Donald Joseph Ciccone (February 28, 1946 – October 8, 2016)[1][2][3] was an American singer, songwriter and musician. He was a founding member of the pop group the Critters, singing their biggest hits "Younger Girl" and "Mr. Dieingly Sad". The latter he wrote about his girlfriend Kathy Cobb before he entered the Air Force during the time of the Vietnam War. Cobb later became his wife. When the Critters' first album started to take off, Ciccone was in the Air Force and the band had to tour without him. This is why many videos on YouTube do not feature him, but instead have Ken Gorka lip-syncing Ciccone's part.[4]
Ciccone was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, on February 28, 1946. He was the son of an immigrant father, Vito Ciccone, who owned and operated Bill Williams Auto Sales in the 1950s. From the age of 5, Ciccone grew up in a 56-room mansion in Plainfield, New Jersey.
During his time with the Critters, he wrote "Mr. Dieingly Sad", produced by Artie Ripp, which reached #17 for the group. He also wrote and recorded "There's Got to be a Word",[5] which was later recorded and released by the Innocence in December 1966. Their version reached #34 on the charts. Facing the threat of being drafted into the Armed Forces, Ciccone left The Critters to enlist in the United States Air Force.[6]
After Ciccone's time in the service, Frankie Valli recruited him to join a revamped lineup of The Four Seasons, where he played guitar and bass and contributed lead vocals to songs including "December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)" and "Rhapsody".[7] Ciccone was the original lead singer on the Seasons' comeback hit "Who Loves You" before Valli, who was overseas during the original recording, refused to relinquish his role as lead vocalist and replaced most of Ciccone's vocal with his own.[6] After leaving the Four Seasons in 1981, he spent time running a commercial jingle business.[6] He joined Tommy James and the Shondells as their bassist through 1987.[8]
In the early 2010s, Ciccone, at the time performing with a partially re-formed Critters lineup, suggested to his former Four Seasons bandmate Lee Shapiro that they assemble a supergroup consisting of musicians assembled from other bands. Ciccone recruited his Critters bandmate Jimmy Ryan to join Shapiro and Gerry Polci (partially capitalizing on the Jersey Boys resurgence in the Four Seasons' popularity) to form The Hit Men, a group that continues several years after Ciccone died with Shapiro as its manager.[9][6][10]
Ciccone, who was a long time resident of Ridgewood, New Jersey and Port Saint Lucie, Florida had moved to Sun Valley, Idaho, a few years before he died of a heart attack on October 8, 2016, in adjacent Ketchum at the age of 70.[11]
Referencesedit
^Donald Joseph Ciccone February 28, 1946 - October 08, 2016 accessdate January 22, 2018
^"Don Ciccone, Songwriter and Lead Singer of the Critters, Dies at 70". The New York Times. Associated Press. October 13, 2016. p. B15. Retrieved October 28, 2016.
^"In Memory Of Don Ciccone". Legacy.com. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
^The Critters - Mr. Dieingly Sad, November 24, 2006, retrieved July 17, 2019
^DON CICCONE - THERE'S GOT TO BE A WORD, September 11, 2010, retrieved July 17, 2019
^ abcdJames, Gary. "Gary James' Interview With Don Ciccone Of The Four Seasons". classicbands.com. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
^"Don Ciccone, singer of 1960s group The Critters, has died". Scottsbluff Star-Herald. October 12, 2016. Retrieved October 28, 2016.[permanent dead link]
^"Don Ciccone". Herald News. October 12, 2016. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
^"The Hit Men are coming". newstimes. March 21, 2013. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
^Porter, David (July 21, 2017). "Long after Frankie Valli, the Hit Men are still making music". The Berkshire Eagle. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
^. Miami Herald. October 12, 2016. Archived from the original on October 18, 2016. Retrieved October 14, 2016.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
