Bobby Darin

Bobby Darin
Darin in 1959
Background information
Birth name	Walden Robert Cassotto
Born	(1936-05-14)May 14, 1936 The Bronx, New York City New York, U.S.
Died	December 20, 1973(1973-12-20) (aged 37) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres	Jazz, blues, rock, swing
Occupations	Musician, singer-songwriter, actor
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, piano, drums, harmonica, xylophone
Years active	1956–1973
Labels	Decca, Atco, Capitol, Brunswick, Atlantic, Motown

Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor of film and television. He performed in a range of music genres, including pop, rock, jazz, folk, and country.

He started as a songwriter for Connie Francis, and recorded his own first million-seller "Splish Splash" in 1958. This was followed by "Dream Lover", "Mack the Knife", and "Beyond the Sea", which brought him world fame. In 1962, he won a Golden Globe for his first film Come September, co-starring his first wife, Sandra Dee (m. 1960–1967).

Throughout the 1960s, he became more politically active and worked on Robert Kennedy's Democratic presidential campaign. He was present on the evening/morning of June 4-5, 1968, at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles at the time of Kennedy's assassination. The same year, he discovered that he had been brought up by his grandparents, not his parents, and that the girl he thought was his sister was actually his mother. These events deeply affected Darin and sent him into a long period of seclusion.

Although he made a successful television comeback, his health was beginning to fail, as he had always expected, following bouts of rheumatic fever in childhood. This knowledge of his vulnerability had always spurred him on to exploit his musical talent while still young. He died at 37, following a heart operation in Los Angeles.

Early years

Darin was born in the Bronx borough of New York City. He was reared by his grandparents, whom he thought were his parents. Darin was 75% Italian. His maternal grandfather, Saverio Antonio Cassotto, was of Italian descent. His maternal grandmother, Vivian Fern (Walden), was of English ("Old Yankee") and Danish ancestry and a vaudeville singer. His mother, Giovannina Cassotto, was presented as his elder sister. He only learned of their actual relationship in 1968, when he was 32.

By the time he was a teenager he could play several instruments, including piano, drums, and guitar. He later added harmonica and xylophone.

Darin graduated from the prestigious Bronx High School of Science. He matriculated at Hunter College, but soon dropped out in order to play nightclubs around the city with a musical combo.^{[citation needed]}

Music career

Darin's career took off with a songwriting partnership, formed in 1955 with fellow Bronx High School of Science student, Don Kirshner, and in 1956 his agent negotiated a contract with Decca Records. The songs recorded at Decca had very little success.

A member of the Brill Building gang of struggling songwriters, Darin was introduced to singer Connie Francis, for whom he helped write several songs. They developed a romantic interest of which her father did not approve, and the couple soon split up. Francis has said that not marrying Darin was the biggest mistake of her life.

Darin left Decca to sign with Atlantic Records' Atco subsidiary, where he wrote and arranged music for himself and others. Songs he recorded, such as Harry Warren's "I Found a Million Dollar Baby", were sung in an Elvis style, which did not suit his personality.

Guided by Atlantic's star-maker Ahmet Ertegun, Darin's career finally took off in 1958 when he recorded "Splish Splash." He co-wrote the song with radio D.J. Murray Kaufman after a bet that he could not write a song that started out with the words, "Splish Splash, I was takin' a bath".^{[citation needed]} The single sold more than a million copies.

In 1959, Darin recorded the self-penned, "Dream Lover", a ballad that became a multi-million seller. With it came financial success and the ability to demand more creative control of his career. His next single, "Mack the Knife", the standard from Kurt Weill's Threepenny Opera, was given a vamping jazz-pop interpretation. Although Darin initially was opposed to releasing it as a single, the song went to No. 1 on the charts for nine weeks, sold two million copies, and won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 1960. Darin was also voted the Grammy Award for Best New Artist that year, and "Mack The Knife" has since been honored with a Grammy Hall of Fame Award.

