If you have even a marginal internet presence at the moment, you’ve probably heard about the drama going on with Frankie Valli of the Four Seasons. Specifically, a large number of fans are concerned about the 90-year-old singer’s well-being, as video footage of him performing and allegedly lip-syncing with great difficulty has been floating around social media. Valli had to even speak out about it to say he isn’t being forced to perform, nor has he been lip-syncing at all.
Still, the situation has spurred conversations about the ethics of lip-syncing and live performances. And it looks like Graham Nash and Heart’s Ann Wilson have lent their two cents on the matter.
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In a Washington Post interview, Valli was quoted saying he does not lip-sync. Graham Nash was also interviewed for the writeup and gave his (somewhat brutal) thoughts on the matter.
Graham Nash and Ann Wilson Speak Out About Lip-Syncing Live
“Frankie Valli is not singing,” said Nash. “He’s just lip-syncing badly to a tape. As a musician, if you’re not singing, you shouldn’t be onstage.”
The 82-year-old singer/songwriter clarified that as we age, our voices will change; and there’s no shame in that. He even named his longtime friend Joni Mitchell as an example of how a beautiful voice can change. And he noted that age adds even more charm to one’s voice.
“She [Joni Mitchell] certainly doesn’t have the top-end range that she used to have,” Nash continued. “But, at the same time, there is a beauty. What we are getting instead of a top range is incredible phrasing in a lower range.”
Unfortunately for Valli, Heart’s iconic rock star crooner Ann Wilson also agreed that she believed he was lip-syncing.
“I think that’s the moment when you have to decide whether to walk offstage or not,” said Wilson in the Washington Post interview. “You really have to look at your morals and go, ‘Do I just want to go up there and phone it in, give a bulls*** performance because I’m me, or do I take the high road?’”
It’s difficult to not agree with both of them. On one hand, even the greatest musicians have to eventually retire. If it’s not possible to sing, or if one is not willing to sing in a voice that is far from identical to the one they had 40 years ago, then it may be time to pack it up.
On the other hand, there’s something beautiful about a voice that changes through a decades-long career. Mitchell was just one example. Johnny Cash is another, whose vocals on “Hurt” at 71 sound very different from his vocals at 30 years old. However, those older vocal tracks have a haunting and powerful register to them.
As of this writing, Valli still insists he is not lip-syncing.
Photo by Anna Webber/Getty Images for Woman’s Day
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