Frankie Valli Responds to Viral Claims of ‘Elder Abuse’
· Ultimate Classic RockFrankie Valli, the acclaimed singer known for fronting the Four Seasons, has responded to claims he is a victim of elder abuse.
A recent concert clip of the 90-year-old vocalist went viral online, with many onlookers commenting that Valli appeared too frail to be performing.
“Whoever keeps sending Frankie Valli out on stage at this point is committing elder abuse,” remarked one Twitter user, their caption accompanying a video that has been viewed more than 2 million times.
Though some commenters took the opportunity to make fun of the nonagenarian, the overwhelming majority seemed generally concerned for the singer’s well-being. Now, Valli has responded to those fans, assuring them all is well.
'Nobody Has Ever Made Me Do Anything I Didn’t Want to Do'
"I know there has been a lot of stuff on the internet about me lately so I wanted to clear the air,” Valli began in a statement shared with People. “I am blessed to be 90 years old and still be doing what I love to do and as long as I am able, and audiences want to come see me, I am going to be out there performing as I always [do]. I absolutely love what I do. And I know we put on a great show because our fans are still coming out in force and the show still rocks."
Valli went on to discuss his live performances, which cover the Four Seasons’ timeless material, including songs like "Sherry," "Walk Like a Man" and "Big Girls Don't Cry."
READ MORE: The Biggest No. 1 Rock Songs of the '60s
“The Four Seasons sound was always about layering vocals and instruments. We use our 60 years of experience so we sound like the records. I sing, I have singers who sing, great arrangements…. everything.”
He then pivoted to address fans’ concerns. “I get a chuckle from the comments wondering if someone [is] forcing me to go on stage,” Valli noted. “Nobody has ever made me do anything I didn’t want to do."
The singer concluded by declaring his plans to perform “as long as I can.” “Like that line in Jersey Boys, I’m like that bunny on TV, that just keeps going and going and going. Chasing the music."
Valli’s next concert is scheduled for Oct. 11, with tour dates stretching through April 2025.
The Rolling Stones
Even with a career spanning more than six decades, the Rolling Stones continue to endure. In a 2020 conversation with Rolling Stone, Keith Richards insisted the band would never retire. “I really can’t imagine doing anything else,” he admitted. "You might call it a habit. I mean, that’s what we do. And also there’s that thing between us, like, ‘Who’s going to be the first one to get off the bus?’ You have to be kicked off or drop off, right? So it’s like that.”
Bruce Springsteen
During a 2022 interview, Howard Stern brought up the topic of retirement with Bruce Springsteen. In response, the Boss appeared determined to never stop rocking. “I mean, if I got to a place where I was incapacitated or something but up until then I think I'm … I mean, look at Johnny Cash, Pete Seeger,” Springsteen noted. “I look at those guys and go, ‘Yeah, I don't know if I'll be doing three-hour shows, but I have so many different kinds of music that I can play and do."' He pointed to his successful run on Broadway as an example of how he could continue performing indefinitely. “The Broadway show I can do for the rest of my life in one form or another if I wanted to. I can't imagine retirement, no.”
Rod Stewart
Fans were confused in June 2023 when Rod Stewart said he was “stopping” and leaving “all the rock 'n' roll stuff behind.” The singer soon took to social media to clarify his comments, while also insisting he’d never step away from the microphone. “I shall never retire! I was put on this Earth to be a singer and will keep doing so for as long as the good Lord lets me,” Stewart explained on Instagram.
Metallica
“The universe put me here to play guitar and I’m going to fulfill that to that end.” That’s how Kirk Hammett views his purpose in life. “I don’t believe in retirement because I’m a musician,” the Metallica guitarist explained to the Toronto Sun. “You would hear these jazz and blues guys talk about never stopping, and dying on stage. Johnny ‘Guitar’ Watson did die onstage, and more power to him. So I don’t have a choice, man … Retirement is not an option.” Hammett isn’t the only Metallica member to feel this way. “Look, musicians never retire,” James Hetfield told NME in 2015. “They just become less popular. People think you’ve retired, but no, I’m still writing. It’s a part of me. It’s what I do on this planet. That’s why I’ve been put here, I believe. And if I stop that, part of me dies. There’s no retirement.”
Paul McCartney
On paper, there’s no real reason for Paul McCartney to keep working. His legacy has long been cemented in music history, and it’s not like he needs the money. Yet the beloved Beatle has zero interest in giving up his job. “I’m like these footballers,” McCartney explained to the BBC in 2018. “People say, ‘When are you gonna retire?’ And they will nearly always say, ‘Well, when I don’t enjoy it, or when the legs give in,’ or something like that. When there’s a factor, that makes them retire. I don’t think any of them want to retire particularly. And I was talking to – name-dropping, clunk – Willie Nelson, and I was talking about this whole retiring thing, because he’s older than I am, even. And he says, ‘Retire from what?’ And I think that just says it: retire from what?”
Ringo Starr
Like his former Beatles bandmate, Ringo Starr has no interest in bringing his career to a close. “People always ask [about retirement], but I’m a musician. I don’t have to retire. As long as I can pick up the drumsticks, I can do a show,” the drummer told Metro Philadelphia in 2022. “I can be playing the blues, it’s just the way it is. I love this and it’s part of us, we are musicians at the end of the day.”
