Lee Shapiro (keyboards and vocals), with Gaudio still working with the band as a non-performing songwriter and producer. Gaudio has been the band's main songwriter throughout its history, with many of
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4128-400: The 1960s, the #29 charted "To Give (The Reason I Live)". 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
4257-411: 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
4386-599: The 2010s and created a fiercely competitive situation in the music industry, which has been referred to as the "Idol sengoku jidai " (アイドル戦国時代; lit. Age of the Idol Warring States). Since 2009, Hallyu (Korean wave) and K-pop became increasingly significant in the entertainment industry. Its influence spread across Asia and began to reach the Middle East, North Africa, Europe and the Americas. At
4515-496: The 2010s. Japan has the music industry's second largest market overall and the largest physical music market in the world, with the physical sales Oricon Singles Chart being dominated by J-pop idol girl groups. In the late 1990s, vocal/dance girl bands Speed and Max gained prominence in Asia, and paved the way for succeeding Japanese girl groups, such as Morning Musume , AKB48 , Perfume , and Momoiro Clover Z . Speed sold
4644-487: The 4 Seasons was released in mid-2007, marketed as the most comprehensive collection of Four Seasons music yet. The album title Jersey Beat is a play on Jersey Boys , a successful Broadway musical about the Four Seasons, as well as on Mersey Beat , a term first coined as the title of a music magazine published in Liverpool, England, from 1961, but subsequently also used to describe Liverpool's "beat music" culture of
4773-529: The Beatles in popularity. In later eras, the girl group template would be applied to disco , contemporary R&B , and country -based formats, as well as pop . A more globalized music industry gave rise to the popularity of dance-oriented pop music led by major record labels. This emergence, led by the US, UK, South Korea and Japan, produced popular acts, with eight groups debuting after 1990 having sold more than 15 million physical copies of their albums . With
4902-650: The Bonnie Sisters with "Cry Baby" and the Teen Queens with " Eddie My Love " showed early promise for a departure from traditional pop harmonies. With " Mr. Lee ", the Bobbettes lasted for 5 + 1 ⁄ 2 months on the charts in 1957, building momentum and gaining further acceptance of all-female, all- black vocal groups. However, it was the Chantels ' 1958 song " Maybe " that became "arguably,
5031-458: The COVID-19 pandemic. However, the box set was later rescheduled for release on December 9, 2022, before the release date was pushed back to April 14, 2023. The box set was eventually released on June 2, 2023, by The Four Seasons Partnership and Madfish/Snapper Music. It includes every album released by the band (including both mono and stereo mixes, where available), a CD of unreleased tracks from
5160-497: The Chantels and others was followed by an enormous rise in girl groups with varying skills and experience, with the music industry's typical racially segregated genre labels of R&B and pop slowly breaking apart. This rise also allowed a semblance of class mobility to groups of people who often could not otherwise gain such success, and "forming vocal groups together and cutting records gave them access to other opportunities toward professional advancement and personal growth, expanding
5289-538: The Four Seasons Partnership), he now restricts his activities to writing, producing, brand management and the occasional studio work. In August 1985, MCA Records released the band album Streetfighter , which yielded two singles in the title track and "Book of Love", a post-disco -style revamp of the Monotones' 1957 recording. In September 1992, the band released an album entitled Hope + Glory on
Mary Jane Girls - Misplaced Pages Continue
5418-683: The Four Seasons Reunited Live . Produced by Bob Gaudio, it was a double album of concert recordings which included the two studio recordings " Spend the Night in Love " and "Heaven Must Have Sent You (Here in the Night)" sung by Valli. The latter became a UK single but failed to chart, while the former was released as a single in America, inching its way into the Hot 100 and became a top-5 hit,
5547-441: The Four Seasons and directed by Des McAnuff ( The Who's Tommy , 700 Sundays ) , premiered at his La Jolla Playhouse and opened on November 6, 2005, to generally positive reviews. It subsequently won multiple Tony Awards after its move to Broadway. The original cast included John Lloyd Young as Frankie Valli, Daniel Reichard as Bob Gaudio, Christian Hoff as Tommy DeVito, and J. Robert Spencer as Nick Massi. The play portrays
5676-654: The Four Seasons as both acts had million-selling singles in the United States ("My Eyes Adored You" hit #1 on the Hot 100 for Valli in March, "Who Loves You" (with Valli on lead) peaked at #3 in November for the band and #6 in the UK chart). In the United Kingdom, Tamla Motown released "The Night" as a single on the 'Mowest' label and saw it reach the #7 position on the UK Singles Chart . "My Eyes Adored You"
