Jersey Boy Frankie Valli’s secrets for dealing with the Wise Guys

FRANKIE Valli had no hesitation when asked how he’d like to celebrate the 55th anniversary of his legendary US vocal group, The Four Seasons.

He said: “I want to hit the road again.”

The fighting fit Frankie who’ll be 81 in May has embarked on a year-long world tour which brings him to the Clyde Auditorium in Glasgow on July 6.

And the singer whose famous falsetto voice is heard on classic hits such as Sherry, Walk Like A Man, Let’s Hang On and Can’t Take My Eyes Off You shows no sign of slowing up.

“I’ve been singing since I was a kid, what else am I going to do?” Frankie told me.

Frankie can pinpoint the moment he decided he wanted to be a singer.

It was in 1941, when his mother took him to the Paramount Theatre in New York to see Frank Sinatra.

“I was seven years old and it was life-changing, the most exciting thing I’d ever seen,” recalled Frankie.

“When Sinatra walked on stage it was incredible. Women were screaming and fainting. I decided on the spot I was going to be a singer.”

The youngster learned his trade performing in school and local bars. He was baptised Francesco Castelluccio but pinched his stage name from female singer, “Texas” Jean Valli.

In 1960, Frankie joined forces with three teenagers, Tommy DeVito, Nick Massi and Bob Gaudio, who hung around the street corners of his neighbourhood in New Jersey.

He was introduced by a mutual friend, Joe Pesci, who later found fame as an Oscar-winning actor starring in movies like Raging Bull, GoodFellas and My Cousin Vinny.

Frankie had a few early brushes with the law but music provided a means to make his mark.

He said: “It was a very poor, tough neighbourhood. But I had great parents. Plenty of food. Not a whole lot of money but a whole lot of love.

“The area was ruled by organised crime it was full of wise guys. They were around the bars, clubs and pool rooms I was singing in.

“I didn’t have much trouble with wise guys. They all liked me. If they requested a particular song, I’d sing it, because they tipped very well.”

The group’s rise to fame was recreated in stage musical, Jersey Boys, which opened on Broadway in 2005. It’s been playing to packed houses ever since and running simultaneously in Las Vegas and London’s West End.

A touring production hits the Theatre Royal, Glasgow on December 8.

“The first time I saw Jersey Boys was very uncomfortable. It felt strange seeing a guy play me on stage,” admitted Frankie.

Last year, Clint Eastwood directed a movie version which won rave reviews.

Jersey Boys revealed how Tommy DeVito owed $150,000 to a loan shark for a gambling debt and the Mob wanted their money or else.

Local gang boss Angelo “Gyp” DeCarlo tried to settle the disagreement and the group toured non-stop to pay off the wise guys.

“Tommy got involved with them but I never did. I wasn’t a gambler. I didn’t borrow money from loan sharks. I never looked for favours,” said Frankie.

“I was questioned by the law. They’d say: ‘Why are you hanging around with a certain guy?’ But if a wise guy came to hear me sing and was tipping me all night why wouldn’t I talk to him?

“Should I interrogate everyone who wanted to buy me a drink? Ask them what they did for a living? It’s ridiculous.”

The Four Seasons chalked up

29 Top 40 hits and Frankie scored nine more as a solo artist including Grease, title song of the hit 1978 movie.

They have sold 100 million records and were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.

In 2004, Frankie became popular with a new generation of fans when he played mobster Rusty Millio in US TV drama, The Sopranos.

When Rusty fell foul of boss Tony Soprano he ordered a hit-man to assassinate him.

“I was lucky to play Rusty in seven episodes,” Frankie recalled.

“The character was just like guys from my neighbourhood. I knew Rusty was going to get bumped off. And who better to do it than Tony Soprano?”

Frankie can’t wait to perform in Glasgow again.

“The first time I visited Scotland was in the ’60s. The countryside was so lush, green and beautiful. It never left me,” he said.

“The audiences were fantastic, too. They were always good to me. I never took them for granted.

“I always said: ‘If I do my best they’ll be loyal’. They’ve stayed with me over the years.”