Robert Plant
“People used to say to me, ‘Well, you must have done enough now?’” former Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant explained to The Telegraph in 2021. "Enough of fucking what? ‘Enough to retire!’ So imagine the blessing to be 40 years further down the road, and I still don’t know enough to stop in any respect. There’s always something new to learn, somewhere new to take it. I love it.” Plant further noted that being an artist is a “lifetime's job," and one he can’t imagine ever coming to an end.
Stevie Nicks
While the status of Fleetwood Mac remains in question, one thing seems certain: Stevie Nicks won't step away from the spotlight. “I’ll never retire,” the singer admitted to Rolling Stone. “My friend Doug Morris, who’s been president of, like, every record company, said to me once, ‘When you retire, you just get small.’ Stand up straight, put on your heels, and get out there and do stuff.” Even as Nicks has indulged in various endeavors outside of music, she’s maintained the focus on her singing career. “I don’t have to retire from being a rock star to go and do [those things],” she explained. “I can fit it all in.”
Ozzy Osbourne
In recent years, Ozzy Osbourne has been plagued by health problems that have forced him to cancel a long list of performances. He’s admitted that extensive touring is no longer an option, but the Prince of Darkness insists he’ll never fully retire. "I mean, doing a live show is what I live for," Ozzy explained to Metal Hammer. "I’m determined. I’ve gotta do more gigs if I have to get someone to wheel me out there. I mean, you can’t retire from this game. It’s not a job, it’s a fucking passion. I don’t know how to do anything else. The thought of sitting in my house all day. ... I’m a road dog, you know? I’ve been doing it fucking 55 years. It’s the best thing to have ever happened to me.”
Neal Schon
In a 2018 interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, Journey guitarist Neal Schon said he envisioned himself like B.B. King, the blues legend who continued touring and recording music up until his death at the age of 89. “I love touring now more than I ever have. It isn’t an easy lifestyle, but it is my lifestyle,” Schon explained. “It is what I’ve been doing since I was 15, and I’m still doing it. I picture myself being like B.B. King. I don’t ever see retiring.”
Iggy Pop
Punk legend Iggy Pop has no intention to retire, mainly because he can’t imagine himself doing anything else. “I always wonder, if I stopped doing music, would I really start drinking tea instead of coffee, and, you know, brush my teeth more, and all that? Or would I become, like, an alcoholic depressive?” Pop pondered to The New Yorker in 2019. “Don’t tell me that I can’t strip off my shirt and go make a big primitive noise.” Still, there is one thing Pop has retired: his stage diving. "I prefer to stay on the stage,” he admitted to Billboard in 2022. “It's too much wear and tear at this point. I would get hurt."
Joan Jett
With a legion of dedicated fans, enshrinement in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the respect of her peers, Joan Jett could easily hang things up. But that wouldn’t be her style. "I'd get bored after a few weeks. I'll be working until I die," Jett insisted to People in 2010, declaring: “I will never retire.”
Rob Halford
Regarded as one of heavy metal’s greatest vocalists, Rob Halford has fronted Judas Priest for decades. It’s a role the leather-clad rocker revels in, and he has no plans to ever step away. “Retirement isn’t in my vocabulary,” Halford admitted in a 2015 interview with the Toronto Sun. The frontman further noted that “determination kicks in even stronger” when unexpected problems arise, adding that the only time retirement is even brought up is when people outside the band ask about it. “We never really go there with each other. We’re just a bunch of guys getting in the van and going to the next gig and playing. And they’ll have to drag me off that stage.”
Ann Wilson
In a 2022 interview with UCR, Ann Wilson expressed her determination to keep her career going as long as possible. “The idea of retirement is nowhere in my comprehension,” the Heart singer explained. “I don't know what I'd do, because I've been doing music since I was, like, 14 years old. So it's a calling with me more than a job that you retire from and then move to Margaritaville. I'm just not made like that.”
Alice Cooper
Considering that Alice Cooper has had many near-death experiences onstage, you’d understand if the shock rocker decided he’d be better off retiring. Still, he’s insisted time and time again that it’ll never happen. "Well, it's not in my vocabulary, the word 'retire,'” Cooper told AXS TV’s Power Hour in 2023. “People say, 'Why don't you stop and just play golf?' And I go, 'I play golf anyways.' I play golf every day. If there's a show, I play golf that morning and then I do the show that night." Those comments echoed what Cooper declared to Q103 radio in 2018. "I've always said this: If we do a tour and nobody shows up, then I'm retired," he explained at the time. "That's never happened. In fact, we're doing better business now than we've ever done. More people are coming to the show now, and I've never felt better, so I don't see any reason to retire at all. I know a lot of guys are quitting, but a lot of guys still smoke and drink. They're probably tired. I'm not tired."
Iron Maiden
For more than 40 years, Iron Maiden has remained one of the biggest and most bombastic bands in metal, seemingly impervious to the laws of aging as they deliver their spectacular, multisensory stage shows. Singer Bruce Dickinson doesn't see them stopping until they literally can't do it anymore. "We're not planning to retire at all, really," the singer told Full Metal Jackie in 2022. "I think we'll probably drop dead onstage. I can think of worse places to drop dead. But no, we're not planning on retiring. We're all still firing away [with] loads of energy and loads of enthusiasm."