page_title: Bobby Darin
section_title: Later years
hierarchical_section_title: Bobby Darin / Later years
caption_attribution_description: English: Publicity photo of Dick Smothers (Chico), Tom Smothers (Harpo), and Bobby Darin (Groucho) on the short-lived Dean Martin Presents: The Bobby Darin Amusement Company (1972)
context_page_description: Bobby Darin was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, impressionist, and actor in film and television. He performed jazz, pop, rock and roll, folk, swing, and country music.
  He started his career as a songwriter for Connie Francis. He recorded his first million-selling single, "Splish Splash", in 1958. That was followed by "Dream Lover", "Mack the Knife", and "Beyond the Sea", which brought him worldwide fame. In 1962 he won a Golden Globe Award for his first film, Come September, co-starring his first wife, actress Sandra Dee.
  During the 1960s, he became more politically active and worked on Robert F. Kennedy's Democratic presidential campaign. He was present on the night of June 4/5, 1968, at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles at the time of Kennedy's assassination. During the same year, he discovered he had been raised by his grandmother, not his mother, and that the woman he thought was his sister was actually his mother. Those events deeply affected Darin and sent him into a long period of seclusion.
context_section_description: Darin became more politically active as the 1960s progressed, and his musical output became more "folksy." In 1966, he had a hit with folksinger Tim Hardin's "If I Were a Carpenter," securing a return to the Top 10 after a two-year absence.
  Darin traveled with Robert F. Kennedy and worked on the politician's 1968 presidential campaign. He was with Kennedy the day he traveled to Los Angeles on June 4, 1968, for the California primary, and was at the Ambassador Hotel later that night when Kennedy was assassinated. That event, combined with learning about his true parentage, had a deep effect on Darin, who spent most of the next year living in seclusion in a trailer near Big Sur.
  Returning to Los Angeles in 1969, Darin started his own record label which was titled Direction Records, putting out folk and protest music. Bobby wrote "Simple Song of Freedom" in 1969, which, in an interesting turn of events, was first recorded by Tim Hardin and the song became Hardin's best selling record. Bobby himself sang the song "live" on several television variety shows to great effect.
  Of his first Direction album, Darin said, "The purpose of Direction Records is to seek out statement-makers. The album is solely [composed] of compositions designed to reflect my thoughts on the turbulent aspects of modern society." He later signed with Motown.
  Beginning on July 27, 1972, he starred in his own television variety show on NBC, Dean Martin Presents: The Bobby Darin Amusement Company, which ran for seven episodes ending on September 7, 1972. Beginning on January 19, 1973, he starred in a similar show on NBC called The Bobby Darin Show. That show ran for 13 episodes ending on April 27, 1973. Darin subsequently made television guest appearances and remained a top draw.
caption: Dean Martin Presents: The Bobby Darin Amusement Company, L-R: Dick Smothers, Tom Smothers, and Bobby Darin as the Marx Brothers (1972)
exif: {}