5805-418: The Four Seasons recorded eight songs for a second Motown album, which the company refused to release, and later in 1974, the label and the band parted ways. On behalf of the Four Seasons Partnership, Valli tried to purchase the entire collection of master recordings the group had made for Motown. After hearing the amount needed to buy them all, Valli arranged to purchase " My Eyes Adored You " for $ 4,000. He took
5934-472: The Four Seasons, but The Beatles , which it had acquired in a sidecar deal with Frank Ifield in 1962; 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
6063-559: 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
6192-480: The Korean wave's globalization accelerated. These newer girl groups gradually shifted towards more "girl crush" concepts and it became more common for members to be involved in writing or production. Popular South Korean girl groups include Blackpink , Twice , Aespa , NewJeans , IVE and Red Velvet amongst others. Girl groups have a wide array of subject matter in their songs, depending on time and place and who
6321-460: The MCA/Curb label; this is the most recent band studio album to date, but Valli has released three solo albums since then. (On at least one or two occasions, starting in the late 1980s or early 1990s, Long would make guest appearances with Valli and the band at select shows, but it is unclear if this included full performances or parts of concerts.) Nick Massi also had occasional brief reunions with
6450-624: The Murmaids took David Gates ' " Popsicles and Icicles " to the top 3 in January, the Carefrees ' " We Love You Beatles " scraped the top 40 in April, and the Jewels ' "Opportunity" was a small hit in December. Over 750 girl groups were able to chart a song between 1960 and 1966 in the US and UK, although the genre's reach was not as strongly felt in the music industries of other regions. As
6579-546: The Night in Love" (#91 in 1980), which again featured Polci as main lead vocalist and Valli singing the bridge section and contributing to backup group vocals, "December, 1963" marked the end of the Seasons' hit-making run. Both singles were hits in the United Kingdom, with "Silver Star" making the top 10. (A dance remix of "December, 1963" returned them briefly to the upper reaches of the Billboard singles charts almost two decades later). The success of Who Loves You increased
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#17327875205126708-480: The R&B chart and did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100, but it did hit number 39 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart. A third album was recorded by the group, the project called Conversation , but it was shelved for decades, finally released in 2014 as part of a larger retrospective of James's work. However, a single was released from the project in 1986, a cover of The Four Seasons hit " Walk Like
6837-660: The Rain ", " C'mon Marianne ", and "I Make a Fool of Myself" (Frankie Valli "solo"). 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 " ( the Tremeloes ) and " The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine (Anymore) " ( the Walker Brothers ). However, 1968's " Will You Love Me Tomorrow " was the band's last top 40 hit for seven years (reaching #24), just after Valli's last "solo" hit of
6966-574: The Ronettes. UK girl group continued to have success in the 2000s and 2010s, with acts such as Mis-Teeq , the Saturdays , StooShe and Little Mix , one of the successful acts to come from the British version of The X Factor . Although the emergence of dance-pop focused acts in Asia paralleled their British counterparts in the 1990s, girl groups in Asia sustained as a successful format through
7095-533: The Royal Teens' keyboardist. In late 1959, Gaudio became the group's keyboardist; Garrity returned to the Hollywood Playboys without Massey, who briefly launched a solo career. During this time, Charles Calello filled in as the fourth member of the quartet. Early in 1960, a now-renamed Nick Massi returned, now playing electric bass in addition to vocals and arrangement duties. In 1960, despite
7224-529: The Seasons was 1975's " Swearin' to God ". More top 20 singles followed in 1965, 1966, and 1967, including " Let's Hang On! ", " Don't Think Twice, It's All Right " (as the Wonder Who?), " Working My Way Back to You ", " Opus 17 (Don't You Worry 'bout Me) ", " I've Got You Under My Skin ", " Can't Take My Eyes Off You " (released under Valli's name as a "solo" single), " Beggin' " (later covered by Norwegian duo Madcon and Italian band Måneskin ), " Tell It to
7353-640: The Three Degrees (which had roots in the 1960s and in 1970, like the Chantels in 1958, began their top 40 pop career with "Maybe"). Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles was a US 1960s girl group whose image Vicki Wickham , their manager, helped remake in the early 1970s, renaming the group Labelle and pushing them in the direction of glam rock . Labelle were the first girl group to eschew matching outfits and identical choreography, instead wearing extravagant spacesuits and feathered headdresses. During
