Bobby Darin was one of the last of his kind—simply put, he was an entertainer, a wunderkind who could do any and all things under the heading of show biz. He was a Grammy-winning vocalist, a musician and a composer who walked the genre wire from teen idol to nightclub crooner to urban cowboy to folkie.
He was also an actor who was nominated for an Academy Award, a comedian, and even an impressionist. Whether he was singing a vaudeville-style number with Jimmy Durante on television in 1962 or showing he could out-Garland Miss Judy Garland herself in a duet on her television show in 1963, Darin always delivered great, versatile entertainment.
He was clearly gifted, yet the most fascinating thing about Darin’s legacy is that his drive and ambition was actually his greater gift, allowing him to open doors and leap into possibilities that otherwise would have been closed to him.
The discs listed above and many other recent compact disc reissues have only added to that Bobby Darin legacy, a legacy that has prompted the new feature film Beyond The Sea starring Kevin Spacey. That film may accomplish what Darin himself likely wanted, to be an entertainer who could appeal to all demographics. It almost seems he is now orchestrating that from the great beyond.
Darin was born Walden Robert Cassotto on May 14, 1936, growing up poor on the tough streets of New York City’s borough of The Bronx. This Italian-American’s life was scarred from the start, yet like most native New Yorkers he was certainly a survivor, one who outlived congenital heart ailments that prompted doctors to believe he wouldn’t make it through his teens.
As a child, he showed intelligence beyond his years and a level of honesty that in this world could prove more of a liability than an asset. Although he did not find out until much later in life, another scar was added to his heart when it came to his attention that the woman he always thought was his older sister was actually his mother.
While attending the Bronx High School of Science around 1951, Bobby stepped into his first musical experience as the drummer of an outfit called the Eddie O’Casio Orchestra. The band landed a summer engagement at a hotel in what came to be known as “the Borscht Belt,” a collection of popular resorts in upstate New York’s Catskill Mountains.
Legend states that around this time Bobby Cassotto came up with his stage name while strolling through New York’s Chinatown. It seems a restaurant that specialized in Mandarin cuisine was missing its first 3 letters and there it was in full neon—Darin.
While attending Hunter College in Manhattan, Darin began to pursue acting and continued to toy with music, apparently making some money recording commercial jingles. He began writing songs around 1956, and was soon circulating a demo of his material. That demo was good enough to garner him a recording contract with Decca Records that same year.
Although short-lived, the Decca deal led Darin to signing to the Atco label, and from there it was not long before his career began to skyrocket.
In June of 1958 the Darin composition “Splish Splash” was released and quickly soared to the #1 spot on the R&B chart and #3 on the pop chart, eventually clearing the million sales mark. That same year Darin followed up with another Top Ten smash hit with “Queen of the Hop.” Then in 1959, another Darin composition, the sweet “Dream Lover,” also conquered the Top Ten.
This tidal wave of hits continued through to the start of the Sixties, which leads us up to the first reissue, Twist with Bobby Darin, originally released in December of 1961 and cracking the top fifty of the album charts. Taking advantage of “The Twist” dance craze, Atco assembled this album from various odds and ends, including tracks originally part of the 1960 album For Teenagers Only, as well as adding the aforementioned sax-driven hit 1958 single “Queen of the Hop".
The song “Bullmoose”, a nifty B-side of Darin’s smash 1959 hit “Dream Lover”, sets the tone and opens this album. Another highlight finds Darin praying at the altar of Elvis quite convincingly with the hot-rod-fueled “Mighty, Mighty Man”. One song from For Teenagers Only entitled “Pity Miss Kitty” is one of my personal faves on this collection for its overt tip of the hat to Jerry Lee Lewis.
“The Twist” is actually mentioned in the lyrics to “Irresistible You” that dates from 1958 and actually climbed to the #15 spot on the charts. “Multiplication” (from 1961) was penned by Darin himself and went to #30—it was also utilized in his first official film role in Come September. All in all, Twist with Bobby Darin is a great rock ‘n’ roll party album and is highly recommended.
Darin’s final effort for Atco, entitled Things & Other Things, was originally released in July of 1962, climbing to the #45 spot on the album charts. The album kicks off with a country-flavored title track, “Things”, which captured the #3 spot on the singles charts. It was the success of that single that prompted Atco to once again piece together an album of oddities.
One such number is the beautiful “Lost Love,” originally another B-side, this time the flip to “Queen of the Hop". “Lost Love” shows yet another side of Darin’s vocal style that reminds one of the great Roy Orbison. Another nugget is a 1960 instrumental entitled “Beachcomber” that features Darin himself at the piano.
The standout song on Things is the wonderful and strange Darin take on “Nature Boy”, originally popularized by the legendary Nat King Cole in 1948. (Even more bizarre was the song’s composer Eden Ahbez, who in the 40s wore sandals and had long hair twenty years before such things were hippie vogue.) Bobby Darin himself either composed or co-wrote ten of the twelve songs on this must-have collection from Collectors’ Choice Music.
The most unique of the recent flow of Darin reissues comes from famed producer Joel Dorn’s Hyena label and is titled Aces Back To Back! This nicely-packaged CD/DVD set comes with an informative 22-page booklet with reflections by those collaborators closest to Darin. The CD portion starts off with 7 songs taken from Darin’s 1972 variety television show.
Only Bobby Darin can get away with mixing standards and popular songs of the time—including Neil Diamond’s “Song Sung Blue” and Gilbert O'Sullivan’s "Alone Again Naturally"—with convincing bravado and zest. Rounding out this portion is the closing number and signature song “Beyond the Sea”, which Darin treats as passionately as if it were the first time he performed it.
The next few songs reflect Darin’s folksy side and were only previously available on a long-out-of-print live 1971 album. Heard here are moving versions of Bob Dylan’s “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight” and the Tim Hardin classic “If I Were a Carpenter”, which Darin took to the Top Ten in 1966. The remainder of the CD portion of Aces Back To Back! showcases rare studio cuts like the country-styled “Jive”, which was originally part of an obscure late Sixties album on the Direction label.
The original demo version of “Dream Lover” from 1959 is also included here and should please the die-hard fan. Lastly, a welcome handful of rare radio broadcast recordings find Darin singing with a jazz combo, kicking out standards like “Blue Skies” and “All the Way”.
The DVD portion provides the Darin fan with a plethora of rare visuals from his 1972 television show. The real highlight here is documentary-style footage that enables the viewer to see a more personal side of Bobby Darin around family, in the studio, and even playing some flamenco guitar.
Sadly, Bobby Darin passed away in Los Angeles after heart surgery on December 20, 1973 at the tender age of 37. All in all, these three fine releases all add to the brief but great legacy he left behind, offering something for everyone, from the casual listener to the most devoted of fans.
Gotta have 'em? We got 'em!
Twist with Bobby Darin
Things & Other Things
Aces Back to Back
