Frogtoon Music

Pure Rock 'n' Roll (Album) by Bobby Vee

Artist Biography For Bobby Vee

Bobby Vee Born Robert Thomas Velline April 30 1943 – October 24 2016 Was An American Pop Singer Who Was A Teen Idol In The Early 1960s. According To Billboard Magazine He Had 38 American Hot 100 Chart Hits 10 Of Which Hit The Top 20. Vee Was Born In Fargo North Dakota To Sydney Ronald Velline And Saima Cecilia Tapanila. His First Single "Suzie Baby " Was Written By Vee With A Nod To Buddy Holly's "Peggy Sue" And Recorded For The Minneapolis-Based Soma Records In 1959 It Drew Enough Attention And Chart Action To Be Purchased By Liberty Records Who Signed Him Later That Year. His Followup Single A Cover Of Adam Faith's UK Number-One "What Do You Want?" Charted In The Lower Reaches Of The Billboard Pop Chart In Early 1960. His Fourth Release A Revival Of The Clovers' Doo-Wop Ballad "Devil Or Angel" Brought Him Into The Big Time With U.S. Buyers. His Next Single "Rubber Ball" Made Him An International Star. Vee's 1961 Summer Release "Take Good Care Of My Baby" Went To Number One On The Billboard U.S. Listings And Number Three In The UK Singles Chart. Known Primarily As A Performer Of Brill Building Pop Material He Went On To Record A String Of International Hits In The 1960s Including "Devil Or Angel" U.S. Number Six "Rubber Ball" 1961 U.S. Number Six Australia Number One "More Than I Can Say" 1961 U.K. Number Four "Run To Him" 1961 U.S. Number Two "The Night Has A Thousand Eyes" 1963 U.S. Number Three And "Come Back When You Grow Up" U.S. Number Three . When Vee Recorded "Come Back When You Grow Up" In 1967 He Was Joined By A Band Called The Strangers. He Also Recorded In 1961 A Version Of The Song "Lollipop" Originally By Ronald & Ruby Which Also Became A Success. Vee Was Also A Pioneer In The Music Video Genre Appearing In Several Musical Films As Well As In The Scopitone Series Of Early Film-And-Music Jukebox Recordings. He Received The North Dakota Roughrider Award In 1999. He Is Mentioned In The Film No Direction Home Regarding His Brief Musical Association With Bob Dylan And Dylan's Suggestion That He Was "Bobby Vee" After Vee's Regional Hit. The Very Best Of Bobby Vee Released By EMI/UK On May 12 2008 Charted In The UK Top Five. On January 17 2011 EMI/UK Released Rarities A Double-CD Package With 61 Tracks Many Of Which Were Previously Unreleased. Others Included Were Alternate Takes And First-Time Stereo Releases As Well As Tracks From The Album Bobby Vee Live On Tour Minus The "canned" Audience. On March 28 2011 He Became The 235th Inductee Into The Rockabilly Hall Of Fame. In 2014 He Was Inducted Into The Scandinavian-American Hall Of Fame. Vee's Career Began Amid Tragedy. On February 3 1959 "The Day The Music Died" Three Of The Four Headline Acts In The Lineup Of The Traveling Winter Dance Party—Buddy Holly Ritchie Valens And The Big Bopper—were Killed Along With The 21-Year-Old Pilot Roger Peterson In The Crash Of A V-Tailed 1947 Beechcraft Bonanza Airplane Dion The Second Headliner Opted Not To Travel On The Plane . It Crashed Near Clear Lake Iowa En Route To The Next Show On The Tour Itinerary In Moorhead Minnesota. Velline Then Aged 15 And A Hastily Assembled Band Of Fargo Schoolboys Calling Themselves The Shadows Volunteered For And Were Given The Unenviable Job Of Filling In For Holly And His Band At The Moorhead Engagement. Their Performance There Was A Success Setting In Motion A Chain Of Events That Led To Vee's Career As A Popular Singer. In 1963 Vee Released A Tribute Album On Liberty Records Called I Remember Buddy Holly. In The Liner Notes Vee Recalled Holly's Influence On Him And The Events Surrounding Holly's Death Like So Many Other People I Became A Buddy Holly Fan The Very First Time I Heard Him Sing. I've Been A Fan Ever Since And I Guess I Always Will Be. I Remember A Few Years Ago When Buddy Was Scheduled To Appear At A Dance In My Home Town Of Fargo North Dakota. It Was Going To Be A Big Event For The Whole Town But Even More So For Me. I Was Anxiously Looking Forward To Seeing Buddy In Action. The Day He Was To Arrive Disaster Struck Taking Buddy's Life Along With The Lives Of Two Other Fine Singers Ritchie Valens And The Big Bopper. The Shocking News Spread Through Fargo Very Quickly. The Local Radio Station Broadcast A Plea For Local Talent To Entertain At The Scheduled Dance. About A Week Before This I Had Just Organized A Vocal And Instrumental Group Of Five Guys. Our Style Was Modelled After Buddy's Approach And We Had Been Rehearsing With Buddy's Hits In Mind. When We Heard The Radio Plea For Talent We Went In And Volunteered. We Hadn't Even Named The Group Up To That Time So We Gave Ourselves A Name On The Spot Calling Ourselves The Shadows. We Appeared At The Dance And Were Grateful To Be Enthusiastically Accepted. Soon Afterwards I Made My First Record. It Was Called "Suzie Baby" And I Was Pretty Lucky With It It Was A Fair-Sized Hit. For Some Time Now I Have Wanted To Make An Album In Tribute To Buddy But I Wasn't Sure It Was The Proper Thing To Do. However During The Past Year I Have Received Many Requests To Do Such An Album. These Requests Came Not Only From My Fans And From DJs But Also From Buddy's Loyal Following---Still A Large Group Of Devoted Fans. It.... Gave Me The Confidence To Do The Album. From "Suzie Baby" To This Present Album I Have Made Many Records But I Have Never Forgotten Buddy Holly And His Influence On My Singing Style And My Career. Vee Went On To Become A Bona Fide Star And Regularly Performed At The Winter Dance Party Memorial Concerts In Clear Lake. His Sons Are All Musicians And Have Performed With Him There. Early In Vee's Career A Musician Named Elston Gunnn Sic Briefly Toured With The Band. "Gunnn" Whose Birth Name Was Robert Allen Zimmerman Later Went On To Fame As Bob Dylan. Dylan's Autobiography Chronicles Volume One Mentions Vee And Provides Complimentary Details About Their Friendship Both Professional And Personal. In A Concert At Midway Stadium In St. Paul Minnesota On July 10 2013 Dylan Said He Had Been On The Stage With Many Stars But That None Of Them Were As Meaningful As Vee. He Said Vee Was In The Audience And Then Played Vee's Hit "Suzie Baby" With Emotion. Dylan Said In An Audio Recording Of The Concert Thank You Everyone Thank You Friends. I Left Here A While Back And Since That Time I've Played All Over The World With All Kinds Of People. And Everybody From Mick Jagger To Madonna. And Everybody In There In Between. I've Been On The Stage With Most Of Those People. But The Most Meaningful Person I've Ever Been On The Stage With Was A Man Who Is Here Tonight Who Used To Sing A Song Called "Suzie Baby". I Want To Say That Bobby Vee Is Actually Here Tonight. Maybe You Can Show Your Appreciation With Just A Round Of Applause. So We're Gonna Try To Do This Song Like I've Done It With Him Before Once Or Twice. Vee And Karen Bergen Were Engaged July 1 1963 And Married December 28 1963. They Had Four Children Jeffery Robert Velline B. Jan 3 1965 Thomas Paul Velline B. October 25 1966 Robert Bryon Velline B. August 4 1967 And Jennifer Joanne Velline B. May 31 1972 . Karen Died Of Kidney Failure On August 3 2015. On April 29 2012 Vee Announced On His Website That A Year Prior He Had Been Diagnosed With An Early Stage Of Alzheimer's Disease And Consequently Would Withdraw From The Music Business. On October 24 2016 Vee Died In Rogers Minnesota From Complications Of Early Onset Alzheimer's Disease.

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