麻豆约拍

Paul Sexton's profile of one of the greatest pop vocal groups in chart history picks up with their breakthrough hit Sherry sitting proudly at Number 1 on the Billboard US singles chart in 1962. The culmination of years of hard graft by Frankie Valli and his fellow musicians, it opened the door for an extraordinary run of hits in the Seasons' first golden era.

Valli and Bob Gaudio, business and creative partners for 50 years, talk in detail about the establishment of the Seasons' sound, and how it led to three bullseyes in a row as Sherry was followed to the top of the American charts by the equally memorable Big Girls Don't Cry and Walk Like A Man, both co-written by Gaudio and another intrinsic contributor to their success, Bob Crewe.

Denny Randell explains how he and co-composer Sandy Linzer joined the creative team as writers of some more of the group's best-loved songs, such as Working My Way Back To You and Opus 17 (Don't You Worry 'Bout Me). Randell and Calello describe how Let's Hang On was created in the studio and how its fuzz guitar sound was a direct acknowledgement of the Rolling Stones' recent hit of the time, Satisfaction.

Valli explains why he was still living in the projects even after they'd hit the big time and was the last member of the group to buy a house and a car. And the inimitable singer also offers his take on why the Four Seasons were just about the only American group to withstand the British Invasion. "We stayed true to what we did," he says. "There's room, you know what I mean? That's why ice cream companies make so many flavours. There's something for everybody.".