Donald Joseph Ciccone (February 28, 1946 – October 8, 2016) was an American singer, songwriter and musician. He was a founding member of the pop group

the Critters The Critters were an American pop group with several hits in the 1960s, most notably "Mr. Dieingly Sad", a U.S. and Canadian Top 20 hit in 1966. Career The group formed in Plainfield, New Jersey, United States, in 1964 when singer-guitarist Do ...

, singing their biggest hits "Younger Girl" and "Mr. Dieingly Sad". The latter he wrote about his girlfriend Kathy Cobb before he entered the Air Force during the time of the Vietnam War. Cobb later became his wife. When the Critters's first album started to take off, Ciccone was in the Air Force and the band had to tour without him. This is why many videos on YouTube do not feature him with Ken Gorka lip syncing Ciccone's part. Ciccone was born in

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.Plainfield, New Jersey Plainfield is a city in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, known by its nickname as "The Queen City."

. In the 1970s, Ciccone joined the Four Seasons, where he played guitar and bass and contributed lead vocals to songs including "

December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night) "December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)" is a song originally performed by the Four Seasons, written by original Four Seasons keyboard player Bob Gaudio and his future wife Judy Parker, produced by Gaudio, and included on the group's album, '' Who Lo ...

" and "Rhapsody". After the Four Seasons, he joined

Tommy James and the Shondells Tommy James and the Shondells are an American pop rock/psychedelic rock band, formed in Niles, Michigan, in 1964. They had two No. 1 singles in the U.S. – " Hanky Panky" (July 1966, their only RIAA Certified Gold record) and "Crimson and Clov ...

as their bassist through 1987. During his time with the Critters, he wrote "

Mr. Dieingly Sad "Mr. Dieingly Sad" is a 1966 song by the Critters. It was written by Don Ciccone Donald Joseph Ciccone (February 28, 1946 – October 8, 2016) was an American singer, songwriter and musician. He was a founding member of the pop group the Cr ...

", produced by

Artie Ripp Arthur Marcus "Artie" Ripp (born 1940) is an American music industry executive and record producer. Career Early career Ripp began his career as a singer, initially informally harmonizing rock and roll songs with friends from high school. In ...

, which reached #17 for the group. He also wrote and recorded "There's Got to be a Word", which was later recorded and released by the Innocence in December 1966. Their version reached #34 on the charts. Ciccone also performed with the band The Hit Men - other members included his former Four Seasons band mates

Lee Shapiro Lee Shapiro (1949–1987) was an American documentary filmmaker. His one feature-length film, ''Nicaragua Was Our Home'', was released in 1986. It was filmed in Nicaragua among the Miskito people, Miskito Indians who were then fighting against Nica ...

and

Gerry Polci Gerry Polci (born June 9, 1952) is an American singer and musician who was a member of the American Rock music, rock and Pop music, pop Musical ensemble, band The Four Seasons (band), The Four Seasons. Polci played and sang in the band variously ...

. Ciccone, who was a long time resident of Ridgewood, New Jersey and Port Saint Lucie, Florida had moved to

Sun Valley, Idaho Sun Valley is a resort city in the western United States, in Blaine County, Idaho, adjacent to the city of Ketchum in the Wood River valley. The population was 1406 at the 2010 census, down from 1427 in 2000.Ketchum Ketchum may refer to: Towns, cities, and, geographic features * Ketchum, Idaho, United States * Ketchum, Oklahoma, United States * Lake Ketchum, Washington, United States * Ketchum Glacier, a glacier in Antarctica * Ketchum Ridge, a large ridge i ...

at the age of 70.

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* * * * 1946 births 2016 deaths American male singer-songwriters The Four Seasons (band) members Musicians from Jersey City, New Jersey People from Sun Valley, Idaho Tommy James and the Shondells members Singer-songwriters from New York (state) Singer-songwriters from New Jersey Singer-songwriters from Idaho {{US-singer-songwriter-stub