Bobby Darin

Bobby Darin

Bobby Darin (May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) (born Walden Robert Cassotto) was one of the most popular American big band performers and rock and roll teen idols of the late 1950s. He is widely respected for being a multi-talented, versatile performer who conquered many music genres, including folk, country, pop, and jazz.

He was also an award-winning actor, songwriter and music business entrepreneur. His wish for a legacy was "to be remembered as a human being and as a great performer." Among his many other contributions, he became a Goodwill Ambassador for the American Heart Association.

Early years

Darin was born to a poor, working-class Italian-American family in The Bronx, New York. His father disappeared a few months before he was born. It was the height of the Great Depression, and he once remarked that his crib was a cardboard box, later a dresser drawer. As a result, his mother had to accept Home Relief, which was what "Welfare" was referred to in those days, to take care of her infant son. It was not until he was an adult that he learned that the woman he thought to be his sister Nina, 17 years his senior, was in fact his mother, and the woman he thought to be his mother was his grandmother. He went to his death without knowing the identity of his birth father.

Darin was frail as an infant and beginning at the age of eight, was stricken with multiple bouts of rheumatic fever. The illness left him with a seriously diseased heart. Overhearing a doctor tell his mother that he would be lucky to reach the age of 16, he lived with the constant knowledge that his life might be a short one. He was driven by his poverty and illness to make something of his life and, with his innate talent for music, by the time he was a teenager, he could play several instruments, including piano, drums and guitar. He later added harmonica and xylophone.

An outstanding student, with a genius-level IQ, Darin graduated from the prestigious Bronx High School of Science and then went on to attend Hunter College on a scholarship. Wanting a career in the New York theater, he left college to play small nightclubs around the city with a musical combo. In the resort area of the Catskill Mountains, he was both a bus boy and an entertainer.

As was common with ethnic minorities at the time, he changed his Italian name to one that sounded more "American". He chose the name "Bobby" because he had generally been called that as a child. He allegedly chose Darin because he had seen a malfunctioning electrical sign at a Chinese restaurant reading "DARIN DUCK" rather than "MANDARIN DUCK," and he thought the Darin looked good. Later, he said that the name was randomly picked out of the telephone book. Neither story has been verified.

Music career

File:Mack knife.JPG

Bobby Darin "Mack the Knife" 45 Sleeve.

In 1956, his agent negotiated a contract for him with Decca Records, where Bill Haley & His Comets had risen to fame. However, this was a time when rock and roll was still in its infancy and the number of capable record producers and arrangers in the field was extremely limited. Like other performers, Darin was at first pigeon-holed, recording the banal songs popular with record executives at the time.

He left Decca to sign with Atlantic Records (ATCO), where he wrote and arranged music for himself and others. There, after three mediocre recordings, his career took off in 1958 when he wrote and recorded "Splish Splash"; it became an instant hit, selling more than a million copies. "Splish Splash" was written with Radio DJ Murray Murray the K Kaufman, who bet that Darin could not write a song that started out with the words, "Splish Splash, I was takin' a bath", as suggested by Murray's mother. They eventually shared writing credits with her. This was followed by more hits recorded in the same successful style.

In 1959, Bobby Darin recorded "Dream Lover", a ballad that became a multi-million seller. With financial success came the ability to demand more so-called creative control. His next record, "Mack the Knife", was the classic standard from Kurt Weill's Threepenny Opera. Darin gave the tune a vamping jazz-pop interpretation, which he consciously modeled on the style of Frankie Laine. The song went to #1 on the charts for nine weeks, sold several 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. "Mack The Knife" has since been honored with a Grammy Hall of Fame Award. He followed "Mack" with "Beyond the Sea", a jazzy English-language version of Charles Trenet's French hit song, "La Mer."

Propelled by the success of "Mack the Knife" and "Beyond the Sea," Darin became a hot commodity. He set all-time attendance records at the famed Copacabana nightclub in NYC, where it was not unusual for fans to line up all the way around the block to get tickets when Darin was playing there. The Copacabana sold so many seats to Darin's shows that they had to fill the dance floor, normally part of the performance area, with extra seating, leaving Bobby with a relatively small (approx. six feet deep and 12-14 feet wide) stage on which to perform. Darin also headlined at the major casinos in Las Vegas, the youngest performer to do so.

Darin was instrumental in bringing up new talent. Richard Pryor, Flip Wilson, and Wayne Newton opened his night club performances when they were virtually unknown. Early on, at the Copacabana, he insisted that black comic Nipsey Russell be his opening act. This was a very hard sell in the era of nightclub segregation, but perhaps because Darin had set the attendance mark (eclipsing Frank Sinatra), his request was grudgingly granted by Jules Podell, the Frank Costello (mob boss) manager of the Copacabana.

In the 1960s, Darin also owned and operated a highly successful music publishing and production company (TM Music/Trio), which was responsible for many hit records including "Under The Boardwalk" and "Good Lovin'". He "discovered" Wayne Newton and signed him to TM, giving him a song that was originally sent to Darin to record. That record went on to become Newton's breakout hit, "Danke Schoen". He also was a mentor to Roger McGuinn, who worked for Darin at TM Music before going off to form The Byrds. Darin also produced football great Rosey Grier's 1964 LP, Soul City, and "Made in the Shade" for Jimmy Boyd.