7482-847: The Toys and the Sweet Inspirations , the only girl groups with any significant chart presence from the beginning of the British Invasion through 1970 were Motown girl groups with the Supremes being the only girl group to score number one hits. The distinct girl group sound would not re-emerge until the 21st century, where it would influence modern-day English-speaking pop-soul soloists who have been met with international success, such as Amy Winehouse , Adele , Duffy and Melanie Fiona among others. In addition to influencing individual singers, this generation of girl groups cemented
7611-405: The UK charts at the time was Eternal , but even they "remained largely faceless". Amidst the American domination of the girl group format, the Second British Invasion saw the UK's Spice Girls turn the tide in the mid-1990s, achieving ten number 1 singles in the UK and US. With sold-out concerts, advertisements, merchandise, 86 million worldwide record sales, the best-selling album of all time by
7740-546: The US and UK quickly recognized the potential of this new approach and recruited existing acts (or, in some cases, created new ones) to record their songs in a girl group style. Phil Spector recruited the Crystals , the Blossoms , and the Ronettes , while Goffin and King penned two hit songs for the Cookies . Phil Spector made a huge impact on the ubiquity of the girl group, as well as bringing fame and notoriety to new heights for many girl groups. Phil Spector's so-called Wall of Sound , which used layers of instruments to create
7869-452: The US variety and big-time theaters extensively, and later changed their stage name to the Three X Sisters . The band was together from 1923 until the early 1940s, and known for their close harmonies, as well as barbershop style or novelty tunes, and utilized their 1930s radio success. The Three X Sisters were also especially a notable addition to the music scene, and predicted later girl group success by maintaining their popularity throughout
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#17327875205127998-409: The United Kingdom. "December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)" had Polci singing lead on the verses, Ciccone featured on specific sections, and Valli on lead vocals only on the two bridge sections and backup vocals on the chorus. Although the band also scored minor chart placements with " Silver Star " (with Valli on harmony vocals) (#38 in 1976) and "Down the Hall" (#65 in 1977), both sung by Polci, and "Spend
8127-409: The Valli Boys, the Wonder Who? , and Frankie Valli . Every Valli "solo" recording from 1965 to " My Eyes Adored You " in 1974 was recorded by the Four Seasons at the same time and in the same sessions as other Four Seasons material; 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
8256-430: The Village Voices, and the Topics are some of the 18 "stage names" used individually or collectively by the members of the band. Majewski left the band due to creative differences, while Nick DeVito left the group (portrayed in Jersey Boys as being due to an extended prison sentence, though Tommy DeVito stated in 2008 that he had fired the two because he had booked a gig opening up for Tony Bennett , believing it would be
8385-404: The application was abandoned in 2010. Later in 2010, Kimberly "Maxi" Wuletich applied for the trademark "MJG Starring Maxi and Cheri of the Original Mary Jane Girls", which she uses for performing with Cheri Wells. However, in 2013 the estate of Rick James sued Wuletich and Wells to stop them from performing under the name Mary Jane Girls. The estate held that the group's name was owned by James, not
8514-452: The armed forces, succeeded Long as bassist and took on the occasional lead vocal. As "My Eyes Adored You" climbed the Hot 100 singles chart in early 1975, Uttal was persuaded to release The Four Seasons Story , a two-record compilation of the band's biggest hit singles from 1962 to 1970. It quickly became a gold record , selling over one million copies before the RIAA started awarding platinum records for million-selling albums. Uttal
8643-425: The attention of Frank Sinatra , whose 1969 album, Watertown , involved Gaudio, Holmes, Valli and Calello. The Seasons' last single on Philips, 1970's "Patch of Blue", featured the band's name as "Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons", but the change in billing did not revive the band's fortunes. Reverting to the "Four Seasons" billing without Valli's name upfront, the group issued a single on Crewe's eponymous label,
8772-517: The band had reunited, with a lineup consisting mostly of its 1970s lineup (Valli, Polci, Shapiro, and Ciccione, plus Gaudio for studio recordings), joined by Jerry Corbetta , who had been lead singer of Sugarloaf , and guitarist Larry Lingle. Lingle would remain with the group into the 1990s, while Polci (who had an extended hiatus from the band in the mid-1980s before returning) left for the final time in 1990 when he married Valli's daughter Toni. In January 1981, Warners released Frankie Valli &
