Bobby Vee 60s Top Hits

Despite his clean-cut image Bobby Vee dipped his toes into the coloured waters of the psychedelic pop scene and recorded the occasional psych-pop gem. Let me take you through some choice cuts during the period 1966 – 1969

Bobby Vee 60s top hits: Anyone who digs this kind of written material and tripped-out graphics will combust hearing my underground ’60s garage and psych podcast mixes. 

BOBBY VEE – “Look At Me Girl” / “Save A Love” (Liberty LIB 55877) May 1966

This is a wonderful cover of a song originally written and released by little known group The Playboys Of Edinburg. Their record “Look At Me Girl” was a sizeable and popular hit 45 in Texas. 

Bobby Vee offers a faithful rendition complete with hand-claps, tambourine clatter and falsetto vocals. The basic but very catchy ever-present guitar riff makes it one of those ear-worm tunes. Perfect in every way.

Sadly the flip and non-LP cut “Save A Love” may be a little quirky but it’s ultimately forgettable.

BOBBY VEE – “Come Back When You Grow Up” / “Let The Four Winds Blow” (Liberty 15016) June 1967

The reflective, easy listening ballad “Come Back When You Grow Up” was first muted for release during April 1967 – promo copies were sent to radio stations, but for reasons unknown and now forgotten, the record was put back six weeks using an alternative B-side “Swahili Serenade.” 

In 1967, Liberty Records received a copy of the record “Come Back When You Grow Up” by Shadden & the King Lears, a regional hit which had been sent to them by a DJ in Oklahoma. Liberty considered releasing it, but producer Dallas Smith decided to re-cut the song with Bobby Vee.

He called Bobby to the studio where a Vicki Carr session was in progress; Vee quickly learned the song and Vicki’s musicians were used while she took her session break.

Bobby Vee 60s Top Hits

This hastily arranged, low-budget recording session gave Bobby Vee the biggest selling record of his entire career and it eventually rose to No. 3 in the US charts. The single bombed in Britain though due to a lack of promotion and limited, if any radio airtime.

On the B-side of the British and European release was the Dave Bartholomew / Fats Domino penned “Let The Four Winds Blow.”

It appears that Liberty used a two year old live track of Bobby performing this storming rhythm and blues work-out. It was part of his “Live! On Tour” 1965 album.

My copy of the single is the West Germany release housed in a picture sleeve.

BOBBY VEE – “Beautiful People” / “I May Be Gone” (Liberty 56009) October 1967

After the Summer hit “Come Back When You Grow Up” which went Top 5 in America, Bobby Vee was back in vogue for the first time in several years.

He needed a follow-up single with hit potential and he chose “Beautiful People”, written by Kenny Gist, Jr. I’d never heard of this song writer but some research has uncovered that he wrote “Next Plane To London”, recorded by The Rose Garden.

“Beautiful People” is up-tempo, bouncy rhythm pop with female backing vocals. It’s blessed with neat drum patterns providing a racy beat on which Bobby Vee can build his soulful vocals.

The song was also a hit for Kenny O’Dell. Both versions were competing in the American charts around the same time.

The B-side “I May Be Gone” is a Vee original, credited on the label to Robert Thomas Velline, his full name.

It’s a shame Bobby didn’t get the chance to write and record more of his own material because his songs are certainly good enough.    

“I May Be Gone” has a vague psychedelic charm, dominated by a loud pulsating bass guitar and the steady drum beat has plenty of space to weave interesting patterns.

A really good record from Bobby Vee.

Summer of ’67

BOBBY VEE – “MAYBE JUST TODAY” / “YOU’RE A BIG GIRL NOW” (LIBERTY 56014) JANUARY 1968

For his first single release of 1968 Bobby Vee once more turned to Nashville songwriter Martha Sharp who had also penned hit massive Summer of ’67 hit “Come Back When You Grow Up.”

“Maybe Just Today” is a short, chart friendly ballad with Bobby’s usual solid and soulful vocals. There is female backing behind his group, The Strangers.

The self-penned B-side, “You’re A Big Girl Now” was a track on his 1967 Liberty album “Come Back When You Grow Up.”  

This number is notable for the smooth lead vocals, probably double-tracked, to produce that perfect harmony. It also sounds like he’s been listening to his Beach Boys records! 

