Tommy DeVito (musician)

Tommy DeVito (born Belleville, New Jersey, June 19, 1936 [Some sources list DeVito's birthyear as 1935 or 1928.] ) is an American musician and singer, best-known as a member and the lead guitarist of the pop group The Four Seasons.

DeVito's musical career began in the early 1950s when he formed the Variety Trio with his twin brother Nick and Hank Majewski. They were performing in nightclubs when Frank Castelluccio (later known as Frankie Valli) joined the band. They renamed themselves the Four Lovers and had a minor hit with 1956's "Apple of My Eye."

After a couple of name changes, the name the group became famous with, "The Four Seasons," was adopted in 1960. Nick DeVito and Majewski left the band in 1960 and were replaced by Bob Gaudio and Nick Massi. Nick Massi then left the band in 1965 and was replaced by Joe Long. The group's string of hits began in 1962 with #1 hit "Sherry."

Tommy DeVito left the band in April 1970 before Half and Half was released.

DeVito, along with fellow original Four Seasons Valli, Massi and Gaudio, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999.

DeVito's relationship with Valli and Gaudio is still positive (the other two have been close business partners for over 40 years and own all the rights to the Four Seasons' material, name, and touring act), and the three of them rejoined on stage at the opening of Jersey Boys, a new hit Broadway musical chronicling the story of the group's early days.

DeVito has written a lengthy but as-yet-unpublished autobiography (with the help of the late Rex Woodard) about his days with the group which served, along with other accounts, as background material for the musical.

Notes

2. New York writer Peter Conti, who wrote the upcoming film PAZ, based on boxer Vinny Pazienza, was hired to write an authorized biograpghy about DeVito.

External links

* [http://www.jerseyboysblog.com Jersey Boys] is the Broadway musical story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons.