FOUR SEASONS: More today on the Four Seasons performing in
Bradford in the early 1960s.
David Hall of Arvada, Colo., writes, “The Four Seasons did
perform in Bradford in either 1964 or 1965. The concert was held
at the School Street Junior High because of the reconstruction of
Bradford High.”
“After the concert, my first girl friend, Nancy Wolcott, and I
went to the DeSoto Restaurant on East Main for a bite to eat with
two other couples.
“Because we couldn’t sit together in one booth, Nancy and I sat
in a booth by ourselves across from each other. The Four Seasons
walked in shortly thereafter and Frankie Valli sat down next to
Nancy and pretended to make a pass at her, which was funny since we
weren’t even old enough to drive yet. He made sure we understood
he wasn’t serious.
“He was extremely nice and talked to us for a while.”
This from Jim Miller in Rixford: “Yes, the Four Seasons were in
Bradford in the early ’60s. Can’t remember the exact year (’63
maybe?). They performed at School Street Junior High. Most
memorable was the bad acoustics. And arguing with my sister — her
favorite was, of course, Frankie Valli; I preferred Summer.”
Ellen Tingley writes, “To Joe Marasco’s questions about the Four
Seasons playing in Bradford — they certainly did. I was a sophomore
in high school and they played at the School Street Junior/Senior
high school. My friend, Joanne Taylor Kelley, and I went to see
them. It was the first ‘concert’ I ever went to and we had a great
time.’”
Greg Taylor phoned, too, to tell us he had attended the concert;
and another Bradford resident, Chuck, who was 12 or 13 at the time,
remembers that the ticket price was $3 or $4.
If anyone is more interested in this subject, check the 1965
yearbook. A Smethport resident who graduated from Bradford High
tells us there’s a photograph of the concert in the Barker as one
of the highlights of the previous school year.
We’d be interested in talking to whoever on Student Council was
behind bringing the Four Seasons to Bradford at a time when they
were reaching the pinnacle of their success. Quite a feat.
Incidentally, we had referred to “The Jersey Boys” as a movie.
It’s not, it’s a Broadway musical.
