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.
Early In The Morning
Bobby Vee Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Early in the morning
One of these days oh yeah
Well, you gonna want me
Early in the morning
When I'm away
Don't ya know
You'll be sorry for the time you lied
Well, you gonna miss me
Early in the morning
One of these days oh yeah
Well, ya know a rollin' stone
Don't gather no moss
And ya cross your bridge
When it's time to cross
Well, ya broke my heart
When ya said good bye
Now the milk is spilt
But you gonna cry
Yeah early in the morning
You gonna know that I was right
Oh yeah, yeah,
Early in the morning
When there's nobody to hold you tight
Oh, Oh,
Well, you gonna want me, want me back
You gonna *(miss) the best man you ever had
Yeah, you gonna miss me
You gonna want me one of this days
Oh don't ya know
In Bobby Vee's song Early In The Morning, the singer is addressing someone who he believes will eventually regret leaving him. The chorus repeats the phrase, "Early in the morning, you gonna miss me," as a warning that the other person will eventually feel lonely and realize that they made a mistake. The lyrics suggest that the singer has already gone through heartbreak, as he describes "the time you lied" and mentions how his partner broke his heart by leaving. Despite the pain he has experienced, the singer has a sense of confidence that the other person will eventually realize that they need him and want him back.
In the second verse, the singer describes how a "rolling stone" doesn't gather any moss, suggesting that he is moving forward and leaving his past behind. He acknowledges that "the milk is spilt" and there is nothing he can do to change the situation, but emphasizes that the other person will eventually regret their decision to leave. The phrase "you gonna miss me" is repeated several times, as if the singer is trying to drill the message into the other person's head. The song ends with the singer confidently stating, "you gonna miss me, you gonna want me one of these days," suggesting that he is moving on and looking forward to finding someone who truly appreciates him.
Line by Line Meaning
Yeah you gonna miss me
I know you're going to miss me
Early in the morning
When it's early in the morning
One of these days oh yeah
At some point in the future
Well, you gonna want me
You're going to desire my presence
Early in the morning
In the early hours of the day
When I'm away
When I'm not there
Don't ya know
Do you not realize
Yes you'll be sorry for the times I cried
You'll regret making me cry
You'll be sorry for the time you lied
You'll feel remorseful for the time you lied
Well, you gonna miss me
I'm certain you'll miss me
One of these days oh yeah
At some point in the future
Well, ya know a rollin' stone
You're aware that a person who keeps moving
Don't gather no moss
Doesn't accumulate anything
And ya cross your bridge
And you'll face your problems
When it's time to cross
When the moment demands it
Well, ya broke my heart
You shattered my heart
When ya said good bye
When you bid farewell
Now the milk is spilt
Now the damage is done
But you gonna cry
But you will shed tears
Yeah early in the morning
In the early hours of the day
You gonna know that I was right
You'll realize that I was correct
Oh yeah, yeah,
Oh yes, yes,
Early in the morning
In the early hours of the day
When there's nobody to hold you tight
When you have no one to embrace
Oh, Oh,
Oh, oh,
Well, you gonna want me, want me back
You'll desire my return
You gonna *(miss) the best man you ever had
You'll realize that you've lost the best man you'll ever have
Yeah, you gonna miss me
You'll definitely miss me
You gonna want me one of this days
You'll desire my company at some point
Oh don't ya know
Oh, don't you see
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Cloud9
Written by: CHARLES K WILSON, LONNIE LEE SIMMONS, RUDY TAYLOR
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind