Pop singer Bobby Vee has died at the age of seventy-three, due to complications from Alzheimer's. He had thirty-eight Top 100 hits, and seven gold records.
Bobby Vee's career began at the age of fifteen, in early 1959, when he and his band The Shadows -- a last-minute naming -- filled in for the ill-fated Buddy Holly when Holly, Ritchie Valens, The Big Bopper, and their pilot Roger Peterson died in a plane crash on their way to a concert.
Vee's multiple hits -- included "Suzie Baby," "Devil or Angel," "Walkin' with My Angel," "Rubber Ball," "More Than I Can Say" (later recorded by Leo Sayer), "Take Good Care of My Baby," "Run to Him," "Sharing You," "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes" (one of my personal favorites), and "Come Back When You Grow Up."
At one point, a pianist who called himself Elston Gunn (sometimes Elston Gunnn, with three Ns), toured with The Shadows. His real name was Robert Zimmerman; he later changed it to Bob Dylan. Dylan's autobiography mentions Bobby Vee and provides him with both personal and professional compliments.
And here's my favorite Bobby Vee song...
Thanks for your time.
