
NJTV’s found a fitting subject for its first national public television special: A concert by the Midtown Men. The group, after all, features alumni of the Broadway musical “Jersey Boys,” which is devoted to the story of the great New Jersey band, The Four Seasons. And at one point of “The Midtown Men Live in Concert!” — filmed at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark at May — Gene Cornish, of another Jersey-born Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group, The Rascals, joins them to sing backing vocals and play harmonica on the Rascals hit, “Groovin’.” The special, as a whole, is more of a tribute to ’60s pop music in general than to just the Four Seasons. Yes, the Midtown Men sing plenty of Four Seasons songs, but they also harmonize on a bunch of Motown classics, as well as songs by The Turtles (“Happy Together”), The Ronettes (“Be My Baby”), The Mamas and the Papas (“California Dreamin’ “), The Drifters (“Up on the Roof”), The Association (“Never My Love”) and others. Continue Reading →