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.
It Doesn`t Matter Anymore
Bobby Vee Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Well you left me here so I could sit and cry
Golly gee what have you done to me
Well I guess it doesn't matter anymore
Do you remember baby last September
How you held me tight each and every night
Oh baby how you drove me crazy
There's no use in me a-cryin'
I've done everything
And now I'm sick of trying
I've thrown away my nights
Wasted all my days over you
Now you go your way baby and I'll go mine
Now and forever 'till the end of time
And I'll find somebody new and baby
We'll say we're through
And you won't matter any more
There's no use in me a-cryin'
I've done everything
And now I'm sick of trying
I've thrown away my nights
Wasted all my days over you
Now you go your way baby and I'll go mine
Now and forever 'till the end of time
And I'll find somebody new and baby
We'll say we're through
And you won't matter any more
The lyrics to Bobby Vee's song "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" describe a breakup and the aftermath. The song opens with the singer acknowledging that their love interest has left them alone to cry. The singer then reminisces about the past, recalling how their love interest used to hold them tight and drive them crazy. However, the singer ultimately acknowledges that it "doesn't matter anymore." They express exhaustion from crying and trying to make things work, and they want to move on with their life.
The chorus repeats the phrase that "there's no use in me a-cryin'" and that the singer has wasted all their time on this relationship. They declare that they will go their separate ways, find someone new, and declare that the previous love interest "won't matter any more."
Line by Line Meaning
There you go and baby here am I
You have left me, but I am still here.
Well you left me here so I could sit and cry
You left me alone to wallow in my sadness.
Golly gee what have you done to me
You have hurt me deeply and I don't understand why.
Well I guess it doesn't matter anymore
I have come to terms with the fact that what once mattered no longer does.
Do you remember baby last September
I am reminiscing about a past memory shared with you.
How you held me tight each and every night
I recall the feeling of your loving embrace that I no longer have.
Oh baby how you drove me crazy
You had an intense effect on me, both positive and negative.
But I guess it doesn't matter any more
Despite the intense feelings I once had, they no longer hold weight in my life.
There's no use in me a-cryin'
It is futile for me to continue crying and being upset.
I've done everything
I have exhausted all the effort I could put into fixing things between us.
And now I'm sick of trying
I am tired of constantly trying to make things work.
I've thrown away my nights
I have spent countless lonely nights thinking about you.
Wasted all my days over you
I have spent too much time and energy obsessing over someone who no longer deserves it.
Now you go your way baby and I'll go mine
We are going in different directions and leading separate lives.
Now and forever 'till the end of time
This separation is permanent and will last indefinitely.
And I'll find somebody new and baby
I will eventually move on and find someone else.
We'll say we're through
We will acknowledge that our relationship has ended.
And you won't matter any more
You will no longer have an impact on my life or feelings.
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Paul Anka
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind