According to Billboard magazine, he had 38 American 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.
Vee's 1961 summer release "Take Good Care of My Baby" went to number one on the Billboard U.S. listings and number three in the UK Singles Chart. Known primarily as a performer of Brill Building pop material, he went on to record a string of international hits in the 1960s, including "Devil or Angel" (U.S. number six), "Rubber Ball" (1961, U.S. number six, Australia number one), "More Than I Can Say" (1961, U.K. number four), "Run to Him" (1961, U.S. number two), "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes" (1963, U.S. number three), and "Come Back When You Grow Up" (U.S. number three). When Vee recorded "Come Back When You Grow Up" in 1967, he was joined by a band called the Strangers. He also recorded, in 1961, a version of the song "Lollipop", originally by Ronald & Ruby, which also became a success.
Vee was also a pioneer in the music video genre, appearing in several musical films, as well as in the Scopitone series of early film-and-music jukebox recordings.
He received the North Dakota Roughrider Award in 1999.
He is mentioned in the film No Direction Home regarding his brief musical association with Bob Dylan and Dylan's suggestion that he was "Bobby Vee" after Vee's regional hit.
The Very Best of Bobby Vee, released by EMI/UK on May 12, 2008, charted in the UK top five. On January 17, 2011, EMI/UK released Rarities, a double-CD package with 61 tracks, many of which were previously unreleased. Others included were alternate takes and first-time stereo releases as well as tracks from the album Bobby Vee Live on Tour minus the "canned" audience.
On March 28, 2011, he became the 235th inductee into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. In 2014 he was inducted into the Scandinavian-American Hall of Fame.
Vee's career began amid tragedy. On February 3, 1959, "The Day the Music Died", three of the four headline acts in the lineup of the traveling Winter Dance Party—Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper—were killed, along with the 21-year-old pilot, Roger Peterson, in the crash of a V-tailed 1947 Beechcraft Bonanza airplane (Dion, the second headliner, opted not to travel on the plane). It crashed near Clear Lake, Iowa, en route to the next show on the tour itinerary in Moorhead, Minnesota. Velline, then aged 15, and a hastily assembled band of Fargo schoolboys calling themselves the Shadows volunteered for and were given the unenviable job of filling in for Holly and his band at the Moorhead engagement. Their performance there was a success, setting in motion a chain of events that led to Vee's career as a popular singer.
In 1963, Vee released a tribute album on Liberty Records called I Remember Buddy Holly. In the liner notes, Vee recalled Holly's influence on him and the events surrounding Holly's death:
Like so many other people, I became a Buddy Holly fan the very first time I heard him sing. I've been a fan ever since and I guess I always will be. I remember a few years ago when Buddy was scheduled to appear at a dance in my home town of Fargo, North Dakota. It was going to be a big event for the whole town, but even more so for me. I was anxiously looking forward to seeing Buddy in action.
The day he was to arrive disaster struck, taking Buddy's life, along with the lives of two other fine singers, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper. The shocking news spread through Fargo very quickly. The local radio station broadcast a plea for local talent to entertain at the scheduled dance. About a week before this, I had just organized a vocal and instrumental group of five guys. Our style was modelled after Buddy's approach and we had been rehearsing with Buddy's hits in mind. When we heard the radio plea for talent, we went in and volunteered. We hadn't even named the group up to that time, so we gave ourselves a name on the spot, calling ourselves The Shadows. We appeared at the dance and were grateful to be enthusiastically accepted. Soon afterwards, I made my first record. It was called "Suzie Baby" and I was pretty lucky with it; it was a fair-sized hit.
For some time now, I have wanted to make an album in tribute to Buddy, but I wasn't sure it was the proper thing to do. However, during the past year, I have received many requests to do such an album. These requests came not only from my fans and from DJs, but also from Buddy's loyal following---still a large group of devoted fans. It.... gave me the confidence to do the album. From "Suzie Baby" to this present album, I have made many records, but I have never forgotten Buddy Holly and his influence on my singing style and my career.
