Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons' 15 best songs ranked

15 July 2026, 12:03 | Updated: 15 July 2026, 12:15

Frankie Valli (and the Four Seasons) have sold around a hundred million records across the world.

Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons were one of the all-time great bands.

Led by singer Valli, the New Jersey band released a string of absolutely massive hits in the 1960s and beyond, while Valli also scored a number of solo successes during the same time.

• Frankie Valli, 89, is married for the fourth time after wedding with partner Jackie
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• Listen to the Gold 60s Live Playlist on Global Player, the official Gold app

The original lineup of Valli, Bob Gaudio, Tommy DeVito and Nick Massi were rightly inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 (among their many accolades), and they were immortalised by the Jersey Boys musical and movie adaptation.

Massi left in 1965, DeVito moved on in 1970, and Gaudio switched to a studio-only role from 1972, but Valli and a rotating cast of players have continued to play these songs in concert over the decades.

But what are Frankie Valli's greatest songs (both with and without the Four Seasons)? Read on for our rankings.

1. Ronnie

   

   The Four Seasons - Ronnie (Official Audio)

   One of many songs on this ranking written by the band's Bob Gaudio together with fellow New Jersey songwriter Bob Crewe.

   A number six single in the spring of 1964, and a perfect example of those Four Seasons harmonies led by that Valli falsetto.

2. Stay

   

   Stay (2007 Remaster)

   No, it doesn't have the pure raunch of the Zodiacs original, but what it lacks in out and out sex, the Four Seasons' version of 'Stay' – originally released on the flip of 1963 single 'Peanuts' – makes up for in sassy harmonies, propelling it into the top 20.

3. C'mon Marianne

   

   C'mon Marianne

   Written by L. Russell Brown and Raymond Bloodworth, 'C'mon Marianne' found The Four Seasons at their most Beach Boys-y with a rockier sheen thanks to those driving guitar chords that don't sound a million miles away from Iggy Pop's 'Lust for Life'.

   It also scored the band their last top 20 hit for eight years.

4. Candy Girl

   

   The Four Seasons - Candy Girl (Official Audio)

   Not written by Bob Gaudio or Bob Crewe, and not a reworking of an existing hit, 'Candy Girl' is a down-the-line love song written by Larry Santos that went all the way to number 3 on the Hot 100.

5. My Eyes Adored You

   

   Frankie Valli - My Eyes Adored You (Lulu, January 4th, 1975)

   There's an interesting story behind Frankie Valli's first "solo" number one. The Four Seasons actually recorded it 1974, but their then-label Motown didn't want to release it.

   Valli bought the tapes for $4,000 and eventually released it on Private Stock Records, who decided it was best to make it a Frankie solo single, despite it being a full band recording.

6. Let's Hang On!

   

   The Four Seasons - Let's Hang On (1965) [Digitally Enhanced]

   Written by Bob Crewe with Sandy Linzer and Denny Randell, 'Let's Hang On!' got all the way to number 3 on its release in 1965, being the last hit to feature founding bassist Nick Massi.

   It was later a hit for Barry Manilow, who scored a hit with it on both sides of the Atlantic.

7. Dawn (Go Away)

   

   NEW * Dawn (Go Away) - Frankie Valli & The 4 Seasons {Stereo} 1964

   Another top three single, Dawn (Go Away) was written by written by Bob Gaudio and Sandy Linzer, and was only kept off the top spot by The Beatles' double header of 'I Want To Hold Your Hand' and 'She Loves You'.

8. Walk Like A Man

   

   The Four Seasons featuring Frankie Valli - Walk Like A Man (American Bandstand 1963)

   A number one single from 1963, Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio's track tells the story of a man going his own way and breaking up his relationship after feeling emasculated in his relationship.

   Drag legend Divine's cover, from the album and released as a single too, is a must-hear.

9. Working My Way Back to You

   

   The Four Seasons - Working My Way Back To You (1966)

   There's a fair argument for The Spinners' disco-flavoured 1979 cover, but we'll always go back to the original Four Seasons original of this Sandy Linzer and Denny Randell number that has a bit more grit that best suits this tale of infidelity and regret ("But how I cried over losin' you").

10. Rag Doll

    

    NEW * Rag Doll - Frankie Valli & The 4 Seasons Original Hit Version {Stereo} 1964

    'Rag Doll' was written by Bob Gaudio and inspired by an interaction with a homeless girl he met in Hell's Kitchen.

    Its slowed-down doo-wop sound and touching lyrics ("I'd change her sad rags into glad rags if I could") helped propel it to number one in the US and number 2 in the UK, with the song enduring as one of the band's best-loved.

11. December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)

    

    Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons - December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night) (Official Music Video)

    The Four Seasons' time on Motown wasn't all that fruitful, with their album and three singles failing to chart.

    'Who Loves You' turned all that around (lead vocals were originally recorded by Don Ciccone in place of an absent Frankie Valli, before he got wind of that and insisted on re-recording them before the song's release), but the real return to success came with the follow-up 'December, 1963 (Oh What a Night!)'.

    Originally written by Bob Gaudio as a celebration of the end of prohibition and titled December 1933, the band didn't love the lyrics, so they were rewritten by Gaudio's girlfriend and future wife Judy Parker.

    The song saw drummer Gerry Polci take the lead (with Frankie doing the bridge and Ciccone handling the falsetto), making this a real group effort, and one that rightly went to number one on both sides of the pond.

12. Sherry

    

    The Four Seasons - Sherry

    After their non-charting debut 'Bermuda', the Four Seasons exploded onto the scene with the follow-up 'Sherry', which went all the way to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 (and top ten in the UK)

    Written by Bob Gaudio (apparently in just 15 minutes), it was originally inspired by Jackie Kennedy and had the working title 'Jackie Baby', before being changed to 'Terri Baby' and then 'Sherry'.

13. Grease

    

    Frankie Valli - Grease (Top Of The Pops September 14th, 1978)

    Written by Bee Gee Barry Gibb for the movie adaptation of the hit musical, you could quibble that the sound of 'Grease' is wholly anachronistic, but frankly when something is this good, who even slightly cares?

    Featuring Gibb on backing vocals (and Peter Frampton on guitar), It went to number one (and is still Frankie's last top 40 solo single) and helped respark Valli's solo career.

14. Big Girls Don’t Cry

    

    Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons - Big Girls Don t Cry 1962

    The follow-up to 'Sherry' immediately proved that The Four Seasons would be no one hit wonders, with the track matching its predecessor by topping the charts and becoming maybe their most enduring hit.

    With the line nabbed from a 1950s movie (Gaudio says Tennessee's Partner, but Crewe is probably right when he remembers it as Slightly Scarlet), they spun that moment into an out-and-out pop classic.

15. Can't Take My Eyes Off You

    

    Frankie Valli - Can't Take My Eyes Off You (Live)

    Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio joined forces yet again, but 'Can't Take My Eyes Off You' wasn't credited to the Four Seasons but instead given to Frankie Valli, proving that he could do more than just his trademark falsetto.

    It went to number two in the charts on its release in 1967 and has become a wedding singalong classic and a terrace anthem in the years since, without losing any of its soaring emotional power.