Starting at the beginning is always a good idea. In May 1936, on the 14th day, during the last quarter moon of the month, Bobby Darin Was born. He was born with rheumatic fever to a poor Italian family. The fever damaged his heart and would cause him strife throughout his entire life. Having only been given to the age of 16 to live he proved them wrong…Evolution became the key to his success.
Much of his life was spent watching the clock and you can see that the decisions of his career spanned the whole junket. Rock and Roll, Pop, Jazz/big band, folk, and even country are in his catalogue. Having limited moments and knowing you’re on borrowed time may have been one of the reasons for his changes or his yearning to do it all.
Everyone knows “Splish Splash”, “Mack the Knife” and “Beyond the Sea”…but?? do you know what he did on Direction records? Do you know he was on Motown? Maybe not. We’re all familiar with his years at Decca and Atco records…maybe you might remember the time he spent at Capital??? I’m going to review here the Bobby you may not have known. If you know this Bobby you may recognize these long possibly forgotten gems.
Let’s say we already know everything up until 1967 about Bobby Darin. OK, even if you don’t, just humor me. Maybe this will make you want to go back and look at his work before to see the evolution.
Evolution is usually shaped by the things we experience in our lifetime. Throughout Darin’s lifetime he had been pretty politically minded, well rounded philosophically and very well read. The things we read and the knowledge we gain from these events due to life and what interests us can never be forseen but only looked back on. A major turning in Darin’s life came after he found out his Mother Polly was actually his Grandmother and his Sister Nina was really his mother. This and the assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy shaped his movement away from mainstream music and into the realm of Folk and protest music. Wondering what to believe and how to put what he thought was true back together he began his journey.
The first song I have chosen is “Sunday”, possibly written when he was debating why things happen. When you live your life…and what you hope for goes away or what you believed was your reality is crushed when you find out the truth. Maybe that’s what he’s saying. When you put all your hopes into something and find out that it was all fruitless. Maybe that’s what he means. Makes you wonder if it’s real or not or if we are really alone out here. Maybe he’s just questioning all the different versions of what we are told is God. I won’t go any further with that one. This was on his Direction album “Born Walden Robert Cassotto”. You can listen and make your own opinion. He lays it out for you…you’ll understand what he means by the end…things never seem to change though. Maybe the stars hold the answers.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
After two albums on the Direction label and protesting behind him and in not so good health Darin went into the hospital in 1971. He was going to have his heart operated on. By now he was well over 16 and on borrowed time. He recovered and was doing pretty good. He bounced back and had a TV show with pretty good ratings, and a new record deal with Motown and he was back working in Vegas. Sometimes after his show’s they’d have to put him on oxygen to recover but for the most part he was doing…OK. Some say that he was quoted saying that he needed to stop protesting so he could pay his medical bills. So he put back on his hair piece and returned to the standing ovations. He also believed entertainment is visual. He once said that he could do his act one month in jeans and a tee shirt with a beard and people would walk out. Next month do the same act with the hair the makeup and the nice cloths and get a standing ovation. Show’s talent is only half that…the other half is how good well it is presented…mind you I’m paraphrasing. 
This next song is called “I Used to Think it Was Easy” which was on his self titled Motown LP Bobby Darin and written by Patrica St. Clare. This was his first studio album on Motown. I have to say the whole album, it’s really like a story in itself. This was also the only album released on Motown while Darin was still alive. Listen to the words and think about the divorce he went through, the protest songs, growing up…and then getting the silver spoon later in life and thinking it would never run out, only to find he had to do it all over again this time all alone. Just listen…he’d lived this even though he didn’t write it… One of the last songs Bobby record was his cover version of The Supremes hit, originally recorded by Johnny and Jackey in 1961, “Someday We’ll Be Together”. After Darin this song was even attempted by Latoya Jackson, don’t laugh, honestly it’s not that bad. Darin’s version does lack a little and the background singers constantly saying “sing it bobby” could be one of the reasons the single never really took off…but you can tell that his style was evolving again. One can only imagine what he would have become had he not died on December 20, 1973. You can hear the beginnings of the disco era starting and he would have been there. Imagine the disco version of “Mack the Knife”….Listen toward the end of the song where he apologizes to the background singers like he just wanted to keep singing in the groove and he forgot….but they left it in. I did read somewhere that he did this song in one take and it wasn’t going to be released, but the single that was sent to the radio stations “Melodie” needed two sides and one couldn’t be mono so they threw this on. I don’t know how true that is….but I’d like to think that’s the rest of the story. It’s a gem if you’ve never heard it and possibly one of the most sought after Darin recordings on the Motown label. I guess in the times as they are, regardless of what is said we are all divided in some way. Weather it be in opinion, race, class, or location. In the end we’re all together weather it be here or there….where ever THAT may be….”sing it bobby”.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Darin would have probably lived, had he not forgotten to take his medication that was prescribed to him after a dental visit. Or maybe if he had forgotten any other time he may still be alive. December 10, 1973 was a full moon and any event leading up to a full moon cause higher arterial flow. Ask a doctor…On December 11, 1973 Darin entered Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Los Angeles, with blood poisoning possibly aided by the higher arterial flow. Had he been born during a full moon, he may never have been born, his heart may not have been able to handle it. As the stars would have it maybe he was meant to be. No funeral was held for him. He donated his body to UCLA for medical research.
I’m not sure how to end this but I’ll leave it to Bobby as he sings “My Friend, the Doctor”. Maybe it will all fall into place. Think back to Sunday….and count your lucky stars.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Related Posts: