PsychepediA

From: Newark, NJ, USA

Official Website

Although obviously not considered a psychedelic outfit, the Four Seasons did issue one fairly dosed up, well put together single titled 'Electric Stories' in late 1968, along with a respectable flower power tinged LP (The Genuine Imitation Life Gazette) in early 1969. Hailing from Newark, the band formed in 1960 with original members Frankie Valli (lead vocals, tenor vocals), Tommy DeVito (lead guitar, baritone vocals), Nick Massi (bass, bass vocals) and Bob Gaudio (keyboards, tenor vocals). By 1963 the group was on fire, having already released two chart-topping smashes ('Sherry' and 'Big Girls Don't Cry') the year prior followed up by the #1 mega-seller 'Walk Like A Man'. During the early years of their fantastic run, Gaudio either wrote or co-wrote the vast majority of the ensemble's hits, along with their longtime producer Bob Crewe.

In 1965, the band went through an unexpected personnel change when Massi abruptly left the fold and was initially and briefly replaced by the group's musical arranger Charles Calello (bass, vocals) before Joe Long (bass, vocals) was brought in more permanently. The Top 40 hits continued to pile up steadily (a staggering total of 27 into 1968), but by the late 60s, things were slowing down a bit due to the group's style now sounding somewhat dated and passé. In the hopes of freshening things up, the band issued the aforementioned, wonderfully quirky 'Electric Stories' in November of '68, which was written by the songwriting due of Mike Petrillo and Sandy Linzer, both of whom had separately penned huge hits for the Seasons like 'Let’s Hang On!', 'Tell It To The Rain', and “Working My Way Back To You'. Unfortunately, the song sounded so radically different from the band's previous output that it surprised and turned off most of their core fanbase; however, it did manage to reach the #61 spot on the Billboard Hot 100. About three months later, the group released the previously mentioned concept album titled The Genuine Imitation Life Gazette, which was co-written by Gaudio and Jake Holmes, and takes on a similar late 60s pop-psych vibe. Although the record didn't make a significant splash, it does include some well-put-together highlights, including 'American Crucifixion Resurrection', 'Mrs. Stately's Garden' and 'Genuine Imitation Life', the latter of which smoothly invokes The Beatles' 'Hey Jude' and is also equipped with a false ending.

With the 1960s almost in the rear view mirror of history, the Four Seasons were starting to witness their career being cast in the same reflection. It should be noted that in late '69, Bob Grimm (lead guitar) was asked to go on the road with the group as a backup guitarist and eventually found himself briefly replacing Devito when he exited in 1970 before John Paiva (lead guitar) was recruited into the fold long-term. The band floundered in the early 70s with Valli and Gaudio taking on a virtual revolving door lineup of members to push out new rather ill received material and tour. In 1972, Gaudio went on hiatus making Valli the only still standing original member, but a resurgence of high quality material gave the group three more Top 40 hits including the #1 blockbuster 'December, 1963 (Oh, What A Night)' that was co-written by Gaudio and his future wife, Judy Parker. Other later career milestones include a 1990 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and then the off-the-charts success of the Broadway play Jersey Boys conceived by both Gaudio and Valli. To this day, Valli continues to tour regularly to large, adoring audiences.