Darin followed "Mack" with "Beyond the Sea," a jazzy English-language version of Charles Trenet's French hit song "La Mer". Both tracks were produced by Atlantic founders Ahmet and Nesuhi Ertegün with staff producer Jerry Wexler and they featured arrangements by Richard Wess.

This late-1950s success included Darin setting the all-time attendance record at the Copacabana nightclub in Manhattan and headlining at the major casinos in Las Vegas.

In the 1960s, Darin owned and operated a music publishing and production company (TM Music/Trio). He signed Wayne Newton and gave him the song "Danke Schoen" that became Newton's breakout hit. Darin also was a mentor to Roger McGuinn, who worked for him at TM Music and played the 12-string guitar in Darin's nightclub band before forming The Byrds. Additionally, Darin produced Rosey Grier's 1964 LP, Soul City, and Made in the Shade for Jimmy Boyd.^{[citation needed]}

In 1962, Darin began to write and sing country music, with hit songs including "Things" (US #3/UK #2) (1962), "You're the Reason I'm Living" (US #3), and "18 Yellow Roses" (US #10). The latter two were recorded by Capitol Records, which he joined in 1962, before returning to Atlantic four years later. In 1966, he had his final UK hit single, with a version of Tim Hardin's "If I Were A Carpenter", which peaked at # 9. He performed the opening and closing songs on the soundtrack of the 1965 Walt Disney film That Darn Cat!. "Things" was sung by Dean Martin in the 1967 TV special Movin' With Nancy, starring Nancy Sinatra.

Bobby Darin is not related to James Darren. This confusion sometimes arises because: their names are pronounced similarly, they are the same age, they both started their careers as teen idols with similarly styled songs, both later sang some of the same standard pop/jazz ballads, and they are both associated with Gidget. James Darren starred in "Gidget" films as Gidget's (Sandra Dee) love interest. In real life, Bobby was the love interest: he married Sandra Dee.

Acting career

"Deadeye" and Darin in a 1965 Red Skelton Show skit

In the fall of 1959, Darin played "Honeyboy Jones" in an early episode of Jackie Cooper's CBS military sitcom/drama, Hennesey set in San Diego, California. In 1960, he appeared twice as himself in NBC's short-lived crime drama Dan Raven, starring Skip Homeier and set on the Sunset Strip of West Hollywood. In the same year, he was the only actor ever to have been signed to five major Hollywood film studios. He wrote music for several films in which he appeared.

His first major film, Come September (1960), was a teenager-oriented romantic comedy with 18-year old actress Sandra Dee. They first met during the production of the film, fell in love, and got married soon afterwards. Dee gave birth to a son Dodd Mitchell Darin (also known as Morgan Mitchell) the following year, 1961, but the couple divorced in 1967. Dee and Darin made a few films together with moderate success.

In 1962, Darin won the Golden Globe Award for "New Star Of The Year - Actor" for his role in Come September. The following year he was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for "Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama" (Best actor) in Pressure Point.

In 1963, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as a shell-shocked soldier in Captain Newman, M.D.. At the Cannes Film Festival he won the French Film Critics Award for best actor.

In October 1964, he appeared as a wounded ex-convict who is befriended by an orphan girl in "The John Gillman Story" episode of NBC's Wagon Train western television series.

Later years

"Now my attitude is very simple: I must do what artistically pleases me."

Bobby Darin, 1967 Pop Chronicles interview.

Darin's musical output became more "folksy" as the 1960s progressed, and he became more politically active. In 1966, he had a hit with folksinger Tim Hardin's "If I Were a Carpenter," securing a return to the Top 10 after a two-year absence.

Darin traveled with Robert Kennedy and worked on the politician's 1968 presidential campaign. He was with Kennedy the day he traveled to Los Angeles on June 4, 1968, for the California primary, and was at the Ambassador Hotel later that night when Kennedy was assassinated. This event, combined with learning about his true parentage, had a deep effect on Darin, who spent most of the next year living in seclusion in a trailer near Big Sur.

Returning to Los Angeles in 1969, Darin started Direction Records, putting out folk and protest music. He wrote "Simple Song of Freedom" in 1969, which was recorded by Tim Hardin, who sang only three of the song's four verses.