BOBBY VEE – “Do What You Gotta’ Do” / “Thank You” (Liberty LBF 15134) September 1968

Before the release of the new 1968 Bobby Vee LP came a single “Do What You Gotta’ Do”, it was the lead off track from his album of the same name.

The song was written by popular contemporary songwriter of the day, Jim Webb, and had been a minor hit single for Bobby Vee the previous year. It was later recorded by The Four Tops who took it to the brink of the UK top 10 towards the end of 1969.

“Do What You Gotta’ Do” finds Bobby in fine voice with material suited for it. This soulful ballad with orchestration and female backing vocals should have done much better than it did. In Britain it was totally ignored, like all of his late ’60s offerings.

The B-side treads the same soulful ground and is indeed another Bobby Vee original. It was also featured on his latest long-player “Do What You Gotta Do”, and the style is very much in keeping with the mood of the album. 

reflecting the times

BOBBY VEE – “(I’m Into Lookin’ For) Someone To Love Me” / “Sunrise Highway” (Liberty LBF 15178) November 1968

During the late sixties Bobby Vee, who was best known for his teen ballads and other wimpsville tunes, adapted his style to reflect the changing times and released several worthy discs, all waiting to be re-discovered by psychedelic / garage punk snobs (like me).

“(I’m Into Lookin’ For) Someone To Love Me” is a real surprise, seeped in bubblegum melodies, twangy guitar, rattling drums and tambourine. Even better, Bobby has raided The Monkees den at RCA Victor Studio A, Hollywood, and borrowed their organ.

The song and organ sound is a dead ringer to their “A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You,” recorded early 1967.

With its energetic rhythms and bursts of fuzz guitar, Bobby Vee has really come up with a Bubblegum inspired pop gem that will make your mind buzz with delight.

On closer inspection the song was co-written by Carol Bayer Sager and Toni Wine. After teaming up with Ron Dante, Toni provided female vocals for cartoon group The Archies.   

He died in 2016 but the bubblegum circle will remain unbroken forever.

US Top 50

BOBBY VEE – “Just Today” (Liberty LBL 83112) 1968

This album was released in the summer of 1968 following a year in which Bobby had notched up four US top 50 hits, his best chart performance for five years. “Come Back When You Grow Up” proved to be one of the biggest sellers of 1967, and the three follow-up hits which charted during the first half of 1968 form the backbone of the “Just Today” album.

“Beautiful People”, written by singer songwriter Kenny O’Dell, came first providing a lively contrast to the more wistful “Come Back”. It would probably have been a bigger hit had it not been in competition with O’Dell’s own version, which peaked only one place behind Vee in early 1968.

For the next song Bobby’s producer Dallas Smith returned to the source of “Come Back” and this resulted in “Maybe Just Today”. The songwriter was Martha Sharpe, who had herself enjoyed chart success in both Britain and America as Sandy Posey with her own songs “Born A Woman” and “Single Girl” a year or so earlier.

medley

For the third song, Bobby again tried something completely different. This time he took two established songs and worked them cleverly together to form the “My Girl – Hey Girl” medley, which continued his run of chart success.

“My Girl” was the Smokey Robinson song which the Temptations took to No. 1 in 1965, and Freddie Scott had a 1963 top 10 record with “Hey Girl” which came from the song-writing team who had contributed so much to Bobby’s own earlier success, Carole King and Gerry Goffin.

Although Bobby Vee had a further four minor hits after this, “Beautiful People”, “Maybe Just Today” and “My Girl – Hey Girl” were the last significant chart successes he was to enjoy.

“Just Today” features another two Temptations songs, “Get Ready” and “The Way You Do The Things You Do” to underline the influence Motown was having on the music scene of the day.

Insights into the songs

However, another concession to Bobby’s earlier period of recording success was the inclusion of Brian Hyland’s 1962 tearjerker “Sealed With A Kiss” – a song eminently suited to Bobby’s sympathetic vocal style.  

You have to go even further back to 1959 for the up-tempo “Just Keep It Up (And See What Happens)”, which was a transatlantic success for Dee Clark. This switch from ballad to R&B shows how versatile Bobby Vee had become, and how comfortable he was in attempting a wide variety of musical styles within a single album.

The four remaining songs are perhaps less well known, but are outstanding original tracks ideally suited to Bobby’s easy vocal delivery. In many ways they contribute strongly to this album being one of Bobby’s most accomplished offerings. 

