Freeman was born in Alameda County and raised in San Francisco, California. He attended Mission High School. He started singing in a doo-wop group, the Romancers, in his early teens, and first recorded with them for Dootone Records in 1956. Their recordings included "House Cat", included on several later rock and roll compilations. However, the group soon fell apart, and Freeman started a new group, the Vocaleers (not to be confused with an earlier group of the same name who recorded "Is It a Dream").
When asked by a local DJ if he had written any songs, he wrote several and recorded them as solo demos. These included "Do You Want to Dance", which were heard by a visiting record label executive, Mortimer Palitz of Jubilee Records. He signed Freeman to the label and had the original recording overdubbed in New York by session musicians including guitarist Billy Mure. Released on the Jubilee subsidiary label Josie, "Do You Want to Dance" quickly rose to number 5 on the pop chart and number 2 on the R&B chart in early 1958, when Freeman was still only 17. The song was covered later (as "Do You Wanna Dance") by Del Shannon, Bobby Vee, the Beach Boys, Johnny Rivers, Bette Midler, John Lennon, Cliff Richard, Marc Bolan & T.Rex, the Mamas & The Papas and the Ramones.
Freeman appeared on American Bandstand and toured with such musicians as Fats Domino, the Coasters, and Jackie Wilson. Several of his follow-ups on Laurie, including "Betty Lou Got a New Pair of Shoes" and "Need Your Love", a ballad, also made the pop charts. He left Laurie in 1960 and signed with King Records, reaching the charts again with "Shimmy Shimmy".[6] However, several of Freeman's later recordings for King in the early 1960s went unreleased, for unexplained reasons. He did not return to the charts again until 1964, after signing for the Autumn label, when he had his second top ten hit with "C'mon and Swim". The song was co-written by label owner and radio DJ Tom Donahue (credited under his birth name, Thomas Coman), and 20-year-old Sylvester Stewart, later known as Sly Stone, and was produced by Stewart. Freeman's final hit was "S-W-I-M", later in 1964.
In 1964, Bobby Freeman played nightly at the Condor Club in San Francisco where Carol Doda performed her topless go-go dancing shows. Mainly supporting himself as a singer in clubs by the late 1960s, he continued to release singles on various small local labels through to the mid-1970s but met with little commercial success. He performed at the Bay Area Music ("Bammy") Awards in later years.
He died of natural causes on 23 January 2017.
Discography
Notable singles
1958 "Do You Want to Dance" (#5 Pop, #2 R&B)
1958 "Betty Lou Got a New Pair of Shoes" (#37 Pop, #20 R&B)
1958 "Need Your Love" (#54 Pop, #29 R&B)
1959 "Mary Ann Thomas" (#90 Pop)
1959 "Ebb Tide" (#93 Pop)
1960 "(I Do the) Shimmy Shimmy" (#37 Pop)
1961 "Mess Around" (#89 Pop)
1964 "C'mon and Swim" (#5 Pop)
1964 "S-W-I-M" (#56 Pop)
1974 "Everything's Love" (Uncharted)
Albums
1958 Do You Wanna Dance (Jubilee)
1959 Get in the Swim (Josie)
1960 Lovable Style of Bobby Freeman (King)
1964 C'mon and Swim (Autumn)
Bibliography
The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll, Pareles, Jon & Romanowski, Patricia, eds., Summit Books 1983
C'mon And Swim
Bobby Freeman Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Bobby said he wants to see you, do the swim
It's kinda like the monkey, kinda like the twist
Pretend you're in the water and you go like this
Now baby swim, baby do the swim
Do what you want, girl, do like you wish
Now baby swim, baby, do the swim
Kinda like the dog but not so low
Like the hully gully but not so slow
Now baby swim, baby, do the swim
Shake it up baby, twist and shout
Do the swim, girl, now work it on out
Now baby swim, baby, do the swim
Do what you wanna do, it's alright
Bobby said he wants to see you swim tonight
Now baby swim
C'mon baby, I want you to swim
Do what you want, girl, it's alright
Bobby said he wants to see you swim tonight
Now baby, swim
C'mon baby, I want you to swim
Bobby Freeman's song, C'mon and Swim, is a fun and upbeat tune that encourages listeners to hit the dance floor and move their bodies to the rhythm of the music. The song suggests a type of dance called 'the swim', which according to Freeman is a combination of different dance moves like the monkey, the twist, the hully gully, and even the dog paddle.
The lyrics of the song are quite simple, urging listeners to get up and do the swim, as Bobby demonstrates how to do so. The dance moves are described as being similar to movements you would make while swimming but on the dance floor. The chorus of the song repeats the phrase "now baby swim, baby do the swim" to encourage listeners to keep dancing and having a good time.
The song's upbeat tempo and catchy lyrics were a hit, and it quickly rose in the charts upon its release. The song has become a staple in '60s music and is still enjoyed by people today. Interestingly, Bobby Freeman's "C'mon and Swim" was the first song to inspire a nationwide dance craze after exposure on the first syndicated episode of the national television music show "Soul Train."
Line by Line Meaning
C'mon everybody, c'mon in
Everyone is invited to join in on the dancing.
Bobby's gonna show you how to do the swim
Bobby is going to teach you the popular dance move called the swim.
Kinda like the monkey, kinda like the twist
The swim has similarities to the monkey and the twist dance moves.
Pretend you're in the water and you go like this
Imagining that you are swimming in water, you move your arms and legs in a certain way to imitate the swim movement.
Now baby swim, baby do the swim
Encouraging someone to perform the swim dance move.
Just like the dog but not so low
The swim also has similarities to the dog paddle but is done with more height.
Like the hully gully but not so slow
The swim is also reminiscent of the hully gully dance move but is done at a faster pace.
Do what you want to, do like you wish
There is no right or wrong way to dance the swim. You can put your own spin on it and do it however you like.
C'mon baby now and swim like a fish
Inviting someone to dance the swim and to do so in a way that imitates swimming like a fish.
Shake it up baby twist and shout
Encouraging the crowd to dance energetically and have fun.
Now do the swim baby now work it on out
Further instruction to perform the swim dance move and to continue dancing with the energetic attitude.
Do what you want to, it's alright
A reminder that there is no wrong way to dance and to just have fun with it.
Bobby's gonna show you how to swim tonight
Reiterating the promise of instruction and guidance for the swim dance move.
C'mon baby, I want you to swim
Encouraging one particular person to join in on the dancing and perform the swim.
Oh yeah, do the dog paddle baby
Reminding the dancers of the similarities between the swim and the dog paddle dance moves.
Now do the backstroke
Introducing another swimming technique that can be incorporated into the swim dance move.
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Sylvester Stewart, Thomas F Iii Coman
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Playbyplaymedia
Even though this record is not one of my favorites, I did buy it as a kid in the Summer of 1964 and I can't think of an earlier record that is more driving in its tone than this one.
Mike Cook (Cookie) All Things Soulful ✊️
A Wigan Casino classic 👌
Pounding soul that set the dance floor on fire 🔥 ✊️
conigjo62
I found a stash of my OLD 45s and this one was there. I had to listen to it again after a few decades!!!!
riff tipton
Good song and some really cool guitar.
eoj2495
Very cool!!
RichieRugs
just as good as like a rolling stone
louis hubbard
i love dance themed songs
Maurice Belk
A young Sly Stone co-wrote, played keys & did some of the mixing on this one!!!!!
Samuel Griffin
Bringing back those beach movies of the sixties
C Peake
Dig the 15 seconds worth of boss kool organ riffs...Sly? (nifty guitar as well)