Angelo M. "Chubby" Cifelli (born March 27, 1939) is an American, singer, composer, and guitarist who grew up in
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.[Barringer High School
Barringer Academy of the Arts & Humanities (formerly Barringer High School and Newark High School), is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades in Newark, in Essex County, New Jersey, United ...]
.
As a musician he performed and wrote songs for
Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons
The Four Seasons are an American rock and pop band formed in 1960 in Newark, New Jersey. Since 1970, they have also been known at times as Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. The band evolved out of a previous band called The Four Lovers, with ...
. He first learned guitar in 1956 from
Tommy DeVito Tommy DeVito may refer to:
* Tommy DeVito (American football), American football quarterback
* Tommy DeVito (musician) (1928–2020), American musician and singer, member of The Four Seasons
* Tommy DeVito, a character in the film ''Goodfellas'' pl ...
. He joined the Tradewinds in 1959 and the group had a hit single with "Furry Murray".
[ The group performed on Dick Clark's '']American Bandstand
''American Bandstand'', abbreviated ''AB'', is an American music-performance and dance television program that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989, and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as the pro ...
'' to promote the release of the single.
Songwriting
In the early 1960s, Cifelli teamed up with Mike Petrillo of Belleville. They were introduced to each other by Frankie Valli
Francesco Stephen Castelluccio (born May 3, 1934), better known by his stage name Frankie Valli, is an American singer, known as the frontman of the Four Seasons beginning in 1960. He is known for his unusually powerful lead falsetto voice.
...
. Petrillo is an accomplished tenor saxophonist and plays solo sax lead on " Opus 17 (Don't You Worry 'bout Me)" by Valli and the Four Seasons.
In 1967, Cifelli and Petrillo co-wrote "Tell It to the Rain
"Tell It to the Rain" is a song composed by Mike Petrillo and Chubby Cifelli and popularized by The Four Seasons in 1966 and early 1967. The single reached the #10 position on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart.
The song's arrangement inclu ...
", a hit for Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons which reached number 10 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.
External links
Official website
References
1939 births
Living people
Barringer High School alumni
Songwriters from New Jersey
Musicians from Newark, New Jersey
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