The 90-year-old musician is defending himself after a recent concert went viral and sparked some concern among fans
Over the weekend, a video of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons went viral on X (formerly Twitter). It wasn’t a throwback from the height of their career, but a more recent clip of the group performing “Bye, Bye, Baby” on their ongoing farewell tour. “Whoever keeps sending Frankie Valli out on stage at this point is committing elder abuse,” one social media user wrote. Valli, who is 90 years old, admittedly seems a little spaced out in the video. But the musician responded to the viral moment to defend his personal choice to keep performing in old age.
“I get a chuckle from the comments wondering if someone forcing me to go on stage. Nobody has ever made me do anything I didn’t want to do,” Valli shared in a statement to People. He added that a Four Seasons concert in 2024 leans on all of the lessons they learned over the past six decades. That offered something of an explanation of what was happening in that particular viral scene, where the group’s other vocalists took the lead over Valli. “The Four Seasons sound was always about layering vocals and instruments,” he said. “I sing, I have singers who sing, great arrangements….everything.”
Valli has been touring and performing for most of his life. He doesn’t see why he’s expected to stop now. “I know there has been a lot of stuff on the internet about me lately so I wanted to clear the air,” he shared. “I am blessed to be 90 years old and still be doing what I love to do and as long as I am able, and audiences want to come see me, I am going to be out there performing as I always. I absolutely love what I do. And I know we put on a great show because our fans are still coming out in force and the show still rocks.”
Valli currently has concerts scheduled with the Four Seasons through April 2025 as part of the Last Encores tour.
At the conclusion of his statement, Valli shared: “I plan to be doing shows as long as I can, delivering that great Four Seasons sound. Like that line in Jersey Boys, I’m like that bunny on TV, that just keeps going and going and going. Chasing the music.”
