It’s always very special for me to work Chicago. Both of the record companies I was with, early on, were based in Chicago. The music was always huge there. Frankie Valli Read Quote
I do belong to Jersey. There’s no doubt about that in my mind. They have been so loyal and so good to me; how could I possibly belong any place else? Frankie Valli Read Quote
When we were trying to get ‘Jersey Boys’ off the ground, I’d get, ‘The Four Seasons? Who’s going to care? There’s the Beatles, there’s the Rolling Stones.’ But people know those stories. Here was a story no one knew. Frankie Valli Read Quote
With ‘Sherry,’ we were looking for a sound. We wanted to make the kind of mark that, if the radio was playing one of our songs, you knew who it was immediately. But I didn’t want to sing like that my whole life. Frankie Valli Read Quote
I always believed a singer should be able to sing any kind of song. If I wanted to sing a Cole Porter song, I should be able to do that. Or ‘Sherry,’ I should be able to do that. Or a Dylan song. Frankie Valli Read Quote
In 1967, I found out I was losing my hearing. I went 10 years without any help. I had otosclerosis – hardening of the bone in the middle of the ear. Frankie Valli Read Quote
I went to school to learn to be a hairdresser. I worked at a wholesale florist, where I delivered to florists all over New Jersey. I’d come home and go out to work down at the Shore. The early jobs, I remember, were $5, $6 a night. And I lived in the projects right until the time I became successful. Frankie Valli Read Quote
When I was a kid, I used to listen to my Emerson radio late at night under the covers. I started by listening to jazz in the late 1940s and then vocal harmony groups like the Four Freshmen, the Modernaires and the Hi-Lo’s. I loved Stan Kenton’s big band – with those dark chords and musicians who could swing cool with individual sounds. Frankie Valli Read Quote
At school, I’d sing in groups in the locker room or in the bathroom, which was like an echo chamber. The problem is I didn’t know how to get started singing professionally. The pool hall was my Facebook. I’d hang out there to keep up with what was going on and to let people know where I could be reached if singing jobs came up. Frankie Valli Read Quote
I’d seen so many people become stagnant in New Jersey – I had this fear I’d just stay there. They’d come out of high school, get a job, get married, have kids and die in Jersey. I wanted more. Frankie Valli Read Quote