Vee went on to become a bona fide star and regularly performed at the Winter Dance Party memorial concerts in Clear Lake. His sons are all musicians and have performed with him there.
Early in Vee's career, a musician named Elston Gunnn [sic] briefly toured with the band. "Gunnn", whose birth name was Robert Allen Zimmerman, later went on to fame as Bob Dylan.
Dylan's autobiography, Chronicles, Volume One, mentions Vee and provides complimentary details about their friendship, both professional and personal.
In a concert at Midway Stadium in St. Paul, Minnesota, on July 10, 2013, Dylan said he had been on the stage with many stars, but that none of them were as meaningful as Vee. He said Vee was in the audience and then played Vee's hit "Suzie Baby" with emotion. Dylan said (in an audio recording of the concert),
Thank you everyone, thank you friends. I left here a while back, and since that time, I've played all over the world, with all kinds of people. And everybody from Mick Jagger to Madonna. And everybody in there in between. I've been on the stage with most of those people. But the most meaningful person I've ever been on the stage with, was a man who is here tonight, who used to sing a song called "Suzie Baby". I want to say that Bobby Vee is actually here tonight. Maybe you can show your appreciation with just a round of applause. So, we're gonna try to do this song, like I've done it with him before once or twice.
Vee and Karen Bergen were engaged July 1, 1963, and married December 28, 1963. They had four children: Jeffery Robert Velline (b. Jan 3, 1965), Thomas Paul Velline (b. October 25, 1966), Robert Bryon Velline (b. August 4, 1967), and Jennifer Joanne Velline (b. May 31, 1972). Karen died of kidney failure on August 3, 2015.
On April 29, 2012, Vee announced on his website that a year prior he had been diagnosed with an early stage of Alzheimer's disease and consequently would withdraw from the music business.
On October 24, 2016, Vee died in Rogers, Minnesota, from complications of early onset Alzheimer's disease.
A Letter from Betty
Bobby Vee Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It came from Betty and was postmarked far away
I felt so good until I looked inside
I read that letter and I cried
She said, dear, Bobby
Just a line to say hello
We've been such good friends
I fell in love
My dreams have all come true
And, Bobby, he's so much like you
He swept me off my feet
I'd never thought I'd meet
Someone else who'd be so good to me
I know someday you'll find
Someone to love you true
You'll fall in love and then
You'll feel just like I do
So long for now
Write me soon, goodbye
I read that letter and I cried
I love her so
But now she'll never know
My golden chance has passed me by
I waited much too long
Now he's come along
This letter from Betty means goodbye
Whoa, oh, oh, oh
This letter from Betty means goodbye
Whoa, oh, oh, oh
This letter from Betty means goodbye
The song "A Letter from Betty" is a ballad about lost love and unrequited feelings. The singer receives a letter from his former flame, Betty, who announces her newfound love but also acknowledges their friendship. Although he feels happy for her, he is heartbroken himself, realizing that he missed his chance to express his feelings for her. The lyrics vividly capture the singer's pain, as he reads between the lines of Betty's letter, feeling that her message is a final goodbye. The song's melody is melancholic and slow, emphasizing the mix of emotions the singer experiences.
The song's lyrics speak to the unrequited love, a common theme in classic pop songs. The singer's emotions are heart-wrenching, as he reads Betty's letter and understands that she found someone else to love. The lyrics' specificity, like Betty's letter being postmarked far away, adds to the song's emotional depth. The melody and rhythm of the song blend with the lyrics to emphasize the singer's feelings of dejection and despair.
Line by Line Meaning
I got a letter from the mailman yesterday
I received a letter from Betty through the mail yesterday, which the mailman brought me.
It came from Betty and was postmarked far away
The letter was sent from Betty, and the location in which it was sent from is far away from me. I noticed this due to the postmark on the envelope.