8901-429: The band signed to Motown . The first LP, Chameleon , released by Motown subsidiary label MoWest Records in 1972, failed to sell. A 1971 Frankie Valli solo single on Motown, "Love Isn't Here", and three Four Seasons singles, "Walk On, Don't Look Back" on MoWest in 1972, "How Come" and "Hickory" on Motown in 1973, sank without a trace. A song from Chameleon , " The Night ", later became a Northern Soul hit and reached
9030-407: 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
9159-411: The band's Mowest years, three live shows taken from soundboard recordings as well as numerous other rare tracks and alternative versions. The Four Seasons announced their farewell tour, "The Last Encores Tour", to run through 2024, including several extended stays at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino . In an interview with the Los Angeles Times , Valli did not rule out future appearances after
9288-480: 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"). The album cover
9417-469: The beginning, girl groups such as Girls' Generation , 2NE1 and Wonder Girls were among the leaders of this "Hallyu" wave. The influence of the original girl groups of the United States was not lost on this era of artists, as many adopted visual influences through their "retro" concepts, such as the international 2008 hit " Nobody " by Wonder Girls. From the second half of the 2010s, new generations of Korean girl groups emerged and enjoyed great success as
9546-479: The best-selling album by a girl group in the United States (Diamond certification), while selling over 14 million copies worldwide. Destiny's Child emerged in the late 1990s and sold more than 60 million records. In the mid-to-late-2000s, there was a revival of girl groups. American girl group and dance ensemble the Pussycat Dolls achieved worldwide success with their singles. Danity Kane also became
9675-468: The changes of personnel, the fortunes of the Four Lovers had not changed—they 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." Despite the last few years of frustration of the Four Lovers, this proved to be
9804-471: The charts. Groups in these genres, such as SWV , Xscape , 702 , Total , Zhane , Blaque , and 3LW , managed to have songs chart on both the U.S. Hot 100 and the U.S. R&B charts. However, TLC achieved the most success for a girl group in an era where contemporary R&B would become global mainstream acceptance. TLC remains the best-selling American girl group with 65 million records sold, and their second studio album, CrazySexyCool (1994), remains
9933-418: The concept six years prior but shelved it for a lack of time. "I wanted there to be a Black female group in the industry that could express more reality with relationships to men. I wanted there to be Black girls who could really speak about love, the pain, money, power, hate and everything. Originally there were going to be three girls in negligees doing the punk thing." The Waters sisters and McDuffie sang all
10062-621: The death of one of the young lovers. The Paris Sisters had success from 1961 to 1964, especially with " I Love How You Love Me ". The Chiffons , the Angels , and the Orlons were also prominent in the early 1960s. In early fall 1963 one-hit wonder the Jaynetts ' " Sally Go 'Round the Roses " achieved a mysterious sound quite unlike that of any other girl group. In 1964, the one-hit wonder group
10191-427: The early 1960s. In 2008, the Four Seasons' "Beggin'" was revived by two acts. Pilooski made an electro remix of that song, while rap act Madcon used it as the basis of their song "Beggin'". The latter reached number 5 in the UK charts and was a hit across Europe. The song was featured in a TV commercial for adidas shoes entitled "Celebrate Originality". The Adidas commercial is a popular hit on YouTube and features
10320-461: The era, including the Flans , Pandora and Fandango. In Japan, all-female idol groups Candies and Pink Lady made a series of hits during the 1970s and 1980s as well. The Japanese music program Music Station listed Candies and Pink Lady in their Top 50 Idols of All Time (compiled in 2011), placing them at number 32 and number 15, with sales exceeding 5 and 13 million in Japan, respectively. With
10449-571: The first girl group in Billboard history to have two consecutive number-one albums, as their self-titled debut album (2006) and their second album Welcome to the Dollhouse (2008) both topped the U.S. Billboard 200 . Girl groups have now been more popular compared to the early 2000s. Girl groups continued their success in the 2010s. Miami -based girl group Fifth Harmony formed in 2012 on The X Factor USA . They reached international success with their debut album Reflection , which featured
10578-455: The first time that a rock band hit #1 on the Billboard singles charts with three consecutive entries. In 1962, they were invited to perform their hit " Big Girls Don't Cry " on the show American Bandstand . 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
