Jersey Boys premiered at the La Jolla Playhouse on October 5, 2004 and ran through January 16, 2005 The musical opened on Broadway on November 6, 2005 at the August Wilson Theatre starring John Lloyd Young as Frankie Valli, Christian Hoff as Tommy DeVito, Daniel Reichard as Bob Gaudio, and J. Robert Spencer as Nick Massi. Directed by Des McAnuff, the then artistic director at La Jolla Playhouse, the musical uses many of the group's hit songs to tell the turbulent story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons' rise to fame. Ben Brantley of The New York Times wrote, 'THE CROWD GOES WILD. I'm talking about the real, mostly middle-aged crowd at the August Wilson Theater, who seem to have forgotten what year it is or how old they are or, most important, that John Lloyd Young is not Frankie Valli. And everything that has led up to that curtain call feels, for just a second, as real and vivid as the sting of your hands clapping together.'20 vocal selections from the Broadway musical about Rock and Roll Hall of Famers The Four Seasons. This is the story of how a group of blue-collar boys became the biggest American pop sensations of all time, selling over 175 million records worldwide.

Celebrated folk singer Frankie Armstrong is also one of our leading voice trainers, whose work is grounded in the voice's capacity to empower the individual. Here, with therapist, writer and storyteller Jenny Pearson, she has gathered essays from leading women artists and voice trainers around the world to offer a range of approaches and contexts for personal growth through awareness of the voice. Through anecdote, examples and exercises, the artists and teachers in Well-Tuned Women have assembled an essential guide for all those interested in liberating themselves through song, speech and sound.

This recent release, on the Collectables label, features three currently performing a cappella groups: Frankie and the Fashions, The Encounters, and the Balladeers, with their versions of renowned hits. The Five Satins' 'In the Still Of The Night,' considered one of the great R & B influenced doo-wop songs of all time (though it never broke the top twenty of the national charts when it was released) is covered by Frankie & the Fashions. The Balladeers' take on the Drifters' 'Fools Fall In Love' is one of the best cuts overall, with the group making the most of the simple but effective arrangement.

It was in the Little Italy neighborhood of West Philly that four teenagers formed a band inspired by the music of Dion & The Belmonts, The Earls and Little Anthony & The Imperials. You could hear them on the corner of 49th St. In April of 1964 they recorded a song called 'Funny Girl' which was never released because their manager died just after the track was cut. Through this tragic circumstance the group never went commercial but did continue to just cruise around Philadelphia and share street corner symphonies with other groups, alternating songs for their own pleasure and that of passersby. Thirty-three years later lead singer Frankie Lafaro (who has been called the Frank Sinatra of doo-wop) and the four Fashions finally recorded both some of the tunes they have sung all their lives and some of Frankie's originals.

Frank Sinatra had an unfailing instinct for great material. This tribute album, from Philadelphia's Frank Lafaro and his Fashions, contains signature songs such as 'Strangers In The Night,' 'It Was A Very Good Year,' 'Night and Day,' 'Something Stupid,' 'My Way,' 'New York, New York' and thirteen more. The melody lines are more-or-less true to the original versions, but most of the arrangements are revised in the doo-wop style, such as 'All The Way' and 'Summer Wind,' where nonsense syllables are the accompaniment and falsetto embellishes the intro and outro. Frank Lafaro does a pretty credible Sinatra and obviously relishes the opportunity to stand in for 'Ol' Blue Eyes.'

Frankie Lymon's meteoric rise to superstardom in 1956 (and his subsquent crash) has been well-documented. As the lead singer of the most successful of the teenage doo-wop groups, Frankie's precocious talent resulted in hits such as 'Why Do Fools Fall In Love,' 'I Want You To Be My Girl' and 'Goody Goody,' songs that are memorable still. The sixteen tunes on this CD were recorded between 1955 through 1958; most were issued on George Goldner's Gee label. Frankie's adolescent tenor was confident, his interpretative skills well-developed, and his pitch stable; unfortunately for him, as his voice matured, it no longer was the attraction it once was. To hear Frankie sing 'I'm Not A Know It All' and 'I'm Not A Juvenile Delinquent' hold a pathetic irony, but regardless, these songs are the defining sound of 1950's pop

Philadelphia's Frankie Lafaro and the Fashions came together as a Doo Wop group in 1963. They first recorded in 1964, but because of the death of their manager, the material was never released. Lead vocalist and songwriter Frankie, who is known as the 'Frank Sinatra of Doo Wop,' and his 4 fabulous Fashions are still sounding as sweet and pure as ever, and they are finally receiving the success that has been long overdue them. Our favorites include the Lafaro originals 'Philadelphia,' 'Blame It On Another Rainy Day,' 'Sometimes,' 'What A Rush,' 'Mr. Time' and 'Lost Masters.' Frankie sings one of the best leads we've heard, and getting to hear this hot, unreleased Doo Wop is a treat!