I felt so good until I looked inside
Before opening up the letter and reading it, I was feeling really positive about it. However, that changed when I finally read what Betty wrote to me.
I read that letter and I cried
The contents of Betty's letter were so upsetting that it made me cry after reading it.
She said, dear, Bobby
Betty opened up her letter with a greeting and specifically addressed it to me using my name.
Just a line to say hello
Although Betty's letter was quite long, she started off by saying that it was just a brief hello with a simple motive.
We've been such good friends
Betty and I have shared a strong bond of friendship over time.
You should be the first to know
Out of anybody in Betty's life, she chose to inform me first of something that she wanted to share.
I fell in love
Betty expressed that she has fallen deeply in love with someone.
My dreams have all come true
Betty's love life has taken such a positive turn that she now feels that all her dreams have been fulfilled and that she is the happiest she has ever been.
And, Bobby, he's so much like you
Betty compares her new lover with me and thinks that we share a lot of similarities based on their common traits and behaviors.
He swept me off my feet
Betty's new partner did something so romantic that she became flustered and overwhelmed with awe.
I'd never thought I'd meet
Before Betty met her new partner, she did not think that someone like him existed.
Someone else who'd be so good to me
Betty's new love is fulfilling her emotional needs that were previously not being met, and she is ecstatic to have found someone who is so good to her.
I know someday you'll find
Betty has faith in me and is convinced that someday, I will also find love.
Someone to love you true
Betty wishes for me to find someone who will genuinely and unconditionally love me and support me.
You'll fall in love and then
Betty believes that I will also experience what it feels like to fall in love.
You'll feel just like I do
Once I experience love, Betty thinks that I will be able to relate to everything she has written to me in her letter.
So long for now
Betty ends her letter by saying goodbye to me for now, as if it will be a significant amount of time until the two of us communicate again.
Write me soon, goodbye
Betty finishes her letter by requesting that I write back to her soon so that she knows that I received her letter in the first place.
I love her so
Despite knowing that Betty has fallen in love with someone else, my feelings for her are still present, and I continue to love her.
But now she'll never know
Betty will never know that I still hold onto feelings for her, and it has become too late for me to let her know.
My golden chance has passed me by
By waiting for too long to express my true feelings to Betty, my moment to be with her and have a happy ending has disappeared.
I waited much too long
I acknowledge that I made a crucial mistake in waiting too long to tell Betty my true feelings for her.
Now he's come along
Betty has found a different partner who has captured her heart and attention in ways that I never could.
This letter from Betty means goodbye
Betty's letter marks the end of our relationship and signifies that we will likely never be anything more than friends moving forward.
Contributed by Anna B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Nick Gateley
beautiful underated tune by Mr. Vee- so much great material not well known. Got to love this stuff.
Joan Cuthill
Excellent my friend. I've never heard it before. It's great. God Bless you.♥
SixtiesOnly
Hiya Jan,this is not one of Bobby Vee's better known songs,but I thought I'd give it a spin,he must still have a few fans on here !
mc4521
Thanks so much! The original 45 was B/W "Be True To Yourself" by the incomparable Bacharach/David songwriting duo...
Debbie Spencer
love,, that....
Music Selection
Another comment vanished lol , My all time fav song from Bobby :) shared on twitter and g+ again Mick
SixtiesOnly
Phew,I'm off the hook then.lol
Music Selection
@***** On this occasion I dont think it was you as all my comments from all channels from July 2015 have all vanished .. I think it must be to do with the google split
SixtiesOnly
+Music Selection ...Hi MS,thanks for sharing this one by Bobby again,it's not one of his better known songs,but it's great all the same !...I might be guilty of deleting comments,because occasionally I look at some of my replies to people and think "that's a stupid reply" and delete what I've said,which in turn deletes the original comments as well !!!
flatop47
Top Marks Mick...Great Post