From teen idol to senior sensation, former 60s pop singer Bobby Rydell had scheduled tours later this year but passed away April 5 at the age of 79. When we talked in 2009, he viewed his career in the rearview mirror of a then 66-year-old.
“I’ve been constantly busy since 1959,” Rydell told me from Philadelphia where he had lived most of his life.
Throughout the 50s and 60s, Rydell was riding high on the airwaves with hits such as “Volare,” “Good Time Baby,” “Wildwood Days,” and “The Cha-Cha-Cha.” He also dabbled in acting, most notably 1963’s musical feature film “Bye Bye Birdie” playing boyfriend to Hollywood newcomer, Ann-Margret.
From the late 60s until the early 80s, he continued to play venues across the US, Europe, and Australia. Then, teaming up with two other former teen sensations, Frankie Avalon and Fabian, he formed “The Golden Boys.”
“I grew up in the same Philadelphia neighborhood with those two guys,” Rydell recalled. “We began performing and touring together in 1985 and it was a lot of fun. We thought it would only last for a year or so, but we’re still doing it to packed houses nearly 25 years later.”
The trio was still performing together last year.
At the time of our interview, many veteran singers were reviving their careers on the US concert circuit and Rydell was consistently praised for his energy, warmth, enthusiasm, and humor during shows. Critics and audiences applauded the singer for sounding better than ever as he aged.
“I’ve always been a huge admirer of Bobby,” Dave Somerville (1933-2015), an original member of The Diamonds, told me in 2009. “He’s got one of the best voices I’ve ever heard.”
“It’s much warmer and more mellow,” Rydell said of his voice at the time. “So vocally I can do just about anything I want. But really, I’m just having a ball performing and I think audiences can sense that. I’m not up on stage looking at my watch wondering how long before I can go home!”
Even from a young age, Rydell handled the fame and legions of adoring fans with remarkable maturity after “Wild One” raced up the pop charts in 1959 when he was just a lad of 17.
“It helped to have good management, the support of your family, and just not letting it all go to your head and thinking you were a superstar,” he explained. “When the kids today get fame so fast, their whole world turns around and some just can’t handle it.”
For Rydell, the veteran singer label also meant fans no longer made a grab for a lock of hair or attempted to rip off his jacket. “Now, they approach me in a polite and sociable way!” he said.
So how did an “old rocker” compete in the younger music market for so many years?
“I don’t even try to,” Rydell admitted. “I still get 15-year-olds coming to my shows and, of course, a lot of people in their 60s and 70s who remember the music and were fans from that era. The music I sing is timeless – it will never die.”
Nick Thomas teaches at Auburn University at Montgomery, in Alabama, and has written features, columns, and interviews for numerous magazines and newspapers. See www.tinseltowntalks.com.
![History would show that debt and interest payments have impeded the progress of the common man. This would be true for post-slavery American Blacks and to a lesser degree, for those today with student loan debt. “Following the Civil War and the abolition of slavery, most freed people lacked land or money and had to […]](https://www.courant.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/202405152356TMS_____AMVOICES_18446_OPED-american-voices-franks-GET.jpg?w=504 "History would show that debt and interest payments have impeded the progress of the common man. This would be true for post-slavery American Blacks and to a lesser degree, for those today with student loan debt. “Following the Civil War and the abolition of slavery, most freed people lacked land or money and had to […]")
