Today is a Bobby Darin day. Plain and simple.
Most from my generation don't know Bobby at all, and if they do, they know him for his hit, "Splish Splash," but there's much more to Bobby than that.
One of the most popular songs that Bobby Darin sings is "Mack the Knife." This song always seemed strange to me. The song was released in 1958, but the song seems very closely tied to murder, when you listen to the lyrics. It seems strange that a song, based around murder, became so popular in the fifties. However, I wasn't there, so I don't know. Either way, the song got him a Grammy. From what I've read, "Mack the Knife" originally came from a German opera. Then again, my source is Wikipedia, so I'm never really sure what I can trust from there. The song is probably one of my favorites.
One of Bobby's more popular hits was "Beyond the Sea," an English version of the French song "La Mer" (which, just as trivia, can be heard in one of the episodes of Lost). "Dream Lover," and "You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby," were also popular. The last song was used in the movie Little Rascals, and every time I hear that song, that's what I think of. One of my favorite, yet one of the more depressing, songs he sings is "Artificial Flowers." The song about a young orphaned girl who makes her way in the world by making and selling artificial flowers, is kind of a tear-jerker, and oddly upbeat for such a sad song.
I couldn't find an actual live recording of the song, and this was before music videos, but I did attach the audio file, via youtube.
Darin led a successful career, and later became more politically concerned, from what I understand. He was an actor, nominated for an Oscar, and married twice, once to Sandra Dee. His life ended way too early, when he died in 1973 at the age of 37.
Bobby Darin has always been a staple in my house. As I've gotten older, this hasn't changed. Despite his untimely death, Darin definitely left an impact, at least on me and my family.
So whether you're in the mood for an upbeat song like "Splish Splash," a ballad like "Beyond the Sea," or a song about a murder, like "Mack The Knife," Darin is definitely a good option for any day.
It's pretty amusing to me to watch the live performances from so long ago. It's just so different from bands now-a-days. They exuded class back then. Also, mack the knife is a great song.
ReplyDeleteI know, the way they performed was much different than it is now. I'm glad you like the song, its definitely one of my favorites.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite Bobby Darin hit is "Dream Lover". He's awesome, as they all were back then. I remember growing up watching American Bandstand and watching the style of dress change from suits and ties or at least dress slacks and a dress shirt to torn blue jeans and raggedy t-shirts. I'm aging myself and that's okay, I've had a lot of fun getting to this stage of my life and there's still a lot more ahead...
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