The above photo is "Bobby Vee and the Shadows" in 1961, from the photo section of www.BobbyVee.com, where you'll several pages of images tracing Bobby's fantastic career from North Dakota to, literally, the world. Bobby Vee and his band today will perform on Saturday night, July 10, 2010, at the All-60's Reunion at the Eagles Club in Valley City, ND. In the photo, (L-R) Dick Dunkirk, Bobby, Bob Korum, and brother Bill Velline.
I'm grateful to Bobby Vee for taking time from his schedule on May 20th to visit with yours truly on the "Hiliner Hotline." You can listen to the entire 16 minute conversation here: Bobby Vee Interview.
Bobby Vee is definitely a "61er," born on April 30, 1943, graduating from Fargo Central High School in 1961. He married Karen Bergan on December 28, 1963, at Holy Rosary Church in Detroit Lakes, MN. This year, they're celebrating 47 years of marriage. Congratulations to Bobby and Karen!
If you Google Bobby's name, you'll find lots of biographical material, music, and photos on many different web sites, but the official website is http://www.bobbyvee.com/. The picture gallery on that site is exceptional by any standard.
In the interview, Bobby Vee mentions the contribution to his career made by songwriter and singer Carol King. If you click on that link, you'll find an excellent Wikipedia article on Ms. King, who wrote many of Bobby Vee's golden hits including the #1 Take Good Care of My Baby.
I hope you enjoy listening to the interview as much as I enjoyed conversing with one of my favorite stars of Rock-N-Roll. And plan to attend the big Bobby Vee event as part of the All-60's Reunion in Valley City! - Larry Gauper, VH61, Blogmeister
6 comments:
Great job, Larry! Good interview. It will really help stir up interest in the reunion. Thanks, thanks, thanks from all of us.
Larry,
I really enjoyed the interview. You have done a great job on this blog!!!!!
Hey, thanks Diane and Colleen! Wish I had a better phone connection but I did a little EQ'ing and you can understand Bobby pretty well I think. It was fun to do and edit but there are so many more questions I thought of after I started editing. Really appreciated his time, which he was most generous with. What a fabulous career, particularly for a kid from North Dakota. He is such a down-to-earth, fun fellow to visit with. Definitely "one of us" in so many ways. And he and Karen got married the year before JoAnne and I did. 47 years this year for Bobby and and his spouse! Thanks again, glad you enjoyed it!
Very interesting interview. I remember the night of the Buddy Holley plane crash very well. I had the pleasure to meet Bobby Vee in 2004. Each year our Hospice Organization sponsors a Concert in the Park on Labor Day weekend. Performers are usually old time groups. My wife Sharon knows the Hospice Director quite. As we entered the park that evening we saw the director and I told her the story of Bobby Vee and the Shadows playing at sock hops in Valley City.
It just so happens we also knew the booking agent from Indianapolis who had contracted with Bobby Vee for this show. The director took us back stage to meet the booking agent. The booking agent had Bobby Vee come out to meet us. We had a great conversation. Bobby was very personable and seemed to enjoy reminiscing. Bobby told me he always enjoyed playing in VC. He also told me he has a relative living in VC. The Hospice Director took some pictures but right now we cannot find the pictures. If the pictures show up, I'll post them to the blog.
Thanks for your comment and memories, George, and if you find those photos, would love to post! Your description of Bobby Vee's friendly, down-to-earth, midwest personality matches my experience with during our phone interview. Show biz needs more like him!
Great interview - it will be fun to hear some of his performance on Saturday night! I bet there will be "a whole lot of dancin' going on!" Thanks, Larry, for an excellent interview!
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