Of his first Direction album, Darin said that, "The purpose of Direction Records is to seek out statement-makers. The album is solely [composed] of compositions designed to reflect my thoughts on the turbulent aspects of modern society."

In 1972, he starred in his own television variety show on NBC, The Bobby Darin Amusement Company, which ran until his death in 1973. Darin married Andrea Yeager (secretary)" in June 1973, made television guest appearances, and remained a top draw in Las Vegas.^{[citation needed]}

Other interests

Darin was an enthusiastic chess player. His television show included an occasional segment in which he would explain a chess move. He arranged with the United States Chess Federation to sponsor a grandmaster tournament, with the largest prize fund in history, but the event was canceled after his death.

Health

Darin was frail as an infant and beginning at age eight was stricken with recurring bouts of rheumatic fever that left him with a seriously weakened heart. In January 1971, he underwent his first heart surgery in an attempt to correct some of the heart damage he had lived with since childhood. He spent most of that year recovering from the surgery.

At the end of his career, he often was administered oxygen after his performances.

Death

In 1973, after failing to take antibiotics to protect his heart before a dental visit, Darin developed an overwhelming systemic infection (sepsis). This further weakened his body and affected one of his heart valves. On December 11, he entered Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles for surgery to repair two artificial heart valves he had received in January 1971. On the evening of December 19, a surgical team worked for over six hours to repair his damaged heart. Darin died in the recovery room on December 20, 1973, at the age of 37, without regaining consciousness.

There were no funeral arrangements; Darin's last wish in his will was that his body be donated to science for medical research. His remains were transferred to UCLA Medical Center shortly after his death.

Legacy

In 1990, singer Paul Anka made the speech inducting Darin into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The Righteous Brothers refer to Darin in their song "Rock and Roll Heaven", a tribute to dead musicians released months after Darin's death.

In 1998, PBS aired the documentary, Bobby Darin: Beyond the Song, produced by Henry Astor and Jason Cilo.

In 1999, he was voted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

In a 2003 episode of the NBC television series, American Dreams, Duncan Sheik portrays Darin and performs "Beyond the Sea" on American Bandstand. Brittany Snow's character, Meg Pryor, is assigned as Darin's liaison during the show.

On Monday, May 14, 2007, Darin was awarded a star on the Las Vegas Walk of Stars to honor his contribution to making Las Vegas the "Entertainment Capital of the World", and to acknowledge his reputation as one of the greatest entertainers of the twentieth century. The sponsorship fee for his star was raised entirely by fan donations. He also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Darin had a custom car built called the "Dream Car", designed by Andy DiDia, which is on display at the St. Louis Museum of Transportation.

On December 13, 2009, the Recording Academy announced that Darin would receive a posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2010 Grammy Awards ceremony.

Biopic

Main article: Beyond the Sea (film)

In 1986, director Barry Levinson intended to direct a film based on Darin's life, and had begun preproduction on the project by early 1997. He abandoned the project, the rights to which were subsequently bought by actor Kevin Spacey, along with Darin's son, Dodd. The resultant biopic, Beyond the Sea, starred Spacey as Darin, with the actor using his own singing voice for the musical numbers. The film covers much of Darin's life and career, including his marriage to Sandra Dee, portrayed by Kate Bosworth.

With the consent of the Darin estate, former Darin manager, Steve Blauner, and archivist, Jimmy Scalia, Beyond the Sea opened at the 2004 Toronto International Film Festival. Although Dodd Darin, Sandra Dee, and Blauner responded enthusiastically to Spacey's work and the film was strongly promoted by the studio, Beyond the Sea received mixed-to-poor reviews upon wide release, and box office results were disappointing. Some critics praised Spacey's performance, largely owing to his decision to use his own singing voice. Spacey was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor—Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, but the award that year went to Jamie Foxx for his portrayal of Darin's musical contemporary Ray Charles.

