Bobby Day
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Robert James Byrd (born July 1, 1928 in Fort Worth , Texas , † July 27, 1990 in Culver City , California ), better known as Bobby Day , was an American R&B singer and songwriter whose biggest hit was Rockin 'Robin sold over a million times and was also successfully covered by Michael Jackson and The Jackson Five in 1972 .
Life
Byrd moved to Los Angeles in 1947 , where he performed under the pseudonym Bobby Day at Johnny Otis ' Barrelhouse Club and soon co-founded a band called the Flames . This recorded a number of records under various names and with various labels , but it was not until 1957 before she landed a hit with the song Buzz, Buzz, Buzz , written by Day, under the name Hollywood Flames . At almost the same time, the group landed another hit with the song Little Bitty Pretty One as Bobby Day and the Satellites , but a cover version of the song by Thurston Harris was granted greater success.
After Day had already started a solo career in 1955, he took this step again in 1958 and promptly landed his greatest musical success with the single Rockin 'Robin / Over And Over . Rockin 'Robin , written by Jimmie Thomas , was number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Billboard R&B chart in the summer of 1958 . Over And Over , written by Day, also made it onto the Billboard charts. With Earl Nelson he founded the duo Bob & Earl , which existed from 1957 to 1959.
Although Day still recorded a number of songs, none of them returned him to the top 40 . Two weeks after his 60th birthday, he was diagnosed with colorectal cancer on July 15th while treating an alleged colon ulcer . On the same day, Day was admitted to hospital, where he died just twelve days later. His remains were interred in Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.
His doo-wop style was revived by some pop bands of the 1960s and 70s; the Dave Clark Five had success with his song Over and Over in 1965, the Jackson 5 with Rockin 'Robin in 1972 .
Discography
Compilations
- 1973: Rockin 'With Robin (Class Records)
- 1984: The Best Of ( Rhino Records )
- 1991: The original Rockin 'Robin ( Ace Records )
- 1994: Rockin 'Robbin (A Golden Classics Edition) (Collectables)
- 1994: Rockin 'Robin (Wise Buy)
- 2010: Rockin 'Robin (Voodoo Records)
Singles
- 1958: Rock-In Robin / Over and Over (Class Records)
- 1958: The Bluebird, The Buzzard & The Oriole / Alone Too Long (Class Records)
- 1958: Honeysuckle Baby (Class Records)
- 1958: Saving My Life for You / Little Turtle Dove (Class Records)
- 1959: Mr. & Mrs. Rock-'N-Roll / Gotta New Girl (Class Records)
- 1959: That's All I Want / Say Yes (Class Records)
- 1960: Over and Over / Gee Whiz (Top Rank International)
- 1960: My Blue Heaven / I Don't Want To (Class Records)
- 1961: Life Can Be Beautiful ( Rendezvous Records )
- 1962: Oop-I-Du-Pers Ball / Don't Worry 'bout Me (Rendezvous Records)
- 1963: Down on My Knees / Jole Blon (Little Darlin ') ( RCA Victor )
- 1963: Another Country Another World / I Know It All (RCA Victor)
Web links
- Bobby Day at Allmusic (English)
- Bobby Day at Discogs (English)
- Biography at Oldies.com (accessed March 21, 2013)
Individual evidence
- ^ Billboard.com
- ↑ officialcharts.com
- ^ Bobby Day in the Find a Grave database . Retrieved March 12, 2018.
- ^ Singer Bobby Day dies of Cancer at age 60
- ↑ Bobby Day in the Notable Names Database (English)
- ↑ Handbook of Texas Music edited by Laurie E. Jasinski
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Day, Bobby |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Byrd, Robert James (real name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American singer and songwriter |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 1, 1928 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Fort Worth , Texas , USA |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 27, 1990 |
| Place of death | Culver City , California , USA |