Bobby Darin
A Reason To Smile
Ninety years ago this week, Walden Robert Cassotto was born in New York City. After adopting the stage name Bobby Darin, he became an award-winning singer, songwriter, and actor. He is our reason to smile.
He was one of the most versatile musicians of his generation, performing everything from swing to rock and roll to country music. And he could play the piano, drums, guitar, harmonica, and xylophone.
Darin got his break as a songwriter, initially penning hits for Connie Francis. Record executives quickly recognized his own talent as a singer and signed him to a contract. In 1959, Darin was the inaugural winner of the Grammy Award for Best New Artist. The following year, he won Record of the Year for “Mack the Knife.”
That same year, Darin sang his hit “Beyond the Sea” on the Ed Sullivan Show. Darin was not the first, nor the last, to sing the song, but he did popularize it. “Beyond the Sea” is an English-language version of the French song “La Mer,” by Charles Trenet.
The home of the Ed Sullivan Show is now the Ed Sullivan Theater, which until this week hosted the Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Last fall, Colbert had Jonathan Groff, the Tony-nominated star of the Bobby Darin musical, “Just In Time” on the show to sing, you guessed it, “Beyond the Sea.” Sixty-five years separated the two renditions. Do you have a favorite?
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Stay Steady,
Dan
On Labor Day 1958 I was in the cafeteria line at Gunter Air Force base in Alabama. I had injured my shoulder and was in a cast from my navel to my neck, when Bobby DDarin came into the cafeteria to eat before his performance that afternoon. He kindly helped me with my food tray as we were going through the line together. Never forgot the kindness.
He was a cool cat. The finger snap! ❤️