Jersey Boys

Written for Glyn’s Mixed Music Bag #13, Monthly Challenge Week 13
where we are asked to write about a song by a group or solo singer
beginning with the letter E or F.

What do Bruce Springsteen, Frank Sinatra, Jon Bon Jovi, Zakk Wilde, Count Basie, Southside Johnny, Tony Bennett, Dankig, Ricky Nelson and Paul Simon all have in common? I’ll give you a few minutes to mull that over.

OK, time’s up.

So, what do all those guys have in common? They are all from the illustrious Garden State …. New Jersey, USA. Yes, they are all Jersey Boys. However, they are not the Jersey Boys; that distinction goes to the Four Seasons, my featured group for this week and one of the best-selling bands of all time.

Evolved from a Newark, New Jersey vocal group called the Varietones and briefly known as the Four Lovers, the Four Seasons developed a harmony-based style that shared the same Italian American doo-wop origins as New York’s Dion and the Belmonts.

Frankie Valli, best known for his soaring falsetto, was the band’s lead singer, alongside Bob Gaudio on keyboards and vocals, Tommy DeVito on lead guitar and vocals and Nick Massi on electric bass and vocals. And no drums. “But Nancy” you ask, bewildered, “aren’t the Four Seasons known for their kickass drumming?” Yes, kids, that’s true and there’s a very good explanation. Read on.

The only member of the Four Seasons who played drums was Frankie Valli and he’ll tell you himself he wasn’t very good at it. Since they never had a member of the group to sit behind the kit, they always used session drummers. The most popular studio drummer at the time was Buddy Saltzman who, from 1955 through 1968 was the most used studio drummer in recording history. Let me repeat that: from 1955 through 1968, Buddy Saltzman was the most used studio drummer in recording history. Saltzman once said, “All I ever wanted to do was play drums and provide for my family.” Without a doubt, Buddy Saltzman fulfilled his goals in spades and in the process he helped create some of the coolest and longest-lasting music of the twentieth century.

Bob Gaudio, along with producer Bob Crewe, became the Four Season’s chief songwriter as the group cranked out R&B and R&R hits, first for Vee Jay and then for Philips Records. Among the top-10 hits from the group’s golden period was the song I’m showcasing today – “Dawn (Go Away)” from 1964.

“Dawn” was the group’s first record on the Philips label and would have been a runaway #1 hit in the US if not for those pesky Beatles. “Dawn” entered the Top 40 on February 8, 1964 and climbed to #3 the week of February 22, behind “I Want To Hold Your Hand” and “She Loves You”. It stayed at #3 for three weeks when it was bumped to #4 by “Please Please Me”. By March 28 it was at #5 as “Twist And Shout” entered the Top 5. On April 4, “Dawn” was out of the Top 10 and the Beatles held all five top positions. Boy! Talk about tough competition! In February 1964, 60% of the singles sold in the US were by the Beatles; the second-biggest seller was the Four Seasons. I wonder what Frankie Valli was thinking during that time.

Written by Bob Gaudio and Sandy Linzer, “Dawn” was called a self-deprecating song, with Frankie Valli constantly telling the girl that he’s not good enough for her: “Think what the future would be with a poor boy like me.” As Frankie Valli explained, “We sang songs about men and their situations with women, and about how things don’t always go the way you want them to.”

I chose to feature “Dawn (Go Away)” today to highlight the impact of the British Invasion on American artists and because it’s a damn fine song but a big reason for going with “Dawn” is Buddy Saltzman, the previously mentioned session drummer. Buddy’s really kicking it in this song; he accented the recording with bombastic around-the-kit fills as well as the softer ghost notes while never using a cymbal once. I don’t have to tell you to listen for the drums; they’re in your face in the best possible way …. Buddy Saltzman’s way.

There’s a ton more to be said about the Four Seasons but I’d much rather listen to their music.

From 1964, this is “Dawn (Go Away)”

In 1967 Frankie Valli began a parallel solo career. Due to the competition from groups from the UK, his popularity and that of the group declined in the mid 60s but rebounded in the 70s when both Valli and the Four Seasons had #1 singles before being relegated to the oldies circuit.

So where are the band members now? Incredibly, Frankie Valli celebrated his 89th birthday last year and is still performing! Bob Gaudio turned 81 in 2023 and is generally retired but still appears at various Four Seasons-related events. Tommy DeVito died in 2020 at the age of 92 after battling COVID. He had quit the group in 1970 but reunited with the band on several occasions. Nick Massi passed away from cancer on Christmas Eve in 2000, age 73.

The story of the Four Seasons was dramatized in the long-running Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Jersey Boys. The group’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 the New Jersey Hall of Fame in 2017. They are one of the best-selling musical groups of all time, having sold an estimated 100 million records worldwide.

That’s my story and I’m not even going to bore you about the time I met Frankie Vallie 20 years ago on the set of “The Sopranos”. He was Rusty Millio; this episode should have been called “Rusty (Go Away)”.

Thanks to Glyn for hosting another month of Mixed Music Bag.

Mixed Music Bag 2024 – week 13 – Editors

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