Discography

Singles

Release date	Title	Flip side	Record label	Chart Positions
				US Charts	Cashbox	UK	R&B
1956	"Rock Island Line"	"Timber"	Decca 29883
	"Silly Willy"	"Blue Eyed Mermaid"	Decca 29922
	"The Greatest Builder Of Them All"	"Hear Them Bells"	Decca 30031
1957	"Dealer In Dreams"	"Help Me"	Decca 30225
	"I Found a Million Dollar Baby" (Warren/Dixon/Rose)	"Talk To Me"	Atco 6092
	"Don't Call My Name"	"Pretty Betty"	Atco 6103
1958	"Silly Willy"	"Dealer In Dreams"	Decca 30737
	"Just In Case You Change Your Mind"	"So Mean"	Atco 6109
	"Splish Splash"	"Judy, Don't Be Moody"	US Atco 6117/UK London 8666	3	2	18	1
	"Early in the Morning"	"Now We're One"	Brunswick 55073 (for release history, see article)
	"Early in the Morning"	"Now We're One"	Atco 6121	24	25		8
	"Queen of the Hop"	"Lost Love"	US Atco 6127/UK London 8737	9	12	24	6
	"Mighty, Mighty Man"	"You're Gone"	Atco 6128
1959	"Plain Jane"	"While I'm Gone"	Atco 6133	38	30
	"Dream Lover"	"Bullmoose"	US Atco 6140/UK London 8867	2	3	1	4
	"Mack the Knife"	"Was There A Call For Me"	US Atco 6147/UK London 8939	1	1	1	6
1960	"La Mer (Beyond The Sea)"	"That's The Way Love Is"	US Atco 6158/UK London 9034	6	7	8	15
	"Clementine"	"Tall Story"	US Atco 6161/UK London 9086	21	13	8
	"Won't You Come Home Bill Bailey"? (Cannon)		US Atco 6167/UK London 9142	19	16	34
		"I'll Be There" (Bobby Darin song)		79
	"Beachcomber"	"Autumn Blues"	Atco 6173	100	50
	"Artificial Flowers"		Atco 6179	20	19
	credited to "Bobby Darin at the Piano"
		"Somebody To Love"		45	58
	"Christmas Auld Lang Syne"		Atco 6183	51	50
		"Child Of God"		95	95
	"She's Tanfastic!"	"Moments Of Love"	Atco/Ferrion Inc.	--	--
	Special premium record
1961	"Lazy River" (Carmichael/Arodin)	"Oo-Ee Train"	US Atco 6188/UK London 9303	14	18	2
	"Nature Boy"	"Look For My True Love"	US Atco 6196/UK London 9375	40	31	24
	"Theme From 'Come September'" Bobby Darin & His Orchestra	"Walk Back To Me"	US Atco 6200/UK London 9407	113	55	50
			credited to "Bobby Darin & his Orchestra"
	"You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby"	"Sorrow Tomorrow"	US Atco 6206/UK London 9429	5	7	10
	"Irresistible You"	"Multiplication"	US Atco 6214/	15	16
	"Multiplication"	"Irresistible You" UK, London, HLK 9474		30	26	5
1962	"What'd I Say" (Part 1)	"What'd I Say" (Part 2)	Atco 6221	24	6
	"Things"	"Jailer, Bring Me Water"	US Atco 6229/UK London 9575	3	10	2
	"If A Man Answers"	"All By Myself"	US Capitol 4837/UK Capitol 15272	32	28	24
		"True, True Love"		105
	"Baby Face"	"You Know How"	US Atco 6236/UK London 9624	42	38	40
