One of the nicest artists that I have ever had the chance to meet was Bobby Vee. He gave me the chance to talk with several other famous folks on my show. All I had to say was that Bobby was a friend and it opened many doors for me. We became friends after I first met him at a show in the late 80's. Whenever he was playing anywhere close to Richland Center, Wisconsin, he would call and chat with me on the air.
Phil Nee and Bobby Vee
This first batch of archived sound bytes are from a 2002 interview.
Bobby Vee was born April 30th of 1943 in Fargo North, Dakota.
When he and his band helped fill the bill on the Winter Dance Party tour following the February 3rd, 1959 plane crash that claimed the lives of artists Buddy Holly, J.P. Richardson (the Big Bopper), and Richie Valens, he would be associated with Buddy Holly for the rest of his career. He met most of the legends of rock and roll.
Bobby Vee never forgot his Midwest roots. He was good to those of us in radio and radio was good to him in his early days. A few of his records got their first spins here in the North.
During a 1991 interview we did together, Bobby Vee talked about his first hit record for Liberty Records and the impact Buddy Holly had on artists of that era.
One of our very first celebrity encounters in Forgotten Hits was with Bobby Vee.
An East Coast Reader named Vicky (one of the original 35 that we talk about from time to time!) had known Bobby for years ...
And after we featured his 1964 hit "Hickory, Dick And Doc" in one of our daily segments in 2000, she sent it to him, along with an explanation of exactly what Forgotten Hits was all about ... and our purpose to get some of these long-forgotten songs back on the radio again.
Bobby wrote in, thanking me for featuring his tune (a #63 hit nationally, but a #18 hit here in Chicago ... as well as a personal favorite) ... and said that he absolutely LOVED the idea of what he called "Forgotten Hits Radio." (Sadly, that email was lost forever some 56 computer crashes ago ... but it sure meant a lot to me at the time ... and was a great boost as far as telling me that I was on the right track with my goals to revitalize oldies radio beyond the 300 songs that every station in the country was playing ... and not much more.)
When another reader saw our story, she sent me THIS tag, which we have used from time to time to help promote our cause ...
One of my favorite Bobby Vee stories revolves around the song "More Than I Can Say," originally the B-Side to his 1961 Hit "Stayin' In."
Back in the day when B-Sides charted ... I shouldn't really say that since today, EVERY track on an album can make The Hot 100 Chart ... for at least a week or two ... "More Than I Can Say" climbed to #48 all on its own.
One night after getting back to his hotel room after a concert, Leo Sayer (who was VERY hot at the time with his hits "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" and "When I Need You," two back-to-back #1 hits) clicked on the tv and saw one of those late night ads for a Bobby Vee Greatest Hits album.
When he heard the ten second clip of "More Than I Can Say," it reminded him of how much HE loved that song back in the early '60's ... and inspired him to record his own new version of the tune ... which he did in 1980 ... and it went all the way to #2!
Here's Bobby's original version ...
Phil makes the point that Bobby's records always did well here in The Midwest.
We did a quick check to see how Bobby Vee performed on the Chicagoland Charts ...
And this is what we found ...
1960 - Devil Or Angel (CHI - 8 / NAT - 4)
1960 - Rubber Ball (CHI - 6 / NAT - 5)
1961- Stayin' In (CHI - 18 / NAT - 20)
1961 - Take Good Care Of My Baby (CHI - 1 / NAT - 1)
1961 - Run To Him (CHI - 2 / NAT - 2)
1962 - Please Don't Ask About Barbara (CHI - 24 / NAT - 15)
1962 - Sharing You (CHI - 25 / NAT - 12)
1962 - Punish Her (CHI - 16 / NAT - 20)
1963 - The Night Has A Thousand Eyes (CHI - 2 / NAT - 3)
1963 - Charms (CHI - 11 / NAT - 13)
1963 - Be True To Yourself (CHI - 12 / NAT - 33)
1963 - Yesterday And You (CHI - 18 / NAT - 53)
1964 - I'll Make You Mine (CHI - 11 / NAT - 52)
1964 - Hickory, Dick And Doc (CHI - 18 / NAT - 63)
1967 - Come Back When You Grow Up (CHI - 2 / NAT - 2)
1967 - Beautiful People (CHI - 6 / NAT - 22)
1968 - Maybe Just Today (CHI - 19 / NAT - 29)
1968 - My Girl / Hey Girl (CHI - 6 / NAT - 17)
Ain't that the truth! (kk)
Be sure to listen to Phil Nee's THOSE WERE THE DAYS radio program tonight ... and EVERY Saturday Night on WRCO ...
WRCO AM FM Radio Richland Center Wisconsin
Just click on the 100.9 headphones and start streaming!