10707-414: The first true glimmering of the girl group sound". The "mixture of black doo-wop, rock and roll, and white pop" was appealing to a teenage audience and grew from scandals involving payola and the perceived social effects of rock music . However, early groups such as the Chantels started developing their groups' musical capacities traditionally, through mediums like Latin and choir music. The success of
10836-615: The first white artists to sign with Vee-Jay. 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 #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 #1 hit), " Walk Like
10965-509: The four-minute single version. This record featured Patti Austin on bridge vocals before she became well-known. Valli followed this with a discofied #11 hit version of Ruby & the Romantics ' " Our Day Will Come ", also featuring Austin. The Four Seasons opened 1976 atop the Billboard chart with their fifth #1 single, " December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night) ", co-written by Bob Gaudio and his future wife, Judy Parker. The single also hit #1 in
11094-506: The girl group form and sentiment and provided inspiration for many future groups. Entering the 1970s, the Supremes had continued success with top 10 hits " Up the Ladder to the Roof " and " Stoned Love " along with six other singles charting on Billboard's top 40. Only two other girl groups made top 10 chartings through 1974 with " Want Ads " by Honey Cone and " When Will I See You Again " by
11223-402: The group before the next album project was recorded. She was replaced by Yvette "Corvette" Marine. Marine was the daughter of singer Pattie Brooks . The name of the group referenced mary jane , slang for marijuana ; a favored recreational drug of James. (James wrote a hit song titled " Mary Jane ".) The group's image was styled as containing a street-wise girl (McDuffie), a supermodel (Ghant),
11352-741: The group in 2017. In 2015, former longtime guitarist Larry Lingle rejoined the band, and he left for the second time after a concert on May 1, 2016. On September 10, 2016, the band performed with the BBC Concert Orchestra in Hyde Park , as part of the BBC Proms in the Park . In 2018, the Beard/Fournier/Brigham quartet spun off and began performing as The Modern Gentlemen , with Valli's blessing, and Valli recruited
11481-558: The group includes Valli as the sole remaining original member, backed by a separate vocal quartet and a band led by musician Robby Robinson , who has served as the group's music director since 1984. The touring version of The Four Seasons is slated to end after Valli's farewell tour concludes in 2025. The band's original line-up was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990, the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999 and
11610-418: The group until 1975; over the course of the 1970s, Valli and Gaudio would begin assembling a new lineup. 19-year-old keyboardist Lee Shapiro was recruited to replace Gaudio (on Valli's explicit recommendation) as the latter moved to a studio role, in addition to taking on arrangement and some songwriting duties. A member of the group's backing band recruited drummer Gerry Polci , who would eventually take over
11739-409: The group virtually re-recorded four of their songs ("Harmony, Perfect Harmony", "Let's Hang On", "Grease", and "Silence Is Golden") for their YouTube channel. A limited-edition 44-disc career box set called "Working Our Way Back to You: The Ultimate Collection" was initially going to be released in the summer of 2021 by The Four Seasons Partnership and Snapper Records, but it missed the release due to
11868-516: The group's big break, only for Majewski and Nick DeVito to refuse to travel to it, forcing him to cancel). To fill the gap, two members of the Hollywood Playboys, another touring group in North Jersey, joined Valli and Tommy DeVito: lead keyboardist Hugh Garrity and guitarist Nickie Massey . In 1959, the band started working with producer / songwriter Bob Crewe , primarily for session work (Crewe wrote "I Go Ape", which Valli recorded with
11997-462: The group's last, in South Africa . Valli had planned to add his daughter Francine to the act in 1980, but Francine unexpectedly died that year. In 1984, a long-awaited collaboration between the Four Seasons and the Beach Boys, "East Meets West", was released on FBI Records, owned by the Four Seasons Partnership, which included most of the surviving Beach Boys (including Brian Wilson). However,
12126-411: The group. In 1994, "December 1963 (Oh What A Night)" re-entered the Hot 100 by way of a remix. In 2003, Valli revamped the group and started touring with a new vocal quartet (which he occasionally referred to as "the Four Seasons"), consisting of Landon Beard, Todd Fournier, and brothers Brian Brigham and Brandon Brigham. A massive 3CD + 1DVD box set ...Jersey Beat... The Music Of Frankie Valli &
