The early rockin' years
Where were you on February 3,
1959?
Cannot remember?
Were not born yet?
Never mind. I am not telling,
either. I simply always have wanted to start a post like that and figured this
is a good opportunity.
According to rock 'n' roll
mythology, that is "the day the music died." It was the day Buddy Holly (Charles
Hardin Holley) and Ritchie Valens (Richard Steven Valenzuela) and The Big Bopper
(Jiles
Perry "J.P." Richardson Jr.), were killed in an airplane crash after
performing at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, the evening before.
The musicians were in the
midst of their "Winter Dance Party Tour," which included stops in places like
Mankato and Duluth and Montevideo and Saint Paul, all in Minnesota, as well as
a number of other Midwestern "ballrooms." Ordinarily in those days tour
transportation was by bus, but for various reasons that night, Holly and the
others were en route by flying for the next concert stop in Moorhead,
Minnesota.
They never made it. They died
in an Iowa cornfield.
Lesser known about that tale
is the fact that another musician's success story began with the death of Holly
and the others.
Robert Thomas Velline, a 15-year-old
high school student from Fargo, North Dakota, who became professionally known
as Bobby Vee, was one of the musicians who filled in for the missing performers
at the Moorhead concert. Vee and a band composed of Fargo schoolboys calling themselves
the Shadows answered a request for musicians to play in place of those killed
in the Iowa crash. The group filled in for Holly and his band. Their
performance was a success and started Vee's career as a popular singer/song
writer.
Some of Vee's notable songs
are "Suzie Baby" / "Devil or Angel" / "Rubber Ball" / "Take Good Care of My Baby" / "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes" ....
Another significant name in
the world of rock was on the tour. Singer/song writer Dion Francis DiMucci had chosen
not to travel on the plane which crashed, and did perform. Dion still makes
music, and my assumption is most "elders" of the rock community have heard any
number of his songs and probably danced to "Runaround Sue."
All this stuff evolved from
having stumbled onto Bobby Dylan singing "Suzie
Baby," one of Vee's most popular songs, on a video from a concert in Saint Paul
a couple of years ago. Vee was among those in the audience. In 1959, while
Dylan still was Robert Zimmerman, he performed twice with Vee as the piano man
using the name Elston Gunnn. Incidentally, my opinion is that Dylan's rendition
of "Suzie" is the worst cover I ever/ever/ever have heard. Simply pathetic ....
The question popped into my
mind: Is Bobby Vee still alive? The answer is no, he is not.
Vee continued performing live
until 2011 when he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. His final recordings
were released in 2014. He underwent treatment for Alzheimer's in a long-term
care facility in Rogers, Minnesota, near Minneapolis. He died from complications
of the disease at age 73 on October 24, 2016.
So, just for fun and a feel
for some "old time rock 'n' roll," here is Bobby Vee singing his song, "Suzie
Baby," and a taste of New Yorker Dion with "Runaround Sue." Another rock star born and
raised in this neck of the woods was Ray Edward "Eddie" Cochran, originally from Albert Lea, Minnesota. Present, too, is Cochran
singing, "Long Tall Sally." Cochran was killed at age 21 on April 17, 1960, in
a single-vehicle accident in England just as his career was beginning to
blossom.
By the way, Suzie baby .... where are you?
8 comments:
I don't think I knew that about Bobby Vee getting started that way. One of my blogging friends was the head of Bobby Vee's UK fan club and knew him personally. He's mentioned several times what an incredibly nice person Vee was.
I'm sure you also know that Waylon Jennings was supposed to be on that plane....
Wow what a sad story!!i read Kelly note that W J also should be on that plane..life is strange is it not-
I like the first video:))
I have never heard of them before
Wish you all good!
For me..I have broke my arm so therefor very late to the party
From what I have read, Bobby Vee was immensely popular in England and Europe and probably spent more time touring there than in this country. And, yes, all indications are that he was the epitome of a "gentle-man."
I was not aware of Vee's encounter with Alzheimer's disease or the final decades of his life, and a bit surprised to learn his last years were in a rather nearby care center. If I had known, I probably would have made and effort to meet him. Dylan's cover of "Suzie Baby" came as a surprise, too, and I cannot imagine why he chose to try that particular song.
Yep, I am aware of Waylon Jennings’s association with Buddy Holly and that he had given up his seat on the ill-fated flight. As a college boy, I was part of a "long weekend road trip" from Mankato, Minnesota, to Clear Lake, Iowa, and saw the principal sites. Actually, I had more proximity than that and might write a bit about it at some point.
Thank you, Kelly, for coming and for commenting. I enjoyed your "books upon books upon more books" puzzle and would love to live in place like it. I also like the music of the New Seekers and know the beverage you are referring to ....
Stay safe and take care and have fun fun fun ‘til ....
Broke your arm? Slip on snow or ice? How? When? How badly?
I have had a few broken bones and hope never to have another. Completely / totally / absolutely a negative experience.
Yes, I like "Suzie Baby," too. I think it is the best of the three accompanying the post and the best of any written and sung by Bobby Vee. The guitar work is a blend of simplicity and elegance, which sends shivers through me at times. I have difficulty believing you never have heard of Dion. He has had scores of recordings over the years .... but, then again, I constantly am encountering bands and musicians I cannot recall ever having heard of, but, it seems to me, I probably have listened to them, but not in a way I would remember them.
By the way, I would suggest you listen to Eddie Cochran's "Summertime Blues." It is pure, original rock 'n' roll and a fun song.
Waylon Jennings and Buddy Holly were a pair of simpatico Texas boys. Holly, no doubt, was the most relevant individual in getting Jennings off the ground in the realm of music. He even played guitar on the first recordings Jennings made.
Thank you, Anita, for coming and for commenting. Take care of your arm so it heals properly and next time remember to zig instead of zag ....
That was a sad story, mate. Thanks. I knew nothing about it.
Greetings from London.
By some definitions, it might be considered a multi-level tragedy. I wonder how Samuel Beckett would handle it in a play ....
Thank you, CiL, for coming and for commenting. I probably would not have written this had it not been for encountering Bobby Dylan "trying" to sing about "Suzie." Chance meetings sometimes produce inexplicable offspring.
You can never know what the next moment will bring when it comes.
Sad end of life.
Years ago, I often listened to Shadows wire music, American-style instrumental rock.
First video of my favorite.
Familiar songs all.
Memories of Long Tall Sally remind me of times when it came to dancing, fast-paced.
Have a nice week!
I am quite certain there are recordings by Bobby Vee and the Shadows or from his solo work which I never have heard, but among those I have heard, "Suzie Baby," is my favorite.
I wondered who and when "Long Tall Sally" came into being and a few taps of the keys led me to Robert Blackwell, Enotris Johnson and "Little" Richard Penniman in l956. Elvis Presley and the Beatles also were among those to record it. Talk about the history of rock 'n' roll ....
What also has been enlightening is to watch "shuffle dancing," especially to "Runaround Sue,” and to see that only the name really is new, with a bit of "stylistic" innovations added to the repertoire. I wonder what it was called when Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers were doing it.
By the way, Liplatus, are you aware that Bobby Dylan turned 80 yesterday? I sort of slept through it myself.
Thank you, Liplatus, for coming to visit me and for your comment. Whether slow dancing or fast dancing, rock on, young lady ....
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