Frankie Valli

American musician, the lead singer with the Four Seasons as well as a solo artist.

When country singer Texas Jean Valley heard him sing in a school play, she took him under her wing, passing him off as kid brother Frankie Valley. He cut his first record in 1953. The following year he formed a group, the Variatones, working the New Jersey club circuit. In June 1956, they signed with RCA with a name change to the Four Lovers. In spite of a spot on the Ed Sullivan Show, the group went no further.

Under the name Frank Tyler, Valli released a solo in 1959. In 1962, the group became the Four Seasons. On 15 September 1962, their single, Sherry, hit the No.1 spot on the U.S. market. They put out their debut album in December.

In February 1966, Valli did his first solo. He continued to do both solos and group work until 1971, when he retired temporarily due to hearing difficulties. During their years together, the Four Seasons sold more than 85 million records and had more chart disks than any U.S. group. They had outstanding tours in both the U.S. and the UK.

In 1980, Valli had the last of three ear operations to cure a problem brought on by otosclerosis, a rare disease which had rendered him deaf.

In January 1990, the group was inducted in the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame. In March 1993, Valli received a gold disk for the UK sales of The Very Best of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.

The 70-year-old singer filed for divorce from his wife of 20 years on 24 September 2004 in Los Angeles, CA. They have three sons.