Word: valli
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...September 1962 the partnership struck gold when Gaudio's song Sherry and Valli's shrill vocals put the Four Seasons on top of the pop world. In 1971 Gaudio, who never liked performing, stopped touring with the Four Seasons but continued to produce the group's records and started working with other artists as well. Valli agreed to stay with the Seasons as lead singer. All the while, Gaudio and Valli never felt the need of a written contract. They have divided well over $50 million on the strength of their original handshake. Says Valli: "If you trust your partner...
...Four Seasons Partnership has various music publishing and production subsidiaries. But the proceeds from Valli's concerts, TV appearances and record sales, plus royalties from Gaudio's writing and production work, are ultimately funneled to the Los Angeles office of the Manhattan-based Barash, Goodfriend & Friedman accounting firm. It pays the partnership's employees, including the band members who back up Valli in the Four Seasons. The accountants divide the net profits between Valli and Gaudio...
...admit that the partnership would be strained if one of them consistently earned much more money than the other. But over time things even out. In 1978 Valli was the big breadwinner because he sang the title song from the movie Grease, which brought in an estimated $2 million for the partnership. In 1981 Gaudio starred, when the music he produced for the Neil Diamond movie The Jazz Singer earned him perhaps $1 million or more after divvying up with Valli...
...partnership has endured several crises. In 1967 Valli realized he was losing his hearing because of otosclerosis, a rare inner-ear ailment. One doctor told him that he would go completely deaf. At about the same time, sloppy management of the Four Seasons' business affairs plunged the group some $2 million in debt. To recoup, Valli embarked on a grueling schedule of about 300 concerts a year from 1969 to 1973. During that period, his ears got so bad that at times he had trouble hearing the band playing behind him. Finally, a series of operations restored most of Valli...
Today, Gaudio and Valli could retire and still earn a splendid living. Every time a radio station plays one of their records, the partnership makes money. Royalties from past hits bring in as much as $700,000 a year. Many of Gaudio's perky compositions seem to be perpetual money-makers. The first song he ever wrote was Short Shorts; more than two decades later it became the theme song in commercials for Nair hair-removal cream...