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Bobby Vee
Robert Thomas Velline (born April 30, 1943), known as Bobby Vee, is an American
pop music singer. According to Billboard magazine, Vee has had 38 Hot 100 chart
hits, 10 of which hit the Top 20. Contents
Career
Born in Fargo, North Dakota, to Sydney Ronald Velline and Saima Cecilia Tapanila,
he had his first single with "Suzie Baby", an original song penned by Vee that
nodded towards Buddy Holly's "Peggy Sue" for the Minneapolis-based Soma Records
in 1959; it drew enough attention and chart action to be purchased by Liberty
Records, which signed him to their label later that year. His follow-up single,
a cover of Adam Faith's UK number 1 "What Do You Want?", charted in the lower
reaches of Billboard in early 1960; however, it was his fourth release, a
revival of The Clovers' doo-*** ballad "Devil or Angel", that brought him into
the big time with U.S. buyers. His next single, "Rubber Ball", was the record
that made him an international star.
Vee's 1961 summer release "Take Good Care of My Baby" went to No.1 on the
Billboard U.S. listings and number 3 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. #6), "Rubber
Ball" (1961, U.S. #6), "More Than I Can Say" (1961, U.K. #4), "Run to Him" (1961,
U.S. #2), "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes" (1963, U.S. #3), and "Come Back When
You Grow Up" (U.S. #3). When Vee recorded "Come Back When You Grow Up" in 1967,
he was joined by a band called "The Strangers".
Vee was also a pioneer in the music video genre, appearing in several musical
motion pictures as well as in the Scopitone series of early film-and-music
jukebox recordings. He is a 1999 inductee of the North Dakota "Roughrider Award".
He is mentioned in the movie 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.
EMI/UK released The Very Best of Bobby Vee on May 12, 2008. This package charted
in the UK top five. On January 17, 2011, EMI/UK released Rarities, a double CD
package with 61 tracks, many of which had been previously unreleased. Others
included were alternate takes and first-time stereo releases, as well as tracks
from the Bobby Vee Live on Tour album minus the "canned" audience.
On March 28, 2011, he became the 235th inductee into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.
The Day The Music Died
Vee's career began amid tragedy. On "The Day the Music Died" (February 3, 1959),
the three headline acts in the line-up of the traveling 'Winter Dance Party'—Buddy
Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper—were killed, along with 21-year-old
pilot Roger Peterson, in the crash of a 1947 Beechcraft Bonanza v-tailed
aircraft (registration #N3974N) near Clear Lake, Iowa, while en route to the
next show on the tour itinerary in Moorhead, Minnesota. Velline, then aged 15,
and a hastily-assembled band of Fargo, North Dakota, 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, Bobby Vee released a tribute album on Liberty Records called "I
Remember Buddy Holly". In the sleeve notes accompanying the album, Vee recalled
Holly's influence on him and the events surrounding the tragic death of Holly
thus: '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.'
Vee continued, '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.'
Vee concluded, '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.'
Despite the circumstances of his debut, Vee went on to become a bona fide star,
and regularly performs at the Winter Dance Party memorial concerts in Clear Lake,
and often some tribute concerts to the event are performed by his son Robbie
along with Jay Richardson, the son of The Big Bopper.
Personal
As a child, Bobby spent summers on the Tuomala Family Farm in Perth, North
Dakota, with his cousins. He is half Finnish through his mother who was Saima
Cecelia Tapanila. He lived in Beverly Hills, for decades, but relocated to St.
Cloud, Minnesota, then to nearby Collegeville. He is currently located in Cold
Spring, Minnesota.
Vee married Karen Bergen of Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, December 28, 1963, and
fathered three sons and a daughter. His children include: Jeffery Robert Velline
(born January 3, 1965), Thomas Paul Velline (born October 25, 1966), Robert
Bryon Velline (born August 4, 1967), and Jennifer Joanne Velline (born May 31,
1972). A number of his children join him on tour backing as his band. He is
still active and touring internationally as a performer as of 2008, along with
his backup band, The Vees, which includes his two elder sons, Jeff and Tommy Vee.
His youngest son, Robby Vee, is also a recording and performing artist. Bobby
Vee is a recipient of the state of North Dakota's Roughrider Award and his
contribution to the genre has been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. In
2009 Bobby Vee was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.
Bobby Vee and his sons in the Vees traveled to Perth, North Dakota, summer after
summer to entertain people for the Music on the Prairie concert series and to
participate in the Tuomala and Tapanila family reunions as both families came
together from Canada and America.
Bobby announced on 29 April 2012 on his website that he was diagnosed a year
before as in the early stages of Alzheimer's Disease.
Current activities
Vee concluded a long-running engagement at *** Clark's American Bandstand
Theater in Branson, Missouri. He performed in the 8:00 pm 'Original Stars at
American Bandstand' show with Fabian, Chris Montez, Brian Hyland, and The
Chiffons.
In October 2007, he was on tour performing in 'The Last of the Big Rock Shows'
along with Lesley Gore and Billy "Crash" Craddock in Australia.
In fall of 2011 he was in the recording studio working on a new album and
writing new songs.
Lore
Early in Vee's career, a musician named Elston Gunnn briefly toured with the
band. "Gunnn", whose birth name was Robert Allen Zimmerman, later went
on to fame as Bob Dylan.
In his autobiography, Chronicles, Volume One, Dylan makes special mention of Vee
and shares significant and complimentary details about their friendship, both
professional and personal.