I came from a different background from the other guys in [The Four Seasons]. For me, home was where you made it, and that changed wherever I was at the time. Frankie [Frankie Valli] and the others were always talking about loyalty to your roots and hometown, which I never understood. I'm always looking forward. Once I started my career, I left the past behind and never looked back.

I wasn't raised with a lot of means, but compared to the others, I was seen as "rich". I wasn't a troublemaker, didn't do drugs, not a big drinker, never got into fights. I kept to myself mostly. I enjoyed reading. When I wasn't writing music, I was reading.

People hear my last name and are immediately surprised by my demeanor. I keep calm, stay patient, and I don't fly off the handle when faced with adversity. I have no time for dramatics. Nothing gets resolved with them. I'm firm but fair in my dealings. Cooler heads always prevail.

[on staying part of management rather than performance] Being onstage is just not a need for me, and I wouldn't give anything back to the audience either. That's Frankie's [Frankie Valli's] world, not mine. And it never has been. I woke up one morning and realized, "Who says I have to get up onstage and sing the songs I wrote? What bible is that in?"

[on touring] Me leaving high school was the best thing I ever did. It took me to big places. I'd have missed out so much if I'd stayed in school. I had a great education. In New York/New Jersey, gangs were prevalent for sure. But not that deep-rooted racial hatred. As soon as we crossed the Mason-Dixon line, it was a real cold bucket of water. When I got back north I was immediately 35 years old.

There's just no way to do a biography if you're not going to tell the truth. Frankie [Frankie Valli] and I had to face that fact. Sure, we winced. We're still wincing. But if you whitewash everything, you know, everyone knows that it wasn't really that way.