ciccone, donald, joseph, ciccone, february, 1946, october, 2016, american, singer, songwriter, musician, founding, member, group, critters, singing, their, biggest, hits, younger, girl, dieingly, latter, wrote, about, girlfriend, kathy, cobb, before, entered, . Donald Joseph Ciccone February 28 1946 October 8 2016 1 2 3 was an American singer songwriter and musician He was a founding member of the pop group the Critters singing their biggest hits Younger Girl and Mr Dieingly Sad The latter he wrote about his girlfriend Kathy Cobb before he entered the Air Force during the time of the Vietnam War Cobb later became his wife When the Critters first album started to take off Ciccone was in the Air Force and the band had to tour without him This is why many videos on YouTube do not feature him but instead have Ken Gorka lip syncing Ciccone s part 4 Don CicconeBirth nameDonald Joseph CicconeBorn 1946 02 28 February 28 1946Jersey City New Jersey U S DiedOctober 8 2016 2016 10 08 aged 70 Ketchum Idaho U S GenresRock popOccupation s MusicianInstrument s Guitar bass vocals Ciccone was born in Jersey City New Jersey on February 28 1946 He was the son of an immigrant father Vito Ciccone who owned and operated Bill Williams Auto Sales in the 1950s From the age of 5 Ciccone grew up in a 56 room mansion in Plainfield New Jersey During his time with the Critters he wrote Mr Dieingly Sad produced by Artie Ripp which reached 17 for the group He also wrote and recorded There s Got to be a Word 5 which was later recorded and released by the Innocence in December 1966 Their version reached 34 on the charts Facing the threat of being drafted into the Armed Forces Ciccone left The Critters to enlist in the United States Air Force 6 After Ciccone s time in the service Frankie Valli recruited him to join a revamped lineup of The Four Seasons where he played guitar and bass and contributed lead vocals to songs including December 1963 Oh What a Night and Rhapsody 7 Ciccone was the original lead singer on the Seasons comeback hit Who Loves You before Valli who was overseas during the original recording refused to relinquish his role as lead vocalist and replaced most of Ciccone s vocal with his own 6 After leaving the Four Seasons in 1981 he spent time running a commercial jingle business 6 He joined Tommy James and the Shondells as their bassist through 1987 8 In the early 2010s Ciccone at the time performing with a partially re formed Critters lineup suggested to his former Four Seasons bandmate Lee Shapiro that they assemble a supergroup consisting of musicians assembled from other bands Ciccone recruited his Critters bandmate Jimmy Ryan to join Shapiro and Gerry Polci partially capitalizing on the Jersey Boys resurgence in the Four Seasons popularity to form The Hit Men a group that continues several years after Ciccone died with Shapiro as its manager 9 6 10 Ciccone who was a long time resident of Ridgewood New Jersey and Port Saint Lucie Florida had moved to Sun Valley Idaho a few years before he died of a heart attack on October 8 2016 in adjacent Ketchum at the age of 70 11 References edit Donald Joseph Ciccone February 28 1946 October 08 2016 accessdate January 22 2018 Don Ciccone Songwriter and Lead Singer of the Critters Dies at 70 The New York Times Associated Press October 13 2016 p B15 Retrieved October 28 2016 In Memory Of Don Ciccone Legacy com Retrieved October 14 2016 The Critters Mr Dieingly Sad November 24 2006 retrieved July 17 2019 DON CICCONE THERE S GOT TO BE A WORD September 11 2010 retrieved July 17 2019 a b c d James Gary Gary James Interview With Don Ciccone Of The Four Seasons classicbands com Retrieved July 24 2020 Don Ciccone singer of 1960s group The Critters has died Scottsbluff Star Herald October 12 2016 Retrieved October 28 2016 permanent dead link Don Ciccone Herald News October 12 2016 Retrieved October 14 2016 The Hit Men are coming newstimes March 21 2013 Retrieved July 24 2020 Porter David July 21 2017 Long after Frankie Valli the Hit Men are still making music The Berkshire Eagle Retrieved July 24 2020 Don Ciccone singer of 1960s group The Critters has died Miami Herald October 12 2016 Archived from the original on October 18 2016 Retrieved October 14 2016 a href Template Cite news html title Template Cite news cite news a CS1 maint bot original URL status unknown link External links editDon Ciccone at AllMusic Don Ciccone discography at Discogs Don Ciccone at Find a Grave Don Ciccone at IMDb nbsp nbsp nbsp This article about a singer songwriter from the United States is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Don Ciccone amp oldid 1204867842, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
