Biography
Singer/guitarist Tommy DeVito helped establish the Four Seasons as a founding member and remained active with the group through performances and recordings spanning 1961 to 1971. His earliest musical efforts took shape in New Jersey alongside his brother Nick DeVito and Hank Majewski within the Variety Trio. The ensemble grew into a quartet upon Frankie Valli’s arrival in 1954, prompting a name shift to the Variatones. A subsequent RCA Victor recording deal led to another rebranding as the Four Lovers. Between 1956 and 1957 the Four Lovers issued several RCA sides, yet only the single “You’re the Apple of My Eye” registered on the charts. DeVito and Valli sustained the act through the late ’50s and early ’60s under assorted monikers and shifting personnel, securing sporadic studio opportunities along the way. By 1961 the roster stabilized with the addition of bass singer, bassist, and vocal arranger Nick Massi together with singer/keyboardist and songwriter Bob Gaudio. The foursome adopted their definitive identity—the Four Seasons, often styled numerically as the 4 Seasons—after a Union, New Jersey, bowling alley whose lounge had hosted their audition. Under the guidance of songwriter/producer Bob Crewe they recorded their inaugural single as the Four Seasons, “Bermuda,” issued by Gone Records in November 1961, though it failed to connect. Success arrived with the follow-up, Gaudio’s “Sherry,” crafted to showcase Valli’s expansive range and piercing falsetto; released on Vee Jay Records in July 1962, the track reached number one that September and inaugurated a streak of three straight chart-toppers that also included “Big Girls Don’t Cry” and “Walk Like a Man.”
Throughout the mid-’60s the Four Seasons ranked among the era’s leading singles outfits, ultimately placing 39 titles on the Billboard Hot 100 from 1962 to 1969, among them 13 Top Ten entries. Chart authority Joel Whitburn placed them sixth among the decade’s most successful pop singles acts. They also landed 21 albums on the charts during the ’60s, four of which reached the Top Ten, yet their three gold-certified releases were all greatest-hits packages, underscoring their enduring identity as a singles-focused ensemble. DeVito departed at the beginning of 1971, shortly before a scheduled British tour; the initial explanation cited hearing difficulties, but it later emerged that mounting gambling debts and tax liabilities had prompted Valli and Gaudio to absorb those obligations in exchange for purchasing his stake in the group. Tommy DeVito passed away in Las Vegas, Nevada, on September 21, 2020, at age 92, from complications related to COVID-19.
Throughout the mid-’60s the Four Seasons ranked among the era’s leading singles outfits, ultimately placing 39 titles on the Billboard Hot 100 from 1962 to 1969, among them 13 Top Ten entries. Chart authority Joel Whitburn placed them sixth among the decade’s most successful pop singles acts. They also landed 21 albums on the charts during the ’60s, four of which reached the Top Ten, yet their three gold-certified releases were all greatest-hits packages, underscoring their enduring identity as a singles-focused ensemble. DeVito departed at the beginning of 1971, shortly before a scheduled British tour; the initial explanation cited hearing difficulties, but it later emerged that mounting gambling debts and tax liabilities had prompted Valli and Gaudio to absorb those obligations in exchange for purchasing his stake in the group. Tommy DeVito passed away in Las Vegas, Nevada, on September 21, 2020, at age 92, from complications related to COVID-19.
Albums
Singles
