Thursday, May 14, 2009

Dream Lover ...


Today is Bobby Darin's birthday. He was born under the name Walden Robert Cossotto on May 14, 1936 in the Bronx during the Great Depression. His family was very poor. When he was a young boy he suffered from rheumatic fever, which left his heart in a weakened condition. He overheard his doctor tell his mother that he'd be lucky to live to be 16 years old. Since he knew his life might be short, he strived to make something of himself. He excelled in school, had genius-level IQ, became a musician, singer, actor, husband, and father. Sadly, his life was cut short and he died in 1973 after an unsuccessful heart surgery. He was only 37 years old.

Bobby left behind some wonderful music. One of my favorite songs he did was Splish Splash. Some of his other big hits were Mack the Knife, Dream Lover, and Beyond the Sea. At one point, Darin owned and operated a music publishing company that signed on Wayne Newton. Wayne's signature song, Danke Schoen, was originally sent in for Bobby Darin to record. Bobby once said, "My goal is to be remembered as a human being and as a great performer." Although his life was sadly cut short, I believe he reached his goal.



9 comments:

  1. I love Somewhere beyond the Sea! Totally it's one of my favorite songs!

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  2. I loved his music and voice. Thanks Rena.

    Nancy

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  3. I did not realize he died at such a young age. What a smooth voice!
    "The one girl to call my own..."

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  4. I love this song.. it is my favourite of his - though to be honest, I love all his songs...even some of the 'B' sides on my parent's 45s. Thanks for sharing - this blog brought a smile to my face today. (And I needed one!)

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  5. Beyond the Sea...a beautiful song! Happy Birthday BD.

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  6. I have fond memories of Splish Splash. TH & I had just started dating and we went to a '50s burger joint for dinner. They had the whole juke box set up and everything. Well, TH had spilled his water and I said to him, "Well, you know what I have to do now." He watched as I picked Splish Splash and it played immediately. He was a little embarrassed because all of the waitresses were smirking, but was able to laugh about it, too. To this day, he never lets me forget about it!

    Gale

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  7. I'm glad to see there are some other fans out there. The quality of the music might not be up to par of today's standards, but it's still great music. It's so innocent and simple. I like simple.

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  8. Rena, you're like an encyclopedia for "What happened on this day. . . " info. :0)

    I luv it!

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  9. Oh! Love it. Can't believe you found this.

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