Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Bobby Vee, 1943-2016, R.I.P.


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.

20 comments:

  1. To me, he was young to have Alzheimer's but, from what i know of the disease, true Alzheimer's can affect people when they are younger as compared to the other dementias. I loved his songs and this was a nice tribute

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  2. He sure had quite the run with many other great names too.

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  3. I heard about his passing on the radio. I wasn't sure who he was until I heard some of his songs. I didn't know anything about the back story and him replacing Buddy Holly.

    Susan A Eames at
    Travel, Fiction and Photos

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    1. His first hit, "Suzie Baby," was a Hollyesque tune.

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  4. Booby Vee? haha...I'm sure he'll forgive you since this is such a nice post about him. I can see why your fingers got mixed up there's a lot of B words here...Bobby, Buddy, Baby, Bopper, Ball...
    :) a real tongue twister!

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  5. Take Good Care of My Baby and The Night Has A Thousand Eyes are my favorite Bobby Vee songs.

    Love,
    Janie

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    1. He certainly had plenty to like. Sad he died so young.

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  6. I seem to remember seeing him live when he toured Britain back in the early sixties. As I write, the memory - like the famous rubber ball - comes bouncing back to me.

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    1. Wow, you're so lucky! Wish I'd gotten to see him when he was still alive!

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  7. "Rubber Ball" was always & still is a favourite of mine. A lot of the melodies and lyrics could get infectious (as in "ear worms", heh...)

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    1. Great song, all right. Did you know it was co-written by Gene Pitney?

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  8. That was one of my favorite songs of his, too. I hate his mind died before his body. :-(

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  9. The Night has a Thousand Eyes is a lovely song...the original poem isn't too bad either. Alzheimer's is a terrible disease.

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    1. It certainly is. I recently discovered that an ex-girlfriend's mom has it. :(

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  10. Thank you for sharing the song. That's sad to hear about the Alzheimer's disease.

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