12255-1090: The history of the Four Seasons in four parts, with each part narrated by a different member of the band and supposedly reflecting that band member's perspective on the band's history. The author of the book of the play, Rick Elice, interviewed Valli, Gaudio, and DeVito in writing the play, and pieced together Nick Massi's point of view based on those interviews (Massi had died before the play was written.) The Broadway production won four 2006 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Actor (for John Lloyd Young as Frankie Valli), Best Featured Actor (for Christian Hoff as Tommy DeVito), and Best Lighting Design. There are currently three U.S. productions of Jersey Boys running outside New York and other productions overseas including productions in Toronto, London, Australia, South Africa and The Netherlands. The movie adaptation , directed by Clint Eastwood , starred John Lloyd Young as Frankie Valli, Vincent Piazza as Tommy DeVito, Michael Lomenda as Nick Massi and Erich Bergen as Bob Gaudio. This film
12384-461: The hit " Worth It ". " Work from Home ", the lead single from their second studio album , became the first top-five single in the U.S by a girl group in a decade, following the September 2006 peak of " Buttons " by The Pussycat Dolls at number three. "Worth It" and "Work from Home" remain the most-viewed girl group music videos on YouTube . In the early 1990s, the British music scene was dominated by boy bands. The only girl group making an impact on
12513-621: The idea of girlhood as an identity across race and class lines." The group often considered to have achieved the first sustained success in girl group genre is the Shirelles , who first reached the Top 40 with " Tonight's the Night ", and in 1961, became the first girl group to reach number one on the Hot 100 with " Will You Love Me Tomorrow ", written by songwriters Gerry Goffin and Carole King at 1650 Broadway . The Shirelles solidified their success with five more top 10 hits, most particularly 1962's number one hit " Soldier Boy ", over
12642-522: The intention of releasing it as a "solo" single, only to be beaten to the punch by an unrelated song of the same name from Neil Sedaka , who became friends with Valli later on). Later that year, the Four Lovers were performing in Baltimore on the same stage as the Royal Teens , who were riding the wave of success of " Short Shorts ", a song co-written by then-15-year-old Bob Gaudio , who was also
12771-411: The late 1950s and early 1960s between the decline of early rock and roll and start of the British Invasion . All-female bands , in which members also play instruments, are usually considered a separate phenomenon. These groups are sometimes called "girl bands" to differentiate, although this terminology is not universally followed. With the advent of the music industry and radio broadcasting,
12900-588: The next two and a half years. " Please Mr. Postman " by the Marvelettes became a major indication of the racial integration of popular music, as it was the first number one song in the US for African-American owned label, Motown Records . Motown would mastermind several major girl groups, including Martha and the Vandellas , the Velvelettes , and the Supremes . Other songwriters and producers in
13029-510: The next year, with virtually no sales, airplay, or jukebox play. In 1957, the band's seventh single (this time on Epic ) had a similar lack of success. From 1956 until 1958, the group stayed together, performing in clubs and lounges as the Four Lovers and recording on music labels under various names: Frankie Tyler, Frankie Valli, Frankie Valli and the Travelers, Frankie Valli and the Romans,
13158-525: The parts on the group's debut album, Mary Jane Girls , released in April 1983. The album yielded their first R&B hits: "Candy Man", " All Night Long " (which was later included in the soundtrack of the 2002 video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City ), and "Boys". In live performances, the Mary Jane Girls were backed by the Stone City Band. The male band members also sang the background vocals to support McDuffie as lead vocalist. Cheri Wells left
13287-534: The popularity of the Four Seasons as a touring group and reignited recording unit. In 1977, the band recorded Helicon as a follow-up to Who Loves You ; it proved to be not as successful, with its lone American single "Down the Hall" peaking in the lower half of the Hot 100 and narrowly reaching the top 40 of the American easy listening charts and the UK charts. Additional top-40 UK hits would come with "Rhapsody," and
13416-870: The prevalence and popularity of the girl group form. As the rock era began, close harmony acts like the Chordettes , the Fontane Sisters , the McGuire Sisters and the DeCastro Sisters remained popular, with the first three acts topping the pop charts and the last reaching number two, at the end of 1954 to the beginning of 1955. Also, the Lennon Sisters were a mainstay on the Lawrence Welk Show from 1955 on. In early 1956, doo-wop one-hit wonder acts like
