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 PartyโBuddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopperโwere 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.
Suzie Baby
Bobby Vee Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Have you left me for someone new?
Is your lovelight shinin' bright?
Will you love me or leave me tonight?
Suzie baby, don't you know
That I love you and want you so?
Come back baby, come back home
Say you'll love me and never again roam
Suzie baby, I love you
Say you'll come back and love me too
Since you left me, gone away
I've been lonely, alone each day
Suzie baby, where are you?
Have you left me for someone new?
Suzie baby, don't you know
That I love you and want you so?
Someday baby, you'll be blue
And you'll wish that you'd die for me too
The lyrics of Bobby Vee's song "Suzie Baby" convey a heartfelt plea of a heartbroken lover seeking to reconnect with Suzie, who seems to have abandoned him for someone new. The song is a classic example of the romantic ballads of the 1960s, with its simple yet emotive lyrics and melodic tune that aim to tug at the heartstrings of the listeners.
The first verse of the song expresses the singer's desperation in finding Suzie. He wonders if her "lovelight" is still shining or if she has moved on, leaving him behind. The chorus reiterates his love for her and begs her to come back, promising to love her faithfully. The second verse speaks of his loneliness after her departure, with every day seeming darker and sadder without her.
The final verse is a warning to Suzie that someday she too will regret leaving him and will wish to be loved by him again. The song's theme of lost love and the yearning to rekindle it is one that resonates with many people, making it an enduring classic to this day.
Line by Line Meaning
Suzie baby, where are you?
Asking Suzie where she is at the moment
Have you left me for someone new?
Wondering if Suzie has moved on to someone else
Is your lovelight shinin' bright?
Questioning if Suzie still has feelings for him
Will you love me or leave me tonight?
Uncertain about Suzie staying or leaving for good
Suzie baby, don't you know
Expressing love for Suzie and hoping she knows it
That I love you and want you so?
Stating love and desire for Suzie
Come back baby, come back home
Asking Suzie to come back to him and their home
Say you'll love me and never again roam
Requesting Suzie to promise never to leave him again
Suzie baby, I love you
Reaffirming love for Suzie
Say you'll come back and love me too
Asking Suzie to return and love him in return
Since you left me, gone away
Feeling lonely and sad since Suzie's departure
I've been lonely, alone each day
Emphasizing the loneliness he feels without Suzie
Someday baby, you'll be blue
Predicting Suzie may experience heartache in the future
And you'll wish that you'd die for me too
Bringing attention to the depth of his love for Suzie and how he believes she will regret leaving him
Lyrics ยฉ BMG Rights Management
Written by: Robert Velline
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Suzanne Lawson
I guess you could say I am addicted to this song.
Just can't stop listening. ๐ธ๐ธ
This original version is my favorite - more then the other more orchestrated
version.
Does anyone know the reason for two versions?
Was it a decision that Bobby and the Shadows wanted to release
a orchestrated version or their manager/agent wanted a different version?
Was the original heard on this video only released on one album (Early Rockin' Years) and the more orchestrated one released on several albums?
Paola Marie Fuchs Stitelmann
See You .... someday Bobby Vee - R.I.P.
Suzie ..... baby, where are you ?
Have you left me .... for someone new !!
Is your lovelight shining bright
Will you love me or leave me tonight ....
Suzie .... baby !! don't you know !!
That I love you .... and want .... you so
Come back bay .... come back home ....
Say you love me and .... never .... again roam
(guitar solo)
Suzie, baby .... I love you ....
Say you'll come back and love ... Oh me too
Since you left me ... gone away !!
I've been lonely, .... alone each day
Suzie, baby ..... where are you ?
Have you left me for someone new ....
Suzie baby .... don't you know
That I love you !! and want you so
Someday, baby .... you'll be blue .....
And you'll wish that ... you'd
Die for me too ....
Trevor Brown
Iโm 76 and I still play this record I think itโs great
J.D. Snyder
I'm 76 and only recently discovered the absolutely classic sound of this Hollyesque 59 original. Bobby's brother Bill's guitar on this is primo; it's actually what makes this so rich for my liking.
My other fave Bobby Vee cut is I Can't Say Good-bye which barely charted. The session band and backup on that is superb, particularly the piano, might have been the famed Floyd Cramer.
joe gongora
This is a an excellent song. Of course Bobby Vee re-recorded this in 1962 in order to be more in line with his other hits. This version is absolutely the best because this song absolutely...ROCKS!!!
damnminer
I was 16 when I first heard this and instantly loved it. I never heard it again until just recently and still love it 54 years later. Many of the old stars have died over the years, but none have saddened more than Bobby's death. From the many tributes and recent interviews with his kids, Bobby was apparently one of the few that did everything right by everybody he touched.
Harold Fisher
Bobby sounds so much like the great Buddy Holley in this song, RIP Bobby, and thanks for all your great songs that we still enjoy and will live forever.
joe gongora
He certainly does, that later Bobby Vee went on tour with the Crickets. At times he was their lead singer and Buddy's band mates didn't object to that.
Grant DeNormandie
This single only climbed to #77 but Vee went on to chart 37 more times!
Tony Bentley
Bobby Vee tips his hat to Buddy Holly, sounding natural, without sounding too contrived or overdone, I love this song , especially the guitar
folkmusicgirl
So very sorry to hear about Bobby Vee passing away today, Oct. 24, 2016 from Alzheimer's.ย What a talented singer/musician he was!ย I especially love this version of Suzie Baby more then the orchestrated version. His talent alreadyย was shining at this early age when he recorded this song.ย We will miss him.ย RIP Bobby Vee.
Rick Higginson
I was happy when Bobby had one last hit, "Come Back, When You Grow Up, Girl" in the late 60's, as I recall. This is a good recording, sounds good, on a fine system. His 'Swan Song,' so to speak. The British Invasion, polished off many American singers & groups, many never came back, at least in terms of the charts. Frankie Avalon is amazing - he's like the Energizer Bunny - just keeps going! Plays, personal appearances. In particular, it was almost kind of sad, Bobby Rydell went to Capitol, a major label of course, but after he left Cameo / Parkway. you 'couldn't give his records, away.' After he had had one big hit after another, almost everything that he released for years. Gene Pitney kept releasing discs, but nothing clicked until he had one last big hit, "Heartbreaker," (Not the Led Zeppelin song!) in the late 60's. I enjoy this; it's probably pretty much forgotten, now. There are collections, anthologies of every single an artist has released, made especially in England / Europe. If you listen to these, though, to my ear, material became a problem - eventually the quality of the releases diminished. Bobby Vee had a good run!