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Despite what you may have heard, Frankie Valli isn’t ready to say goodbye.

“You know? Everybody is thinking that it is my last tour,” said the 89-year-old New Jersey native who now calls Southern California home. “And I don’t know when my last tour is, personally. If I can continue to do this, as long as I’m not feeling ill, I’ll do it.”

Perhaps some of the confusion comes from this tour’s title — “The Last Encores” — which definitely sounds like something that would be used to mark a last hurrah. Yet, Valli said that his intention is to simply dial back.

“After this year, we will slow down on the amount of things that we do,” he said. “Instead of 70 or 80 or 90 things a year, we will probably cut it down to like 30 or 35.”

The legendary performer’s recording career now stretches a mind-blowing 70-plus years, dating back to when the singer taped his first single — “My Mother’s Eyes” — under the name “Frankie Valley” in 1953.

“It’s been really great,” Valley said. “I have no complaints.”

After making his solo debut, Valli would soon help form the R&B/rock act the Four Lovers, “which was basically the same personnel (as the Four Seasons) except for Bob Gaudio.”

Gaudio was busy at the time with his own band, the Royal Teens, which delivered the smash hit “Short Shorts” in 1958. Once Valli and Gaudio eventually met, it would prove to be a true game changer for both men.

“Bob and I got to know each other and we spent some time (together),” Valli said. “He played me songs that he had written, and I was blown away. I said, ‘Why aren’t you recording these songs?’”

Together, the two men would help fashion some of the most memorable pop songs of the early 1960s – including “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Walk Like a Man” and “Rag Doll” — all No. 1 hits for the Four Seasons that featured Valli on vocals and were written (or co-written) by Gaudio.

The Four Seasons continued to score hits in the 1970s, including the chart-topper “December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night).”

Valli also experienced sizable solo success with the No. 1 hits “My Eyes Adored You” and “Grease.” While the former stands as one of the greatest romantic songs of that decade, it would be the latter that really introduced the singer to a whole new generation of fans.

“I had a call from Barry Gibb and he said, ‘I wrote a song and it’s the title song to a movie called ‘Grease.’ I think it’s perfect for you,’” Valli remembered. “I loved it from the very moment I heard it.”

That last line probably describes a lot of fans’ reactions to hearing those signature Valli tunes for the first time. Now, decades later, those songs remain so special to longtime listeners.

“The songs had important placement in people’s lives — whether they used a song when they were getting married, a song like ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,’ or a breakup or a variety of different things,” he said.

How does Valli stay motivated to keep crooning these familiar favorites after all this time?

“I think it’s a motivation that is very closely connected to you,” he said. “It’s like, ‘How do you get motivated by watching your kids grow up?’”

The key, of course, is putting the audience first.

“You are not doing it for you,” Valli said. “You are doing it for them.”

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