Oh what a night it will be

By Walter J. Lyng, October 24th, 2012

There's a good chance you've heard of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, Tommy James & The Shondells, The Critters, Carly Simon, Jim Croce, Cat Stevens and Barry Manilow. But you might not be so familiar with the names of some of the accomplished musicians who recorded and performed along with these stars such as Lee Shapiro, Don Ciccone, Gerry Polci, Larry Gates, Jimmy Ryan and Russ Velazquez.
Having performed on over 80 albums since 1966, these men joined forces a couple of years ago to form The Hit Men and they will perform at the Rialto theatre for one night only on Saturday, Oct. 27.
“When people hear our music, it sounds like the records they remember because it is the records they remember,” says Shapiro, an original member of The Four Seasons. “We're basically billed, not as a tribute band, not the actors from Jersey Boys, but the actual guys who made the hits.”
Although they are only currently scheduled to perform the one show, Shapiro says he's optimistic that this is only the start of something bigger. “We're looking forward to playing The Rialto and we're ultimately hoping to tour across Canada and I think that might happen as a result of the response to what we're about to do,” he says.
The show will include all of the Four Seasons songs made popular again by the Broadway hit as well as other hits they helped make famous, like “Mony, Mony,” “Hanky Panky,” “Peace Train,” “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown,” and “You're So Vain.”
“We describe our show as a double reunion,” says Shapiro. “One is with the guys on stage and the second reunion is with the audience because while we were recording and touring and singing, these people were dating and dancing and singing along.”
Not only successful as a musician, Shapiro would, in later years, work as an inventor, during which time he says he came up with his greatest achievement: the wildly popular Rock 'N Roll Elmo toy.
“When Rock 'N Roll Elmo came out, my daughter and I went to FAO Schwarz and there was a wall full of them,” he says. “I think that moment was the high point of my life.”
He assures that the high points will continue, however, as that is the mission of The Hit Men. “This is a completely positive venture,” he says. “Our message is: Life is short — have a good time and never stop.”
For more information, visit www.theatrerialto.ca