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For the last 20 years or so, I’ve always had a movie-going policy of not attending R-rated movies. I just don’t care to see violence or listen to potty-mouth language.
So when I listened to my friend Judy Corbin’s Friday trivia call-in voice message saying she had just returned from the movie “Jersey Boys” and it was a must-see movie, I was a bit hesitant to break my two-decade ban.
But I’m so glad my self-imposed two-decade R-rated movie exile has come to an end. I thoroughly enjoyed the two-hour movie, even with its barrage of locker room language. Director-producer Clint Eastwood put together a wonderful film of the creation of the music group Frankie Valli and the 4 Seasons, their personal and professional triumphs and struggles and mob connections and influences
Like the documentary-style, award-winning stage offering, the film kept breaking the fourth wall and had characters directly address the audience to tell its tale of on-stage harmony and off-stage discord, tracing the group’s inauspicious beginnings in 1951 as “four guys under a street lamp” harmonizing on working-class corners in Belleview, N.J., all the way to their eventual induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 40 years later.
And the “Jersey Boys” music was simply sensational-’60s wonderful.
Just for starters, there was “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Walk Like a Man,” “Rag Doll,” “Bye Bye Baby,” “Let’s Hang On,” “Working My Way Back to You” and I’ve Got You Under My Skin” – music that helped create an indelible soundtrack for life in the 1960s. If you grew up in that era, chances are one of those tunes is playing in your head right now.
Thank you, Judy, for your trivia call last week and for your two-thumbs-up “Jersey Boys” recommendation.
This week’s question
In 1955, lead singer Frankie Valli (Francis Castelluccio) formed the Varitones with twin brothers Nick and Tommy and Hank Majewski in Newark, N.J. The following year, the group changed its name to the Four Lovers. After several member changes, in 1961 the quartet took its name, The 4 Seasons, from a New Jersey bowling alley.
From 1962 through 1980, The 4 Seasons placed more than 50 songs on the Billboard pop chart, including 13 that made the top-10 and five that went to the top of the chart. Four of those No. 1 hits were recorded in the early 1960s — “Sherry” (1962), “Big Girls Don’t Cry” (1962), “Walk Like a Man” (1963) and “Rag Doll” (1964).
This week’s music trivia question — What was the name of the other 4 Seasons song that topped the Billboard chart for three weeks in January of 1976? Was it A) “Candy Girl,” B) “Dawn (Go Away),” C) “Ronnie” or D) “December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night?)”
If you’re caller number four and have the correct answer, you’ll win a 4 Seasons greatest hits CD.
Last week’s question
In January of 2004, when the late Casey Kasem retired from the syndicated American Top 40 show, he turned the reins over to a young celebrity who 10 years later still hosts the show today.
Last week’s question asked if you could name this celebrity. The choices were A) Randy Jackson, B) Ryan Seacrest, C) Simon Cowell, and D) Keith Urban.
The correct answer was Ryan Seacrest, who also has been the host of TV’s “American Idol” since its inception in 2002.
Each of the other three choices is, or has been, a judge on Idol’s singing competition program.
Jackson is a former judge and current mentor on the show, though he may be best known for his work as the executive producer for MTV’s “America’s Best Dance Crew.”
Along with Jackson and pop-dance singer Paula Abdul, love-him or hate-him Simon Cowell, with his blunt and often controversial criticisms, was part of the program’s initial trio of judges. He left “American Idol” in 2010 to join “The X Factor.”
Country singer, Keith Urban, who has been one of the genre’s top artists for the past 15 years, has been an Idol judge for the past two seasons.
Congratulations to last week’s first-time music trivia winner, Jim Christie.
Jim was born in Temple, Texas and moved to Mesa with his family when he was 16. After graduating from Mesa High School in 1960, he completed eight years of service in the Air Force, then 23 years in the Navy. He and his wife, Charlene, have been married for 39 years and have one daughter who lives in California. They moved to Payson in 2012.
Jim is now retired and enjoys bowling and collecting pocket watches. He’s a fan of ’70s and ’80s country and pop-rock and lists Alabama, Randy Travis and Don Williams as his favorite artists.
A final note
This Saturday night, Parks & Rec will be presenting its fourth of nine concerts under the stars, with local favorite, Junction 87, taking the stage from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Green Valley Park. Always a crowd-pleaser, the country trio will again bring its two-steppin’ beat, mixed in with a few familiar rock ’n’ roll oldies.
Bring your lawn chairs, blankets and dancin’ shoes or boots, enjoy a kick-up-your-heels good time or a relaxed evening of listening to good music, visiting with friends and gazing at the stars above.
Have a great Rim Country week!
DJ Craig – (928) 468-1482 – www.djcraiginpayson.com