13545-433: The record did not sell well. Even after the rise and fall of the band's sales in the disco era, the Four Seasons, in one version or another, continued to be a popular touring act, with Valli and keyboardist/music director Robby Robinson (who joined in the early 1980s) being the only constants in the midst of a fluctuating lineup. Although Gaudio is still officially part of the band (he and Valli are still equal partners in
13674-399: The release of "Who Loves You" until he could replace Ciccone's vocal with his own. The album Who Loves You became a surprise million-seller for the band, as Valli ultimately agreed partially to cede lead vocals to Polci and Ciccone, making it the first album since Massi's departure to feature a lead or co-lead other than Valli prominently. In 1975, record sales exploded for both Valli and
13803-428: 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 #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
13932-462: The singers. In 2014, the Mary Jane Girls (Candice Ghant, Val Young , and Farah Melanson) received an honorary HAL Award . Girl group A girl group is a music act featuring three or more female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of whom were influenced by doo-wop and which flourished in
14061-668: The single " Kiss in the Dark ", Pink Lady was also one of only two Japanese artists to have reached the Billboard Top 40 . With their 1990 eponymous debut album , the trio Wilson Phillips sold over 5 million copies worldwide and reached five major US hit singles, four of which cracked the Top 10, with three peaking at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 . After the rise of new jack swing , contemporary R&B and hip hop , American girl groups such as En Vogue , Exposé and Sweet Sensation all had singles which hit number one on
14190-448: The sisters Maxine and Julia Waters. For live performances, starting in 1979, James was backed by McDuffie along with Cheryl Bailey (who used the stage name Cheri Wells), Candice "Candi" Ghant, and Kimberly "Maxi" Wuletich. Casually among the musicians, McDuffie, Wells, Ghant, and Wuletich used the moniker Mary Jane Girls, a subgroup of James's backing band, the Stone City Band. The women learned choreographed dance routines and practiced under
14319-416: The tape to Larry Uttal , the owner and founder of Private Stock Records , who wanted to release it as a Frankie Valli solo single. Although the band remained unsigned in the later part of 1974, Valli had a new label—and a new solo career. While new hits for the Four Seasons had dried up in the first half of the 1970s, the band never lost its popularity as a performing act. Longtime member Joe Long stayed in
14448-408: The top 10 of the UK Singles Chart , but was not commercially released in the United States as a single, although promotional copies were distributed in 1972, showing the artist as Frankie Valli. Valli has consistently spoken of how much of the group's late 1960s and early 1970s material was poorly marketed and only later received the appreciation that he felt it deserved. In late 1973 and early 1974,
14577-534: The tour, stating that "I’m not sure whether I’m gonna keep going out." The tour was eventually extended into 2025, with representatives for Valli responding to criticism of him touring at such an advanced age and fears of elder abuse by assuring that Valli was "doing just fine and super happy to be still performing." In a statement to People , Valli indicated a willingness to continue performing as long as audiences continued to buy tickets, responding to accusations of lip syncing by noting that his touring production
14706-439: The turning point for the band. Later, on a handshake agreement between keyboardist/composer Bob Gaudio and lead singer Frankie Valli, the Four Seasons Partnership was formed. 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
14835-464: The years. In the 1990s through the present, with the prevalence of such groups as the Spice Girls, there has been a strong emphasis on women's independence and a sort of feminism. At the very least, the music is more assertive lyrically and relies less on innuendo. This more recent wave of girl groups is more sexually provocative as well, which makes sense within pop music within this time frame as well. The Four Seasons (band) The Four Seasons
14964-529: The youth culture of western Continental Europe was deeply immersed in Yé-yé , recording artists of East Asia mostly varied from traditional singers, government-sponsored chorus, or multi-cultural soloists and bands, while bossa nova was trendy in Latin America. Beat music 's global influence eventually pushed out girl groups as a genre and, except for a small number of the foregoing groups and possibly
15093-472: Was Mary Jane Blige. Blige did not pursue the project. In 2003, the Mary Jane Girls were featured on VH1 in a " Where Are They Now? " episode. Ghant, Wells, Wuletich, and Marine were interviewed together. McDuffie, coming off a concert tour backing Barry White in Europe, appeared in a separate interview. In 2009, McDuffie's husband Robert Funderburg applied for control of the trademark "Mary Jane Girls", but
