2016 continues to be brutal as Bobby Vee passed away Monday (10/24/16). Bobby was born Robert Velline in North Dakota and got his start in the business after the plane carrying Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. Richardson (the Big Bopper) crashed leaving Clear Lake, Iowa on the way to Moorhead, Minnesota where the next date on the tour was scheduled. Bobby (15 at the time) and some hastily assembled musicians filled in for Holly. Not the kind of gig you'd really want to do. But Bobby was well received (although the band was not paid for their appearance) and it started the snowball that was to be Bobby's career as a Teen Idol. Soon after, the band recruited a young musician named Elston Gunn. That was the name Bob Dylan was using at the time. Though Bob soon moved on, the two remained close for decades. It was Dylan who suggested that Bobby use the stage name "Bobby Vee".
Bobby's only #1 single was "Take Good Care Of My Baby", but there were several other Top Ten hits, including "Devil Or Angel", "Rubber Ball", "The Night Has A Thousand Eyes", and "Come Back When You Grow Up". And, in total, he charted with more than 40 singles.
"Merry Christmas From Bobby Vee" was released in 1962 and, in the decades since, has had the track list shuffled and released as a "new" album a whole bunch of times. Bobby also had a Christmas single which has been included on some (but not all) of the re-issues of the '62 album.
Bobby's only #1 single was "Take Good Care Of My Baby", but there were several other Top Ten hits, including "Devil Or Angel", "Rubber Ball", "The Night Has A Thousand Eyes", and "Come Back When You Grow Up". And, in total, he charted with more than 40 singles.
"Merry Christmas From Bobby Vee" was released in 1962 and, in the decades since, has had the track list shuffled and released as a "new" album a whole bunch of times. Bobby also had a Christmas single which has been included on some (but not all) of the re-issues of the '62 album.
Additionally, Bobby had one song ("Jingle Bell Rock") on one of those "Christmas With The Stars" collections in the 90s (I don't have it, so I couldn't tell you if it was the version on the '62 album or a re-recording). Bobby recorded a new Christmas album in 2003, "Up North December". Bobby's voice wasn't as strong at this point and the record leaned a bit toward Country Pop and wasn't very successful. It's been out of print for a while, now, and (so far as I can tell) isn't even available digitally. The title cut turns up on the occasional compilation--a few more on overseas collections--and two tracks look to have been included on the 2004 DMI release "Rockin' Christmas Party, Vol. 1" (I do have the DMI album, but I don't have "Up North December", so I can't swear that they weren't different recordings of "Peace On Earth" and "Home For The Holidays"; it just makes sense that you'd use the tracks you recorded the year before rather than re-record them).
In 2011, Bobby was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame. In 2012, Bobby announced that he'd been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. That forced him off the road. He disappeared into his garage and recorded an album of cover songs, mostly--from "I'm Going To Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter" to "Save The Last Dance For Me" to Bob Dylan's "The Man In Me". "The Adobe Sessions" was released in 2014. Bobby's wife of 52 years, Karen, passed away last year and now Bobby has joined her. He was 73.
In 2011, Bobby was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame. In 2012, Bobby announced that he'd been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. That forced him off the road. He disappeared into his garage and recorded an album of cover songs, mostly--from "I'm Going To Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter" to "Save The Last Dance For Me" to Bob Dylan's "The Man In Me". "The Adobe Sessions" was released in 2014. Bobby's wife of 52 years, Karen, passed away last year and now Bobby has joined her. He was 73.
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