The Bobby Darin Story

 

Beyond The Sea

Lazy River

Mac The Knife

The Bobby Darin Story

Cover Design: Loring Eutemey

Supervision: Ahmet Ertegün

ATCO Records 33-131

1961

From the back cover: Bobby Darin, born May 14, 1936 in New York, N.Y. Real Name: Walden Robert Cassotto. Grew up in New York, attending public schools there. Went to Bronx High School of Science, which accepted pupils only after rigid entrance examinations and personal interviews. Graduated with a scholarship to attend Hunter College in New York.

After one term at Hunter, Bobby decided that further formal education could not help him to achieve his ambition, which was to become an actor. He left school, and almost immediately got a job playing an Indian Chief with a traveling group. Began to write songs. Taught himself to play the piano, previously only played drums in his high school band. Was first heard on records as singer of commercial jingles and on demos of songs he wrote. Signed his first record contract in 1956.

In 1957 Bobby was signed by Atco Records. First records commercially unsuccessful. Almost a year passed before his first smash hit, Splish, Splash. Hit followed in quick succession: Queen Of The Hop, Early In The Morning, Dream Lover. Began working a few important night spots.

Following overwhelming success of Queen Of The Hop, recorded his first LP: That's All. In it was Mack The Knife. Taken from the album and issued as a single, it became the biggest record of 1959, selling over 2,000,000 copies. Opened in Las Vegas with George Burns at the Sahara. An engagement at The Cloister in Los Angeles followed. This brought him to Hollywood, his original goal; but he was there as a singer, not as an actor. He played ever major nightclub in America, culminating in an engagement that had long been hi highest ambition as a singer: the Copacabana in New York (preserved "live" in Darin At The Copa).

TV appearances became more and more frequent. In 1959 he was singed by Paramount Pictures and by Universal-International. At long last he was an actor. And this earliest objective of his had been achieved as a result of his singing. At this point in his career many people thought Darin would stop singing. Bobby's answer to that: "It'll never happen."

Splish Slash

Early In The Morning

Queen Of The Hop

Plain Jane

Dream Lover

Mack The Knife

Beyond The Sea

Clemetine

Bill Bailey

Artificial Flowers

Somebody To Love

Lazy River