	"I Found a New Baby"	"Keep-A-Walkin'"	Atco 6244	90
1963	"You're the Reason I'm Living"	"Now You're Gone"	Capitol 4897	3	5
	"Eighteen Yellow Roses"	"Not For Me"	US Capitol 4970/UK Capitol 15306	10	12	37	28
	"Treat My Baby Good"	"Down So Long"	Capitol 5019	43	38
	"Be Mad, Little Girl"	"Since You've Been Gone"	Capitol 5079	64	74
1964	"I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now"	"As Long As I'm Singing"	Capitol 5126	93	83
	"Milord"	"Golden Earrings"	Atco 6297	45	39
	"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot"	"Similau"	Atco 6316	--	--
	"The Things In This House"	"Wait By The Water"	Capitol 5257	86	89
1965	"Minnie The Moocher"	"Hard Hearted Hannah"	Atco 6334	--	--
	"Hello, Dolly!"	"Golden Earrings"	Capitol 5359	79	--
	"Venice Blue (Que C'est Triste Venise)"	"A World Without You"	Capitol 5399	133	94
	"When I Get Home"	"Lonely Road"	Capitol 5443	--	--
	"Gyp The Cat"	"That Funny Feeling"	Capitol 5481	--	--
1966	"We Didn't Ask To Be Brought Here"	"Funny What Love Can Do"	Atlantic 2305	117	--
	"Silver Dollar"	"The Breaking Point"	Atlantic 2317	--	--
	"Mame"	"Walking In The Shadow Of Love"	Atlantic 2329	53	63
	"Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?"	"Merci, Cheri"	Atlantic 2341	--	--
	"If I Were a Carpenter" (Hardin)	"Rainin'"	US Atlantic 2350/UK Atlantic 584051	8	9	9
	"The Girl That Stood Beside Me"	"Reason To Believe" (Hardin)	Atlantic 2367	66	65
	"Lovin' You"	"Amy"	Atlantic 2376	32	43
	"The Lady Came From Baltimore" (Hardin)	"I Am"	Atlantic 2395	62	73
1967	"Darling, Be Home Soon" (Sebastian)	"Hello, Sunshine"	Atlantic 2420	93	--
	"Talk To The Animals"	"After Today"	Atlantic 2433	--	--
	"Talk To The Animals"	"She Knows"	Atlantic 2433	105	--
1968	"Long Line Rider"	"Change"	Direction 350	79	66
1969	"Me & Mr. Hohner"	"Song for A Dollar"	Direction 351	123	--
	"Distractions" (Part 1)	"Jive"	Direction 352	111	--
		credited to "Bob Darin"
1970	"Sugar Man (9 To 5)"	"Jive's Alive"	Direction 4000	--	--
	"Baby May"	"Sweet Reason"	Direction 4001	--	--
	"Maybe We Can Get It Together"	"Rx Pyro (Prescription: Fire)"	Direction 4002	--	--
1971	"Melody / Someday We'll Be Together"		Motown 1183	--	--
	"Simple Song Of Freedom"	"I'll Be Your Baby Tonight"	Motown 1193	--	--
1972	"Sail Away"	"Something In Her Love"	Motown 1203	--	--
1973	"Average People"	"Something In Her Love"	Motown 1217	--	--
	"Happy"	"Something In Her Love"	Motown 1217	67	59
1979	"Dream Lover"	"Mack The Knife"	UK Lightning 9017	--	--	64
1987	"La Mer (Beyond The Sea)"	"Mack The Knife"	Atlantic 89166	--	--

"18 Yellow Roses"

In an interview with People Magazine, Bobby Darin's ex-wife, Sandra Dee, confided: "Before we were married, Bobby sent me 18 yellow roses every day. He even wrote a song called 18 Yellow Roses. As soon as we were married, the roses stopped. There was no lover anymore, just a husband. We honeymooned in Palm Springs in a home Bobby bought so he could be near his buddy Jackie Cooper. After three days I had to go to work. I'd fly back on weekends, wanting to see my husband, and he'd be playing poker with the guys. The third time that happened, I threw my ring at him. Then he begged forgiveness, and all was fine until the next time."

Albums

Note: There were separate Cashbox charts for mono and stereo albums until 1965

Release date	Title	Record label / Notes	Chart Positions
			US Billboard Charts	Cashbox (Mono)	Cashbox (Stereo)	UK
1960	Bobby Darin	Atco 33-102—1958 Issued only in mono
	That's All	Atco 33-104 (Mono) SD 33-104 (Stereo)	7	9	16
	This is Darin	Atco 33-115 (Mono) SD 33-115 (Stereo)	6	5	7
	Darin At The Copa	Atco 33-122 (Mono) SD 33-122 (Stereo)	9	6	12
	For Teenagers Only	Atco 1001–1960 (Mono) Issued only in mono		38
	It's You Or No One	Atco 33-124 SD 33-124–1960
	The 25th Day of December	Atco 33-125 SD 33-125–1960
1961	Two Of A Kind (Bobby Darin & Johnny Mercer)	Atco 33-126 SD 33-126–1961		38
	The Bobby Darin Story	Atco 33-131 SD 33-131–1961 Originally issued with white album cover, reissued in 1962 with black album cover. These issues were pressed with Bobby Darin's autograph in the run-out groove plate on Side 2; later reissues do not include the autograph	18	11
	Love Swings	Atco 33-134 SD 33-134–1961	92	49
	Twist with Bobby Darin	Atco 33-138 SD 33-138–1961 Original copies of the above Atco albums were originally pressed with yellow "harp" labels. In 1962, these were re-released with gold/dark blue labels (mono copies) and purple/brown labels (stereo copies), which were also used for the forecoming Atco releases	48	45
1962	Bobby Darin Sings Ray Charles	Atco 33-140 SD 33-140—1962	96	41
	Things and Other Things	Atco 33-146 SD 33-146—1962	45	43
	Oh! Look at Me Now	Capitol T(Mono) ST(Stereo) 1791—1962	100
1963	Earthy	Capitol T/ST-1826—1963
	You're the Reason I'm Living	Capitol T 1866 ST 1866—1963	43	19
	18 Yellow Roses	Capitol T 1942 ST 1942—1963	98	69
	Golden Folk Hits	Capitol T/ST 2007—1963
1964	Winners	Atco 33-167/SD 33-167—1964
	As Long As I'm Singing	Capitol T/ST 2084—1964 Unreleased, but rare stereo acetates are known to exist
	From Hello Dolly to Goodbye Charlie	Capitol T/ST -2194—1964	107
1965	Venice Blue	Capitol T/ST 2322—1965	132
1966	The Best Of Bobby Darin	Capitol T/ST 2571—1966
	The Shadow of Your Smile	Atlantic 8121(Mono)/SD 8121-1966 (Stereo)
	In A Broadway Bag	Atlantic 8126/SD 8126—1966
	If I Were a Carpenter	Atlantic 8135/SD 8135—1966	142		97
1967	Inside Out	Atlantic 8142/SD 8142—1967
	Bobby Darin Sings Doctor Dolittle	Atlantic 8154/SD 8154–1967
1968	Bobby Darin Born Walden Robert Cassotto	Direction 1936–1968
1969	Commitment	Direction 1937—1969
1972	Finally	Motown 739—1972 Commercially unreleased, but rare test pressings from RCA exist
	Bobby Darin	Motown 753—1972
1974	Darin: 1936-1973	Motown 813—1974			136

Filmography

• Shadows (1959)
• Pepe (1960)
• Come September (1961)
• Too Late Blues (1962)
• State Fair (1962)
• Hell Is for Heroes (1962)
• If a Man Answers (1962)
• Pressure Point (1962)
• Captain Newman, M.D. (1963)
• That Funny Feeling (1965)
• Gunfight in Abilene (1967)
• Stranger in the House (1967)
• The Happy Ending (1969)
• Happy Mother's Day, Love George (1973)

Books

• Dodd Darin and Maxine Paetro: Dream Lovers: the Magnificent Shattered Lives of Bobby Darin and Sandra Dee. New York: Warner Books 1994. ISBN 0-446-51768-2

External links

• Official website
• Bobby Darin at the Internet Movie Database
• International Jose Guillermo Carrillo Foundation
• Hall of Rock
• Jimmy Scalia: The Official Bobby Darin Archivist
• Bobby Darin Discography: Complete Details on all Darin LPs

Watch

• "Beyond the Sea" (2004) Hollywood movie on the life of Bobby Darin

Listen

• Bobby Darin interview recorded 11.5.1967 [1] on the Pop Chronicles