"The Hit Men," a touring concert featuring original members of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, Tommy James and the Shondells and the Critters, is being performed at 8 p.m. May 10, Miller Symphony Hall, 23 N. Sixth St., Allentown.

"The Hit Men" was inspired by the success of the 2005 Tony Award-winning Broadway smash "Jersey Boys." Lee Shapiro, who toured with Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, based the story for the show on that of the 1960's doo wop hit-makers.

"I asked Frankie [Valli, the lead singer of the Four Seasons] if it would be OK if we did a tour that was based on the songs that made 'Jersey Boys' a hit and he gave us the OK," says Shapiro in a recent phone interview. "We tried it out for one show and now here we are doing 50 to 60 dates a year."

Shapiro believes that there was a "New Jersey sound" in the 1960's that influenced the Four Seasons and other bands of the time.

"I think there was a New Jersey sound for sure, just as there was a Detroit sound and a California sound," he says. "It was so much about our ethnicity. We were city people and our music reflected that."

Shapiro was behind the piano for the Four Seasons' hit "December 1963 (Oh What a Night)." The song, originally released in 1975 and re-released as a re-mix in 1993, continues to be popular. Shapiro ascribes the timeless success of the song to a combination of musicality and subject.

"I'll tell you what I think. As you get older, everybody loves to reminisce about that guy or girl you first went out with. Everybody can relate to that. And that's what that song conjures up. It also has a number of musical hooks. The opening just grabs you."

Shapiro's childhood friend, composer and lyricist Larry Gates, also performs on "The Hit Men" tour.

"Our paths kept crossing over the years," says Gates. "Lee and I were both in the jingle business, composing jingles for commercials, and the timing was just right for us to work together. We hit on a magical combination with this tour."

Gates and Shapiro love the joy they can see and feel coming from the audience as they perform the classic hits of what many refer to as the "Golden Age of Songwriting."

The concert song list includes, in addition to "December 1963 (Oh What a Night)," "Who Loves You," "Mr. Dieingly Sad," "Younger Girl," "Walk Like a Man," "Big Girls Don't Cry," "Hanky Panky" and "Mony Mony".

"You will leave the show feeling happier and younger than when you walked in," says Gates. "Guaranteed."