Bobby Vee
- For the R&B singer, see Bobby Valentino. For another 1960s singer, see Bobby Vinton.
Bobby Vee (born April 30, 1943) is an American pop music singer.
Born Robert Thomas Velline in Fargo, North Dakota, United States, his 1961 performance of the song "Take Good Care Of My Baby" went to No.1 on the Billboard U.S. charts and on the U.K. Charts. Known primarily as a performer of Brill Building pop-factory singles, Vee nevertheless became a bona fide star, and went on to record a string of international chart hits in the 1960s, including "Devil or Angel", "More Than I Can Say", "Run to Him", "Rubber Ball" and "The Night Has A Thousand Eyes".
Bobby Vee appeared in several British and American motion pictures as well as the Scopitone series of early film-and-music recordings, which predicted the rise of rock music videos. Vee is still active and touring internationally as a performer as of 2006. His sons and daughter have shown much interest in his music career and legacy.
"The Day The Music Died"
Vee's career began amid tragedy. On "The Day the Music Died" (3 February 1959) -- the day Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson were killed in the crash of aircraft N3974N near Clear Lake, Iowa -- fifteen-year-old Velline and a scratched-together band of Fargo, North Dakota schoolboys calling themselves Bobby Vee and the Shadows volunteered for and were given the unenviable job of filling in for Holly and his band "The Crickets" in the lineup of the traveling "Winter Dance Party" rock and roll show in Moorhead, Minnesota in which Holly was to have performed. Their engagement there was a success, setting in motion a chain of events that led to Vee's career as a popular singer. Bobby Vee regularly performs at the Winter Dance Party memorial concerts in Clear Lake to this day.
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.
Lore
In the late 1950s, a musician named Elston Gunnn toured with Vee. He was soon asked to leave the band due to a lack of resources (money and a piano)[1][2][3]. Elston Gunnn was, in fact, Robert Zimmerman, and would go on to have a career under the name Bob Dylan.