Bobby Darin was the epitome of cool; he was who all the hipsters wanted to be. His little shoulder jerks and his finger snapping exuded coolness. He had one of the strongest stage presences in American musical history. He relied on his strong vocal talent, his inherent rhythm and his irrepressible humor. With Bobby Darin you got the full package. He had hits with pop music, standards, country music, and folk music. His early death in 1973 was a blow to all fans of great music.

Bobby Darin was born Walden Robert Cassotto on May 14, 1936 in the Bronx, N.Y. He was an only child who was brought up to believe that his grandparents were his parents. In reality, the woman he knew as his sister was actually his mother. He only learned of this in 1967 when he was 32 years old; he never knew his father. At the age of 8, Darin suffered from rheumatic fever which left his heart weakened; he was not expected to live past 16.

Darin attended the Bronx High School of Science where he was an excellent student. After graduation, he attended Hunter College on a scholarship. However, he dropped out of college to pursue a musical career; he changed his name to Bobby Darin at that time.

In 1956, Bobby Darin and his writing partner Don Kirshner were signed to a songwriting contract by Decca Records. Among those they wrote songs for was Connie Francis. Francis and Darin became romantically involved and wished to get married but her father was against it and they parted.

Bobby Darin moved to Atlantic Records in 1958 where he had a hit with his song “Splish Splash.” The next year, he had a multi-million selling hit with “Dream Lover”; this song made him a teen idol. In 1960, Darin decided to take a chance and recorded “Mack the Knife”. It proved to be a great choice as Darin won the Grammy for Best New Artist and the song won the Grammy for Record of the Year. After recording “Beyond the Sea”, which was also a huge hit, Darin began selling out nightclubs and casinos.

In 1960, Darin and his music publishing company TM Music/Trio signed Wayne Newton. Darin gave him the song “Danke Schoen” which set Newton off on his long and successful career.

Also in 1960, Darin met and married Sandra Dee. The two had one son, Dodd in 1961. Unfortunately, theirs was a very turbulent marriage and they were divorced in 1967.

In addition to recording and writing music, Bobby Darin also appeared in thirteen motion pictures. In 1963, he was nominated for an Oscar as Best Supporting Actor for the film Captain Newman, M.D.

Bobby Darin signed with Capitol Records in 1962. He recorded several country music songs such as “Things” and “You’re the Reason I’m Living.” In 1966, he had a big hit with the song “If I Were A Carpenter” that touched on folk music.

Darin became politically active during the presidential campaign of Robert F. Kennedy. Kennedy’s death devastated Darin. According to Darin, who attended Kennedy’s funeral, he sat by the grave all night and heard Kennedy speak to him. After that he went into seclusion. A result of that seclusion was the song “A Simple Song of Freedom” which he recorded in 1969.

In 1972-1972, Dean Martin Presents The Bobby Darin Amusement Company was aired on NBC. It continued until his death.

Darin married Andrea Yeager in 1973, but they were divorced the same year. On December 20, 1973 Bobby Darin died on the operation table during a heart operation.

When Bobby Darin died it left a huge void in the world of music. No one has been able to replace him. Pretenders like Michael Buble try but they don’t come close to his stage presence. Thankfully, we have Darin’s great music to remind us of what once was.

• Pepe (1960)
• Come September (1961)
• Too Late Blues (1962)
• State Fair (1962)
• Hell is for Heroes (1962)
• Pressure Point (1962)
• If a Man Answers (1962)
• Captain Newman M.D. (1963)
• That Funny Feeling (1965)
• Gunfight in Abilene (1967)
• Cop Out (1968)
• The Happy Ending (1969)
• Happy Mother’s Day, Love George (1973)

• Splish Splash (1958)
• Queen of the Hop (1958)
• Dream Lover (1959)
• Mack the Knife (1959)
• Beyond the Sea (1960)
• You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby (1961)
• Things (1962)
• You’re the Reason I’m Living (1963)
• Eighteen Yellow Roses (1963)
• If I were a Carpenter (1966)