most instantly distinctive in pop music history.
Anyone born shortly after World War II
would have heard Valli’s hits on crackling
car radios and malt-shop juke boxes. (On
TV’s Happy Days, “Big Girls Don’t Cry” was
frequently played on the jukebox at Arnold’s
Diner.)
Valli’s admirers include other musical legends.
Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees (who wrote
“Grease,” which Valli released in 1978) said
he always tried to imitate the singer’s falsetto.
Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys called
The Four Seasons his favorite group. And Billy
70 artsLife | SUMMER 2018
Joel says that “Uptown Girl” was written as
Heck, you may have heard Valli himself
sing these songs during two previous concerts
in Orlando — in 2016 and 2017 —
where he and a reconstituted version of
The Four Seasons hit all the right notes and
wowed packed houses at the arts center.
In 2017, the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, at
82, appeared to have retained the three-oc-
to come back to Orlando more often,” he
told the crowd after one of several raucous