Revision as of 18:47, 17 July 2019 by Imperativezen(talk | contribs)(Added more specific details about his Air Force career and what he recorded with the Four Seasons.)
Don Ciccone (born 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 before he entered the Air Force during the time of the Vietnam War. Kathy later became his wife. When The Critters's first album started to take off, Don was in the Ai Force and the band had to tour without him which is why many videos on YouTube do not feature him. Jimmy Ryan is lip syncing Don's lyrics/vocals in most videos for the songs Mr. Dieingly Sad and Younger Girl. Later in Don's career, he was a member of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons (1973–81), famously singing the falsetto in "December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night!)" -- it starts like this "I felt a rush like a rollin' ball of thunder...." There is also a YouTube "Sick Lix" bass solo video tutorial on his famous bass line for that song.[4] Additionally, he sang lead on other albums on songs like "Mystic Mr. Sam" and the sultry "Slip Away."[5] He played guitar and bass and also contributed lead vocals to songs including "December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)" and "Rhapsody".[6] and Tommy James and the Shondells (as their bassist, through 1987).[7]
Ciccone was born in Jersey City, 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"[8] which was later recorded and released by the Innocence in December 1966. Their version reached #34 on the charts.
Ciccone, who was a long time resident of Sun Valley, Idaho, died of a heart attack on October 8, 2016 in adjacent Ketchum at the age of 70.[9]
