Bobby Vee

Bobby Vee (born Robert Thomas Velline, April 30, 1943 – October 24, 2016) was an American pop singer who was a teen idol in the early 1960s. According to Billboard magazine, he had 38 Hot 100 chart hits, 10 of which hit the Top 20. Vee was born in Fargo, North Dakota, to Sydney Ronald Velline and Saima Cecilia Tapanila. His first single, "Suzie Baby," was written by Vee with a nod to Buddy Holly's "Peggy Sue" and recorded for the Minneapolis-based Soma Records in 1959; it drew enough attention and chart action to be purchased by Liberty Records, who signed him later that year. His followup single, a cover of Adam Faith's UK number-one "What Do You Want?", charted in the lower reaches of the Billboard pop chart in early 1960. His fourth release, a revival of the Clovers' doo-wop ballad "Devil or Angel", brought him into the big time with U.S. buyers. His next single, "Rubber Ball", made him an international star. (read more on wikipedia)
== Links To Peel ==
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In the later 1960s Bobby Vee's style was considered weak and unexciting by those who preferred the wilder rock'n'roll singers who came before him. Some fans (and possibly Peel) regarded him as typifying all that had gone wrong in early 1960s US pop - even if, as it later emerged, Bob Dylan had briefly played piano in his band. In July 1968, when Bobby Vee visited the UK, there was a controversy in the pages of Disc & Music Echo. Apparently Peel had advised Radio Luxembourg DJ Don Wardell not to attend a reception for the singer, but Wardell responded in a letter to Disc, saying that while he appreciated what Peel was trying to do as a DJ, he had known Bobby Vee for years and Peel "really is in no position to tell me that I should not go to a reception thrown for an old friend"
Much later, Peel still claimed not to be a Bobby Vee fan on his 10 January 2003 (BBC World Service) show, but did like his track 'The Night Has A Thousand Eyes'. He played Bobby Vee's 'More Than I Can Say' on the show because he was unable to find Buddy Holly's version to play before Ras Shiloh's cover of the same song. After Peel's death, it was found that he had four of Bobby Vee's albums. (See Record Collection: V). These included the 1972 album of self-penned material, Nothin' Like A Sunny Day, which the singer released under his real name of Robert Thomas Velline, in an effort to update his style for a 1970s audience - as his contemporaries Dion and Ricky Nelson had done. However, there is no evidence from existing playlists that Peel played any tracks from it on the radio. It is possible that Peel played some of his records on American radio at the time of their release, or as oldies;  his best-known hits are from the period before JP had started his DJ career.
== Shows Played ==
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;1992
* Staying Single: Rubber Ball
;2003
* 10 January 2003 (BBC World Service): More Than I Can Say
== See Also ==
*Record Collection: V
== External Links ==
* Wikipedia
* Discogs
* Official Website
Category:Artists