How often has one of these hit songs been stuck in your head?
“Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Walk Like a Man,” “Candy Girl,” “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” “Oh What a Night,” “Rag Doll,” the list goes on. As you read this article, you’re probably humming along right now.
You might get the chance to hum along in person to Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, who will perform these and their other greatest hits live at the Jewish United Fund (JUF) Vanguard Dinner on Tuesday, Nov. 3. The dinner, which kicks off the 2010 Jewish United Fund-Israel Emergency Fund, will feature the musical group, the subject of “Jersey Boys,” which won the 2006 Tony Award for Best Musical.
“Jersey Boys,” which has been playing in Chicago’s Loop since the fall of 2007 and ends its Chicago engagement in January, tells the story of the 40-year friendship between four blue-collar Jersey boys catapulted to pop music superstardom.
Valli, both as a solo artist and with the Four Seasons, has produced 19 top ten hits and sold more than 1 million records around the world. He always knew he wanted to perform and was inspired by musicians like fellow New Jersey native Frank Sinatra. “I’d always wanted to be a singer, ever since my mom took me to see Sinatra at the Paramount Theatre in New York as a kid,” recalls Valli. “I decided then and there that’s what I was going to do…be a successful singer.”
As a boy, he sang doo-wop to pedestrians on Newark street corners in the early 1950s. Then, he joined forces with Nick Massi and Tommy DeVito in performing as a trio. Soon after, songwriter Bob Gaudio joined the group. In 1962, Gaudio wrote the song “Sherry,” in just 15 minutes, and the song was released that summer. The group then performed on “American Bandstand,” and the next day the song sold 200,000 copies, rocketing Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons to fame. Gaudio wrote or co-wrote and produced most of the group’s songs with heavy involvement by Bob Crowe.
The Four Seasons had a unique sound, a combination of the doo-wop music of the 1950s and the rhythm and blues influences of the 1960s, led by Valli’s powerful falsetto as the group’s signature stamp.
“With the help of our wonderful community we know that the Vanguard dinner will initiate the 2010 JUF campaign on a very successful note.
Our committee members have planned an enjoyable evening. We invite everyone to a fun evening of commitment to the Jewish community,” said Beth and Dr. Jeffrey Kopin, co-chairs of the Vanguard dinner.
The Vanguard dinner will be held at the Hyatt Regency Chicago. There is a minimum gift requirement of $5,000 to the 2010 Jewish United Fund-Israel Emergency Fund and couvert of $100 per person. To inspire future generations and to ensure the continuity of our tradition of tzedakah, attendees are invited to bring their adult children 18 years and older as their guests. There will be a cocktail reception at 5:30 and dinner to follow.
For more information on the Vanguard Dinner, contact Jed Silberg at (312) 444-2835 or Vanguard@juf.org.
The 2010 Vanguard Dinner is sponsored in part by DLA Piper and Greenberg Traurig.
The following people are vice chairmen of the Vanguard Dinner: Mara Baumgarten, Dana and Lee Gordon, Penny and Brett Keeshin, and Andrea and Marshall Yablon.
