Bobby Day

Bobby Day
Birth name Robert James Byrd
Born (1930-07-01)July 1, 1930
Fort Worth, Texas, United States
Died 27 July 1990(1990-07-27) (aged 60)
Los Angeles, California, United States
Genres Soul music, R&B, pop, rock and roll
Occupation(s) Singer, songwriter, record producer
Instruments Vocals, piano, keyboards
Years active 1952–1990
Associated acts The Hollywood Flames
Bob and Earl

Robert James Byrd (July 1, 1930[1] – July 27, 1990), known by the stage name Bobby Day, was an American rock and roll and R&B musician.[2]

Biography

Born in Fort Worth, Texas, Day moved to Los Angeles, California, at the age of 15. As a member of the R&B group the Hollywood Flames[2] he used the stage name Bobby Day to perform and record. He went several years with minor musical success limited to the West Coast, including being the original "Bob" in the duo Bob & Earl. In 1957 Day formed his own band called the Satellites, following which he recorded three songs that are seen today as rock and roll classics.[3] Despite the similarity in personal and group names, this is not the Bobby Byrd that sang with, and was the founder of, the Famous Flames, the vocal group with which James Brown first began his career.

Day's best known songwriting efforts were "Over and Over" made popular by The Dave Clark Five in 1965,[4][5] and "Little Bitty Pretty One" popularized by Thurston Harris in 1957,[6] Clyde McPhatter in 1962, and the Jackson Five in 1972. However, Day is most remembered for his 1958 solo recording of the Billboard Hot 100 No. 2 hit, "Rockin' Robin", written by Leon Rene under the pseudonym Jimmie Thomas. It sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold record.[7] "Rockin' Robin" was a song covered by Bob Luman at Town Hall Party on October 28, 1958, The Hollies in 1964, Gene Vincent in 1969, Michael Jackson in 1972, and by McFly in 2006.

In 2012-2013, his uncharted recording, "Beep-Beep-Beep", was the musical soundtrack for a Kia Sorento television commercial shown nationwide in the U.S.

Day died of cancer in 1990 and is buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.[8]

Singles

Year Title Recording as Chart positions
US US R&B
1953 "Wheel of Fortune" The Four Flames
1957 "Little Bitty Pretty One" Bobby Day and the Satellites 57
1958 "Rockin' Robin" Bobby Day 2 1
"Over and Over"A Bobby Day 41 1
"Buzz-Buzz-Buzz" Hollywood Flames 11 5
"The Bluebird, The Buzzard, and The Oriole" Bobby Day 54
1959 "That's All I Want" Bobby Day 98
"Gotta a New Girl" Bobby Day 82
1960 "Gee Whiz" Bob and Earl 103

References

  1. "Bobby Day, 60, Singer-Songwriter". Seattle Times Company. July 30, 1990. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  2. 1 2 Doc Rock. "The Dead Rock Stars Club 1990 - 1991". Thedeadrockstarsclub.com. Retrieved 2013-01-04.
  3. "Bobby Day Biography". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
  4. Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 188. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
  5. Chris Kenner. "Greatest Hits - The Dave Clark Five : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2013-01-04.
  6. "Little Bitty Pretty One - Thurston Harris : Listen, Appearances, Song Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 2013-01-04.
  7. Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 100. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
  8. Boyer, Edward J. (30 July 1990). "Bobby Day; Had No. 2 Hit With 'Robin'". Los Angeles Times.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/20/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.