“Sunrise Highway”, “The Girl I Left Behind Me”, “Nobody’s Home To Go Home To” and “Tiffany Ring” are all strong songs superbly arranged, and could easily have been contenders for releases as singles. To find them all part of this excellent album is a real bonus.  

BOBBY VEE – “Do What You Gotta Do” (Liberty LBS 83130E) 1969

“Do What You Gotta Do” . . . but don’t miss this great Bobby Vee album! Bobby is not a star on some distant horizon – he is here, NOW. He feels and sings of today. If you’re a high school freshman or a college grad, Bobby can shout or whisper your message.

Whether you’re a hippie, Bobby can tell it like it is. If you’re one of the “soul lovers,” Bobby will ease the hurtin’. And if you simply enjoy the best in sounds, Bobby can reach out to you . . . and make you feel the gentle moments of your emotions. 

Young, exciting and talented – that is Bobby Vee’s dimension. Let Bobby envelop and entertain you with his world of music. Let him capture you on a roller coaster ride of diverse experiences.

Travel the tunnel of loneliness as you begin your journey with “Do What You Gotta Do.” Glide down that first giant hill to where “Beauty Is Only Skin Deep.” Be whisked into deep nostalgia with “I Like It Like That.”

Caress the curves and valleys of your many sorrows as you “Let Nobody Love You (While I’m Gone).” Race along the tracks of those tender, stolen moments shared with a love who cried, “I Can’t Help Myself.” Your ride ends with a safe arrival as Bobby sings “That’s What Love Is Made Of.”

In this new album you won’t experience the joy of discovering Bobby Vee. That happened years ago with “Devil or Angel.” 

More likely and uniquely, you will experience involvement in this emerging design of today’s sensational Bobby Vee. And you will relive that new-found experience each time you listen to “Do What You Gotta Do.”

BOBBY VEE – “Gates, Grills & Railings” (BGO CD707) 1969 LP digitally – remastered

My Bobby Vee investigation continues with his unheralded and long-forgotten 1969 album “Gates, Grills & Railings”. I’m so glad that I discovered Bobby’s superb mid to late sixties recordings this year, better late than never as they say.

This double album CD set, on the BGO Records label, was issued back in 2006. Everything has been re-mastered to the digital format directly from the master tapes at Sound Performance.

The booklet contains lots of vintage photos, some showing Bobby sprouting a forest of hippie hair on his head and face. Far removed from the earlier days as a clean-cut pop idol.

It has also essential information about the creation and production of the record along with thoughts and words from Bobby Vee. An album he was rightly proud of. 

Snuff Garrett

I’m going to re-type the liners on my blog and hope that I don’t incur the wrath of industry execs.  

“Gates, Grills & Railings”, like several of the albums that I recorded with Liberty Records producer Dallas smith, was an extension of a process that began in my early days with Snuff Garrett.

Good writers, good songs, hopefully equal good records. As Dallas and I assembled the material for the record it all felt natural and familiar. In retrospect, as I listen to the album today, I hear a grab bag of styles and directions.

Maybe, like the album title suggests, a nice collection of “nuts and bolts” . . . “odds and ends”.

Of the twenty three albums I recorded for Liberty, and later United Artists, I remain most critical of this one. If there is a common thread it’s in the consistency of Artie Butler’s wonderful note for note arrangements and Dino Lappos’ fine engineering.

To the album’s credit, two of the songs went on to become hit records for other artists. Three Dog Night’s massive hit of Nilsson’s “One” and B.J. Thomas’ equally successful “I Just Can’t Help Believing” written by Toni Wine and Carol Bayer Sager.

Scripted arrangements

In the end, my personal favourites are “Santa Cruz”, the rough edgy “Jenny Came To Me”, and guitar wizard Hank Marvin’s age of innocence, “London’s Not Too Far”. (Bobby Vee) 

What we have in this album is a whole new approach with scripted arrangements, new songs, most of them very different to any previous Bobby Vee offerings. The Bobby Vee on the album cover also had a new look. 

The teen idol appearance was all but gone. No more pompadour and tennis sweater. Bobby had not only grown up on vinyl, but also on album covers.

Speaking of album covers, and even album titles, there are interesting stories behind both. The girl pictured with him on the cover was the girlfriend of Danny Hutton, the lead singer from Three Dog Night. I was also interested to know whose dog she was holding in the picture and Bobby informed me that the dog was a porcelain prop!!    

