Monday, July 7, 2014

Nostalgia Was the Word

I love Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.  My spouse, whose favorite music genre is hard rock, loves Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.

Both of us were born in the early 1950's.  The Four Seasons was the soundtrack of several years of our lives.  In 2012, in fact, I wrote a blog post about the 50th anniversary of the Four Seasons.  If you want to hear some of their best songs, click on over.

So when we heard, at the last minute that Frankie Valli was going to appear in Washington, DC for "A Capital Fourth", we sighed.  It was too late for us to change plans, so in Binghamton, New York we were staying.  And, anyway, we have been to Washington, DC twice for the Fourth of July.  Both times, the temperatures were hot and steamy.

Although it is hard to imagine if all you've ever seen is the TV coverage of the Independence Day activities in our nation's capital, it is almost impossible to sit close enough to the live music performances to actually appreciate them.  Both times we were in DC, we decided to stick with the fireworks and not even try to get close enough to the music.

 Just our luck, thanks to a hurricane in the Carolinas, the weather there on July 4, 2014 was perfect.

So, last night we watched Frankie Valli's performance thanks to our DVR.  Thanks to the Jersey Boys Broadway show and Clint Eastwood directed movie, one could say that Frankie Valli is more popular than ever.

Frankie Valli is 80 years old.  But, I don't hear it in his voice.  He still has that wonderful falsetto.
He did one of my favorite songs, Grease, from a musical movie adapted from a play. Over the years, the story has been modified several times.  Bee Gee Barry Gibb wrote the song, but Frankie Valli performed it.
Here is Frankie Valli in 1978, in fact, performing the song.  When you see this live performance - the dancers may be dressed like the 50's but the performance screams disco and "1978!".

The fascinating thing about nostalgia is that we all, after a certain age, seem to fit a hazy veil over our childhoods.  Everything seems to have been better "back then".  The music was better, people behaved better, and things were just as they should have been.

But, in reality, some things change for the better - and some don't.  As for music, history will probably be the final judge of which decade had the best music.

Do you have a favorite singer or group from your growing up years?

6 comments:

  1. I, too, recall where I was each and every time I heard a Four Seasons song for the first time. I saw them in person decades ago.
    And, you CAN enjoy the DC Capital Fourth (and the Memorial Day version)- you just need to bring a portable fan (like I do for my baseball games) and plenty of water...
    (I admit it- this year, because it was a Friday night, I didn't go- but set up the TV so my Friday evening guests and I could still enjoy the fireworks. [The sound reverberated through the air to my house. No need for that effect to be enhanced...]

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  2. I live in Richmond, about 2 hours from DC. Yes, the fourth had PERFECT weather.

    I believe they're making a movie about Frankie Valli. Are you looking forward to it?

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  3. I love Frankie Valli! Though I wasn't born until the mid 70s, my dad taught me to love the music of the 1950s.

    It is generally ALWAYS hot and humid in the DC Metro on the 4th. Although this year was a good change. Cooler, but still muggy since we had all that rain from the latest hurricane system. Though I live in the Virginia suburbs, I have never been brave enough to put myself into the crush of people on the 4th. Not even for my favorite performer, as they usually only do a couple songs per artist, at most.

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  4. I watched in in Alaska on PBS. Only fireworks I get to see on the 4th, as it's daylight all night here.

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  5. Sometime I have trouble thinking how old some of these star is. Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stone is a senior citizen.

    Coffee is on

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  6. Gosh, I didn't realise that he was 80; but I suppose that it makes sense!
    I have to admit to not being a fan of 'Grease' itself, but I do like that song. It's catchy!

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