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.
Schooldays
Bobby Vee Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The teacher is teachin' the Golden Rule
American history and practical math
You studyin' hard and hopin' to pass
Workin' your fingers right down to the bone
And the guy behind you won't leave you alone
Ring, ring goes the bell
You're lucky if you can find a seat
You're fortunate if you have time to eat
Back in the classroom, open your books
Keep up the teacher don't know how mean she looks (?)
Soon as three o'clock rolls around
You finally lay your burden down
Close up your books, get out of your seat
Down the halls and into the street
Up to the corner and 'round the bend
Right to the juke joint, you go in
Drop the coin right into the slot
You're gotta hear somethin' that's really hot
With the one you love, you're makin' romance
All day long you been wantin' to dance,
Feeling the music from head to toe
Round and round and round we go
Drop the coin right into the slot
You're gotta hear somethin' that's really hot
With the one you love, you're makin' romance
All day long you been wantin' to dance,
Feeling the music from head to toe
Round and round and round we go
Hail, hail rock and roll
Deliver me from the days of old
Long live rock and roll
The beat of the drums, loud and bold
Rock, rock, rock and roll
The feelin' is there, body and soul.
The song Schooldays by Bobby Vee is a nostalgic reflection of school memories. The lyrics describe the daily routine of a student's life, from the morning bell, classroom lessons, and lunchtime to the end of the school day. The song paints a vivid picture of what it was like to be a student in the mid-20th century, with a mix of sentimentality and humor.
The first verse describes the student's day at school, working hard to study and pass their exams while enduring the distractions of fellow students. The second verse reflects the lunchtime rush and the struggle to find a seat in the crowded cafeteria. The chorus expresses the relief and joy of the end of the school day, the freedom to leave and head to a juke joint to dance and listen to rock and roll, the music of the youth of that era.
The last stanza is a clear recognition of the importance of rock and roll music in the fabric of the youth's life. It embodies the revitalization that the upbeat music could provide to the teenager's soul. Rock and Roll served as an escape from or a transgression against their stern and often restrictive authority's contemporary society.
Line by Line Meaning
Up in the mornin' and out to school
Starting early in the morning, going to school
The teacher is teachin' the Golden Rule
The teacher is guiding with good morals and habits
American history and practical math
Teaching history and math applicable to everyday life
You studyin' hard and hopin' to pass
Putting in maximum effort in study to achieve success
Workin' your fingers right down to the bone
Working arduously to the point of exhaustion
And the guy behind you won't leave you alone
The person behind you is disturbing you
Ring, ring goes the bell
The bells are ringing
The cook in the lunch room's ready to sell
The cafeteria cook is ready to serve and sell
You're lucky if you can find a seat
It's fortunate to find a seat during lunch time
You're fortunate if you have time to eat
It's good luck to have time to eat during lunch time
Back in the classroom, open your books
Returning to the classroom and opening study material
Keep up the teacher don't know how mean she looks (?)
Trying hard to concentrate despite the strict teacher
Soon as three o'clock rolls around
As soon as it's three o'clock
You finally lay your burden down
You're finally free of the load of work
Close up your books, get out of your seat
Packing up study material and leaving the classroom
Down the halls and into the street
Going through the hallway and to the street
Up to the corner and 'round the bend
Going to the corner and taking the bend
Right to the juke joint, you go in
Going directly to the juke joint
Drop the coin right into the slot
Inserting a coin into the machine
You're gotta hear somethin' that's really hot
You're going to listen to something really popular
With the one you love, you're makin' romance
Getting romantic with your partner
All day long you been wantin' to dance,
Longing to dance all day long
Feeling the music from head to toe
Sensing the music with your whole body
Round and round and round we go
Dancing endlessly to the music
Hail, hail rock and roll
Praising rock and roll
Deliver me from the days of old
Save me from the old days
Long live rock and roll
May rock and roll last forever
The beat of the drums, loud and bold
The drums' rhythm is strong and dynamic
Rock, rock, rock and roll
Rock, rock, rock and roll!
The feelin' is there, body and soul.
Emotions are present both physically and emotionally
Lyrics © OLE MEDIA MANAGEMENT LP
Written by: CHUCK BERRY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Paulo Castelo Branco
It is in these hours that I prefer Rock 'n' Roll instead Rhythm & Blues.
VeeFan1964
The white Chuck Berry :-)