With the recording sessions complete, a title had yet to be chosen for the album. Bobby and photographer Ed Caraeff did a photo shoot in and around Los Angeles and when they were looking at the pictures afterwards, there was a shot taken in front of an old ornamental iron shop with the words ‘Gates, Grills and Railings’ jumping off the page.

everything in place

‘Gates, Grills & Railings’! What a cool name for an album! Now we have a title, we have the recordings, and we have the photos. Let’s get this one out!

As part of the promotion, Liberty sent out a neat press package that included a one sided interview disc, along with several photos, press info, and a typed copy of the interview.

The interview was open ended so that the disc jockeys could read questions and have Bobby answer as if he were present in the studio with them.

Let’s talk about the songs now! Side one contains a pair of songs written by Tony Wine and Carole Bayer, “She Doesn’t Live Here Anymore”, and “(I’m Into Lookin’ For) Someone To Love Me”.  

This writing duo had their first number one hit in 1966, penning “Groovy Kind Of Love” for the Mindbenders. Often, after finding good songs from songwriters, artists return looking for more. Toni and Carole had provided Bobby with an excellent song for the “Just Today” album titled “Nobody’s Home To Go Home To”.

Liberty released “Someone To Love Me” as a single both in the US and the UK. To make it more commercial, the UK version was stripped of the bridge, which actually tended to break the continuity of the song. The two segments were seamlessly brought together to provide a powerful non-stop rocker.

David Gates provided Bobby with two demos, one being “The Passing of A Friend”, the other “Diary”. I actually found the demos for both while digging through boxes of acetates at Vee’s home several years ago. He must have thought I was crazy but I had a lot of fun doing it!

Demo tapes

When I came up with “Diary” I asked him why he had it. He told me that he was given both demos with the understanding that David would probably do “Diary” with his band, Bread.

Knowing that, Bobby told me, “I didn’t want to take a chance on “Diary” so I decided to do “Passing Of A Friend”. Bobby called “Passing Of A Friend” an “interesting and dark song, something different for me as was much of the album”.

He further describes the song in the interview disc: “What is happening in the song is the guy is looking in a mirror, and he’s talking about himself. He’s gotten messed up on drugs and now he’s seen himself and he’s mourning the passing of a friend, and wondering how he got this way.”

Bobby also covered Hank Marvin’s “London’s Not Too Far” and John Sebastian’s “Younger Generation”. Marvin was the lead guitarist for the popular British instrumental group, The Shadows.

His version was released in February of 1968, but failed to chart. The song has a clever twist where it is only revealed in the last line that the subject is a mere child. Sebastian was the leader of The Lovin’ Spoonful, and Bobby recorded the song simply because he liked the message.

Bobby’s thoughts on the album

Enter “One” and “I Just Can’t Help Believin” the two songs that Bobby recorded first, but were later hits for other artists. Bobby got “One” from Harry Nilsson. Bobby recalls:

“I met Harry Nilsson around a project he was interested in writing the music for. It was a book called ‘the Smile At The Foot of a Ladder’ . . . Arthur Miller as I recall . . . about a circus clown. It was about this time that he gave me “One”.

“One” ended up charting at #5 for Three Dog Night in April of 1969. “I Just Can’t Help Believin”, written by the prolific pens of Mann and Weil, charted for B.J. Thomas reaching the top ten in 1970. “Lavender Kite”, written by Kransberg and Abeyta, was not one of my favourites and in retrospect not one of Bobby’s as noted by his comment:

“Lavender Kite” . . . took a chance . . . should have left it off the album.” 

“Santa Cruz”, written by Spindler and Taylor, was a wonderful track, one of the best on the album. Bobby had this to say about “Santa Cruz”:

“I found “Santa Cruz” in Detroit, MI. A guy pitched the song to me while I was in town on a promotion trip. I still think it’s a song that could do something . . . maybe in the country market. It was well written! I cut the song and never heard from him again!”

Perhaps they were upset that writer’s credits for the song were missing from the back cover of the album!

“Jenny Came To Me” penned by Dunn and McCashen who later had success with “Hitchcock Railway”, probably has one of the coolest lines I’ve heard in a song: “Jenny came to me when yes was so expensive, when the only thing cheap was a no or a not”.

“Annie Joined The Band” is the lone track written by Bobby. He calls it, perhaps unjustly,

“a good cut but very out of place with the rest of the material and quite dated these days.”

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