In 1962, Darin also began to write and sing country music, with songs including "Things" (1962), "You're the Reason" and "18 Yellow Roses". He did well in that format.

Acting career

In addition to music, Darin became a motion picture actor. In 1960, he was the only actor ever to be contractually signed to five major Hollywood studios. He wrote music for several films and acted in them as well. In his first major film, Come September, a romantic comedy designed to capitalize on his popularity with the teenage and young adult audience, he met and co-starred with 18-year-old actress Sandra Dee. They fell in love and were married in 1960. They had one son, Dodd Mitchell Darin, in 1961, and divorced in 1967.

Asking to be taken seriously, he took on more meaningful movie roles, and in 1962, he won the Golden Globe Award for "Most Promising Male Newcomer" for his role 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, where his records—in particular "Beyond the Sea"—brought him a wide following, he won the French Film Critics Award for Best Actor.

A major disappointment in his acting career came when he lost the lead role of Tony in West Side Story to Richard Beymer. Several leading Hollywood men like Anthony Perkins, Warren Beatty, and Elvis Presley were also major contenders for the role. Darin had also been penciled in to star opposite Jackie Gleason in The Hustler, before Paul Newman's schedule suddenly allowed first choice Newman to step in.

Later years

File:Bdarin1.jpg

Bobby Darin's late folk/protest period: compilation album, 2004.Produced by Jimmy Scalia

Darin's musical output became more "folky" as the 1960s progressed and he became more politically aware and active. In 1966, he had another big hit record, but this time it was with folksinger Tim Hardin's "If I Were a Carpenter", adding another style to his vast repertoire. The song secured Darin's return to the Top 10 after a four-year absence. He worked on the 1968 presidential election campaign of Robert F. Kennedy and was profoundly affected by Kennedy's assassination, going into seclusion for a year following the incident. Coming back, in 1969, he started another record company, Direction Records, putting out folk and protest music. He said of his first Direction Records album, "The purpose of Direction Records is to seek out statement-makers. The album is solely comprised of compositions designed to reflect my thoughts on the turbulent aspects of modern society." During this time, he was billed under the name "Bob Darin," grew a mustache, and stopped wearing a hairpiece. Within two years, however, all of these changes were discontinued.

At the beginning of the 1970s, he continued to act and to record, including several albums with Motown Records and a couple of films. 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.

Darin married Andrea Yeager in June of 1973. She was not from show business, and Bobby felt that she loved him for who he was, not for his image. In 1972, he starred in his own TV variety show on NBC, The Bobby Darin Amusement Company, which ran for two years. He made TV guest appearances and also remained a top draw at Las Vegas, where due to his poor health, he was often administered oxygen after his performances.

Death

In 1973, Darin's ill health took a fatal turn, when his mechanical heart valve clotted (a known risk of prosthetic heart valves). He had decided to stop taking his anticoagulant drug, warfarin, that is routinely used to prevent such problems - his heart disease required him to take the drug on a daily basis and to undergo frequent blood tests to determine a satisfactory level of anticoagulation. Unfortunately, Darin reportedly neglected to take antibiotics as a precaution before undergoing a dental procedure; as a result, bacteria seeped into his bloodstream, and further infected his already fragile heart. He died on December 20, 1973, following surgery to repair his heart valve. In accordance with his wishes, his body was donated to the UCLA Medical Center for research purposes.

Shortly before his death, he divorced his second wife, Andrea. Those close to him have said that this was an attempt to distance her from the pain of his death. Even though he did talk to Sandra Dee a short while before his death, the call was mainly to talk to his son Dodd, contrary to the Beyond the Sea biopic.

Legacy

In 1990, singer Paul Anka made the speech for Darin's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 1999, he was voted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He has a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The Righteous Brothers refer to Darin in their song Rock and Roll Heaven, a tribute to late musicians. The duo also make a reference to Mack the Knife.

In 2000, actor Kevin Spacey, a lifelong fan of Darin, acquired the film rights to his story. Spacey directed and produced the film, and played Bobby Darin — as well as co-writing the script. The film is named after one of Darin's top hits, Beyond The Sea. With the consent of the Darin estate, Steve Blauner, and archivist Jimmy Scalia, the movie's opening was at the 2004 Toronto International Film Festival. In spite of strong studio promotion and positive critical reaction, box office results were disappointing. However, the movie spurred a renewed interest in Darin, which has resulted in the release of "never before heard, or seen" material. His pianist, Roger Kellaway, has recorded two albums of Darin's music as well.

On Monday, May 14, 2007, Bobby Darin was awarded a star on the Las Vegas Walk of Stars. This tribute honors Darin for his contribution to making Las Vegas the "Entertainment Capital of the World" and acknowledges his reputation as one of the greatest entertainers of the Twentieth century. The sponsorship fee for this star was raised entirely by fan donations.

Trivia

• "Call me Irresponsible", "Don't Rain on My Parade", "As Long As I'm Singing" and "Where Love Has Gone" are played in the film, American Beauty starring Kevin Spacey.
• In a 1967 episode of "The Monkees", titled The Monkees at the Movies, Peter admits that the prize album of his record collection is fictional LP "Bobby Darin Sings His Bankbook".
• Near the end of Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation, the character played by Fabian returns a record album he borrowed from Jimmy Stewart's screen daughter; it's Bobby Darin's "Love Swings" album.
• In one episode of "Leave it to Beaver", Eddie Haskell says to the Beaver, "you look like a regular Bobby Darin!"
• Bobby Darin's "Beyond The Sea" became a prominent "fixation" as part of a plot line in the cult hit series, "The X-Files". Another cult series from the 1990's, "Millennium", contains plot lines that also revolve around Bobby Darin music.
• Paul Simon pays tribute to Bobby Darin in a scene discussing deceased rock stars in Simon's scripted movie One Trick Pony.
• Brian Wilson credits Bobby Darin's "Mack The Knife" and its finger-snapping beat with inspiring Wilson to create "Help Me Rhonda".
• The Righteous Brothers' 1974 hit son, "Rock and Roll Heaven", pays tribute to Bobby Darin along with other deceased stars.
• Darin had a custom car built called the "Dream Car." It was designed by clothing designer, Andy DiDia.[1] The car is on display at the St. Louis Museum of Transportation.[2]
• As he revealed on "The Mike Douglas Show" in 1970, Darin's Top five "most admired" personalities were: Bobby Kennedy, Michelangelo, Gandhi, Emiliano Zapata, and Thomas Paine.
• Early in their career, Darin dated singer Connie Francis, much to the displeasure of her father. When Darin suggested the two elope, Connie's father chased after Darin with a gun, telling him to never see his daughter again. The two broke up shortly thereafter. To date, Francis still says that not marrying Darin was the biggest mistake of her life.
• In 2003, thirty years after his death, his song Beyond the Sea was used in the movie, "Finding Nemo".
• A character on the HBO series, The Sopranos, Walden Belfiore, was named after Darin, as revealed by him in the series finale, "Made in America".
• Beyond The Sea is the backing track to the adverts for the game, BioShock, and is also featured in game.

Discography (partial)

• "Splish Splash" (Bobby Darin, Jean Murray) Recorded in NYC, US#3 ; UK#18 1958
• "Queen of the Hop" (Woody Harris) Recorded in NYC, US#9 ; UK#24 1958
• Bobby Darin - 1958
• That's All - 1959
• "Plain Jane" — US#38 1959
• "Dream Lover" — US#2;UK#1 1959
• "Mack the Knife" (Kurt Weill, Bertolt Brecht, Marc Blitzstein)- Recorded at Fulton on West 40th Street, NYC, US#1; UK#1 1959
• This is Darin - 1960
• Darin At The Copa - 1960
• For Teenagers Only - 1960
• 25th Day of December - 1960
• "Beyond The Sea" (the French hit song La Mer) — US#6;UK#8 1960
• "Won't You Come Home Bill Bailey?" — US#19;UK#34 1960
• "Lazy River" — US#14 1961
• "You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby" — US#5;UK#10 1961
• "Multiplication" - US#30 1961
• Two of a Kind (Bobby Darin and Johnny Mercer) - 1961
• Love Swings - 1961
• Twist with Bobby Darin - 1961
• Bobby Darin Sings Ray Charles - 1962
• Things and Other Things - 1962
• Oh! Look at Me Now - 1962
• "What'd I Say?" — US#24 1962
• "Things" — US#3 UK#2 1962
• You're the Reason I'm Living - 1963
• It's You or No One - 1963
• 18 Yellow Roses and 11 Other Hits - 1963
• Earthy! - 1963
• Golden Folk Hits - 1963
• "You're the Reason I'm Living" — US#3 1963
• "18 Yellow Roses" — US#10 UK#37 1963
• Winners - 1964
• From Hello Dolly to Goodbye Charlie - 1964
• Venice Blue - 1965
• Bobby Darin Sings the Shadow of Your Smile - 1966
• In a Broadway Bag - 1966
• If I Were a Carpenter - 1966
• "If I Were a Carpenter"— US#8 UK#9 1966
• "Mame" — US#53 1966
• Inside Out - 1967
• Bobby Darin Sings Doctor Dolittle — 1967
• Bobby Darin Born Walden Robert Cassotto — 1968
• Commitment — 1969
• Bobby Darin (Motown) - 1972
• Darin: 1936-1973 - 1974

Filmography

• The Sad Sack (1957)
• Shadows (1959)
• Heller in Pink Tights (1960)
• Pepe (1960) (Cameo)
• 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)

External links

• Bobby Darin at IMDb
• Official site
• A Web Tribute to Bobby Darin
• History of Rock
• Hall of Rock
• "Beyond the Sea" (2004) Hollywood movie on the life of Bobby Darin
• Jimmy Scalia: The Official Bobby Darin Archivist
• Bobby Darin Discography: Complete Details on all Darin LPs