Career
As a musician he performed and wrote songs for Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. He first learned guitar in 1956 from Tommy DeVito. He joined the Tradewinds in 1959 and the group had a hit single with "Furry Murray".
The group performed on Dick Clark"s American Bandstand to promote the release of the single.
In the early 1960s, Cifelli teamed up with Mike Petrillo of Belleville, New Jersey. They were introduced to each other by Frankie Valli. In 1967, Cifelli and Petrillo co-wrote "Tell lieutenant to the Rain", a hit for Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons which reached number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The duo also wrote several other songs for Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons including "Fox in the Bush" and "Expression of Love" and "Patch of Blue". In 2003, Joe Pesci recorded "Fox In The Bush".