15222-518: Was also a popular subject because of an emerging audience of young girls listening to and buying records. Adolescence was also reinforced by girl groups in cultivation of a youthful image, since "an unprecedented instance of teenage girls occupying center stage of mainstream commercial culture". An example of this youth branding might be Baby Spice from the Spice Girls . This was shown through flourishes like typically matching outfits for mid-century girl groups and youthful content in songs. Girl groups of
15351-508: Was also a top 10 hit in the United Kingdom in February of that year. Valli had his first truly solo hit in the summer of 1975 when the Bob Crewe-produced " Swearin' to God " followed "My Eyes Adored You" into the upper reaches of the Hot 100, peaking at the #6 position and capitalizing on the growing disco craze. The song was released in three forms: the eight-minute album version, the ten-minute extended 12-inch single version, and
15480-481: Was backed by session vocalists rather than the other Mary Jane Girls. The group released two albums in the 1980s, and recorded a third – which was shelved for decades but finally released in 2014 as part of a larger Rick James retrospective. The group was inducted into the Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame in 2019. Rick James was frequently backed in his studio recordings by vocalists Joanne "Jojo" McDuffie and
15609-529: Was born." As the girl group structure persisted through further generations, popular cultural sentiments were incorporated into the music. The appearance of " girl power " and feminism was also added, even though beginning groups were very structured in their femininity. It would be simplistic to imply that girl groups only sang about being in love; on the contrary, many groups expressed complex sentiments in their songs. There were songs of support, songs that were gossipy, etc.; like any other musical movement, there
15738-407: Was designed to resemble the front page of a newspaper, pre-dating Jethro Tull 's Thick as a Brick by several years. The record was a commercial failure (by the group's usual standards; according to Stuart Miller, owner of a Four Seasons fansite named after the album, and Joe Long, the album sold about 150,000 copies) and led to the band's departure from Philips shortly after that, but it did catch
15867-411: Was itself gone by July 1962 when Morris Levy bought and dissolved the label. 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
15996-514: Was much variation in what was being sung. A prominent theme was often teaching "what it meant to be a woman". Girl groups would exhibit what womanhood looked like from the clothes they were wearing to the actual lyrics in their songs. Of course this changed over the years (what the Supremes were wearing was different from the Spice Girls), but girl groups still served as beacons and examples of certain types of identities to their audiences through
16125-421: Was permanently hired and became a mainstay of the band on bass and backing vocals until 1975, with Calello returning to arranging. 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. In the meantime, the Four Seasons released recordings under a variety of names, including
16254-541: Was producing. Songs also had a penchant for reflecting the political and cultural climate around them. For instance, songs with abusive undertones were somewhat common during the 1950s–1970s. One notable example was the song " He Hit Me (And It Felt Like a Kiss) " by the Crystals . During the "golden age of girl groups", lyrics were disparate, ranging from songs about mean dogs to underage pregnancy. However, common sentiments were also found in ideas like new love, pining after
16383-531: Was recruited away from the Mary Jane Girls by Morris Day to be the lead singer for his all-female band the Day Zs, which released one album and one single on Reprise in 1990. These releases did not chart. In 1991, Marine sued Virgin Records , claiming that she had shared lead vocals on the songs " Opposites Attract ", " Knocked Out ", and "I Need You", on Paula Abdul 's debut album Forever Your Girl . In 1993,
16512-502: Was unwilling to sign the group as a whole, but left a loophole in Valli's contract allowing him to stay with the group if they signed with another label. Gaudio then approached Warner Bros. Records with a new song, " Who Loves You ," with Ciccone on lead vocal due to Valli being overseas during the recording; intrigued by a new Four Seasons lead singer, they signed the group. Valli was unwilling to give up lead vocal duties and managed to halt
16641-451: Was using a strategy it had long relied on for studio recordings "layering vocals and instruments" to allow the Seasons to maintain a sound similar to that heard in the 1960s despite Valli's age. From 1956 until "My Eyes Adored You" in 1975, records which the Four Seasons recorded had the following artist credit (a sampling): Partial credits before 1994. This is not a complete list of album releases. These recordings have been reissued on
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