Thursday, October 14, 2010

It Came from 1960! (Part Five) Beyond the Sea--Bobby Darin

I saved one of the best from 1960 for last--this tune by Bobby Darin wound up at Number #33 on the Billboard Charts for that year.  It lies right smack in Darin's prime years as a recording star, accomplished film actor and in-demand television personality.

 

His image changed a great deal, as did the world, during the 1960's.  Darin became a more politcial guy, and less a "Las Vegas" guy  for one thing, supporting Robert Kennedy and an end to the Vietnam War.   But at this point in his career he was a black-tied celebrity playing Vegas and doing the Hollywood gig and dating and later marrying film ingenue Sandra Dee.  (She's the blond lady in a lot of these photos.)

This song of course came from Charles Trenet's French classic  "La Mer", but Darin's  version has its own infectious  style--a little bit less sophisticated and meloncholy, perhaps, but full of energy and mid-century American optimism!  So without further ado, here we go:

 

14 comments:

  1. Bobby Darin isn't he the guy who did "Roses Are Red My Love"...any way I like it..good stuff Doug

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  2. Close Mike...you're thinking of Bobby Vinton...glad you enjoyed this one!

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  3. I love this song. I also really enjoyed the movie, I think it had the same name, of his life and career.
    Bobby was a VERY sexy man!! lol
    Thanks, Doug.

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  4. excatly..sorry about that...but here it is ...I love it

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  5. Yes, it was a good movie Jacquie. Kevin Spacey is a very good actor and singer. It's a shame Bobby Darin himself wasn't around longer.

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  6. No problem Mike. Thanks for posting "Roses are Red"...an excellent romantic ballad--one of several from that era.

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  7. Another great pick here Doug, this song got just about equal airtime on BBC radio with the original La Mer when I was a kid.

    In cinematic terms the mood contrast between those versions conjures up the difference between Hollywood box office hits of the 50s and early 60s on the one hand and Jean-Luc Godard and François Truffaut's New Wave French cinema on the other.


    I haven't heard this version since I was about 7 ...thanks for the reminder Doug

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  8. Not exactly my speed with this one. I was never one for the "night Club" music. This was a genre I never got into. We will have to agree to disagree wit this one.Definitely before my time

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  9. When I was five years old, my Mom and I would dance to this tune; me standing on her feet....

    Thanks, Doug. Good memories....

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  10. I really like both versions, AA, so bravo to the BBC in those days.

    That's a great point,AA--the New Wave films I've seen like "Breathless" and "The 400 Blows" show life in a more raw term--as it is lived with a romantic side but tinged in grim reality. The Hollywood films were more geared to distraction, glib and hopefully witty dialogue and purer romance.

    Glad I could bring this one back, AA. Thanks.

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  11. It's one of those that bring back memories for me, too, Will.

    But yours are absolutely charming. It's one of the great things about music from the past--so much comes back to us in a couple minutes. Thanks for sharing that.

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  12. I dig your honesty, you crazy cat!

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