The Four Seasons (group)

"Jersey Boys," a musical play based on the lives of The Four Seasons, is running at the La Jolla (California) Playhouse through January 2, 2005 and is headed for Broadway. Benny Goodman is interred in the Long Ridge Cemetery, Stamford, Connecticut. The Four Seasons were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990, and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999. He continued to play the clarinet until his death in New York City at the age of 77. The partnership continues to this day. Periodically he would organize a new band and play a Jazz festival or go on an international tour. The band name is also the name of a legal partnership, The 4 Seasons Partnership, that Valli and Gaudio entered into at the start of their careers, agreeing to split all the proceeds from their musical efforts 50-50. Goodman continued to play on records and in small groups.

The band would, however, enjoy a brief revival in their popularity in the mid 1970s, with the hits "Who Loves You", "Swearin' to God", and "December, 1963 (Oh What a Night)". Reasons include: talented musicians were entering the service, or getting better-paying factory jobs; gasoline and rubber rationing during WWII; two long musician recording strikes; the rise of popular singers like Frank Sinatra; the restriction of agents' commissions to 15%, which made promoting small groups more profitable for them. By the end of the decade, however, the group's popularity was deteriorating, as public interest moved towards rock with a harder edge and more socially conscious lyrics. By the mid-1940s, big bands lost a lot of their popularity. In the mid 1960s, the British Invasion slowed down their career somewhat, but the Four Seasons released several more big hits in 1964, such as "Dawn", "Rag Doll", "Big Man in Town", "Ronnie" and "Save It for Me". On January 16, 1938, his band made a famous appearance at Carnegie Hall. The Four Seasons followed up "Sherry" with several well-remembered hits, including "Big Girls Don't Cry", "Walk Like a Man" and "Candy Girl". Goodman continued his meteoric rise throughout the late 1930s with his big band, his trio and quartette, and a sextet.

After many more personnel changes, the band still tours today, but Valli is the only original member left. Musicians also told stories of Goodman's notorious cheapness, continuing to pinch pennies as he had in his poverty stricken youth long after he had attained fame and fortune. Massi left the band in 1965 and was briefly replaced by arranger Charles Calello before Joe Long became a mainstay on bass for the next 10 years. Many musicians spoke of "The Ray", Goodman's trademark glare that he bestowed on a musician that failed to perform to his demanding standards. Lead singer Frankie Valli began recording in 1953, but the group (Valli, Bob Gaudio on keyboards, Tommy DeVito on lead guitar, and Nick Massi on bass), which formed in 1960, didn't release their first hit until 1962, with "Sherry", produced by Bob Crewe. Depending on who you talk to, Goodman was a demanding taskmaster, or an arrogant martinet. The Four Seasons are an American pop and doo wop group, distinct from many similar groups of the 1950s and 60s in their traditional Italian-American sound. They had two daughters: Benjie and Rachel.

December 1963 (Oh What a Night). After dating for about three months they got married on March 14, 1942. Who Loves You. Benny met Alice Hammond Duckworth, the sister of his friend John Hammond. Swearin' To God (Frankie Valli). The integration of popular music happened 10 years before Jackie Robinson entered Major League Baseball. My Eyes Adored You (Frankie Valli). Goodman's fame was great enough that his band had no financial need to tour in the southern states, where his lineup would have been subject to arrest.

Will You Love Me Tomorrow (originally by The Shirelles). In 1936, he added Lionel Hampton on vibes to form the Benny Goodman Quartette; in 1940 he added pioneering jazz guitarist Charlie Christian to his band and small ensembles, who played with him until his untimely death from tuberculosis less than two years later. C'mon Marianne. Benny Goodman broke with tradition by hiring Teddy Wilson to play with him and drummer Gene Krupa in the Benny Goodman Trio. Can't Take My Eyes Off You (Frankie Valli). In the early 1930s, black and white jazz musicians could not play together in most clubs or concerts. In the Southern states, racial segregation was enforced by the Jim Crow laws. Beggin'. Goodman is also responsible for a significant step in racial integration in America.

Tell It To The Rain. It should be noted, however, that Goodman himself was no mere imitator; he was an astonishingly virtuosic and creative clarinetist, and one of the most of innovative jazz musicians of the pre-Bebop era. I've Got You Under My Skin. While Goodman publicly acknowledged his debt to Henderson, many young white swing fans had never heard Henderson's band. Opus 17 (Don't You Worry 'Bout Me). It is true that many of Goodman's arrangements had been played for years before by Fletcher Henderson's Orchestra. Working My Way Back To You. Both popularized black music to a young white audience.

Don't Think Twice (It's Allright) (The Wonder Who?). Many suggest that Goodman achieved the same success with Jazz and Swing that Elvis Presley did for Rock and Roll. Let's Hang On. Some writers have declared this date to be the start of the Swing Era. Girl Come Running. This received national publicity and turned the Goodman Band into an overnight sensation. Bye Bye Baby (Baby Goodbye). His radio broadcasts from New York had been too late to attract a large audience on the East Coast, but had an avid following in California, and a wildly enthusiastic crowd for the first time greeted Goodman.

Big Man In Town. However, it was not until after his fabled appearance at the Palomar Ballroom in Los Angeles on August 21, 1935 that Goodman became a nationally known star. Save It For Me. The combination of the Henderson charts, his solid clarinet playing, and his well rehearsed band made him a rising star in the mid-1930s. Rag Doll. Since he needed new charts every week for the show, his friend John Hammond suggested that he purchase some Jazz charts from Fletcher Henderson, who had New York's most popular African-American band in the 1920s and early 1930s. Alone (originally by the Shepherd Sisters). In 1934 he auditioned for the "Let's Dance" radio program.

Ronnie. He played with the nationally known bands of Red Nichols, Isham Jones, and Ted Lewis before forming his own band in 1932. Stay (originally by Maurice Williams & the Zodiacs). He made a reputation as a solid player who was prepared and reliable. Dawn (Go Away). Goodman left for New York City and became a good session musician during the late 1920s and early 1930s. Marlena. He started making records under his own name 2 years later.

Candy Girl. At the age of 16, Goodman joined one of Chicago's top bands, the Ben Pollack Orchestra, with whom he made his first recordings in 1926. Walk Like A Man. His early influences were New Orleans jazz clarinetists in Chicago, notably Johnny Dodds, Leon Roppolo, and Jimmy Noone. Big Girls Don't Cry. He became a strong player at an early age and began playing professionally in bands while still 'in short pants'. Sherry. He learned to play clarinet in a charity-run boy's band.

1996 Four Seasons with Frankie Valli. Goodman was born in Chicago, the son of poor Jewish immigrants who lived on Chicago's Maxwell Street neighborhood. 1995 Who Loves You. Benny Goodman, born Benjamin David Goodman, (May 30, 1909 - June 13, 1986) was a famous Jazz musician, known as "King of Swing," "Patriarch of the Clarinet," and "Swing's Senior Statesman". 1995 Oh What a Night. Download sample of "And the Angels Sing" by Benny Goodman and Martha Tilton, a legendary swing recording that helped keep Goodman's career afloat as band members departed. 1994 Sing for You.

1994 Sherry/Big Girls Don't Cry. 1993 Dance Album. 1993 The Four Seasons Dance Album. 1992 Hope & Glory.

2. 1990 Live, Vol. 1. 1990 Live, Vol.

1966 Live on Stage. 1965 The 4 Seasons Entertain You. 1964 Girls, Girls, Girls - We Love Girls. The Four Seasons.

1964 The Beatles Vs. 1964 Rag Doll. 1964 Dawn (Go Away) and 11 Other Great Songs. 1964 Born to Wander.