Bobby Vee will receive the Spirit Of Music Award this year at the 2017 SDRRMA Induction Ceremony, April 22nd in Sioux Falls, SD.
Bobby Vee – Spirit Of Music Award
"Devil or Angel", Rubber Ball", Take Good Care of My Baby", "Run to Him", and "The Night Has A Thousand Eyes"... these are a few of the recordings that made Bobby Vee one of the top recording artists of the 60's.
Bobby was born in Fargo, ND, into a musical family At the age of 15 he joined his older brother's band, the Shadows, and the Shadows became one of the top new bands in the area.
As a result of a tragic twist of fate, Bobby's story begins to take on a bitter sweet flavor. On Feb. 3, 1959, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and TheBig Bopper were killed in a plane crash leaving Clear Lake, Iowa. They were scheduled to perform the next night in Moorhead, MN. The decision was made to continue on with the show in Moorhead, and the promoters asked for local talent to help fill in. That night Bobby Vee was introduced to the world.
On June 1, 1959, Bobby and the Shadows recorded a song on the Soma label called "Susie Baby" in Minneapolis. By summer's end the song had reached number one on all the local stations in the upper mid-west.
Bobby was drawing the interest of several major recording studios, and in the fall of '59 he and the Shadows signed with Liberty Records. They continued to play together until 1963. In the 30 plus years following 1959, Bobby would go on to place 38 songs in the Billboard top 100 charts, 6 gold singles, 14 top forty hits, and 2 gold albums.
Besides touring the United States extensively, Bobby has toured Japan, Australia, and Europe. He also has toured the United Kingdom, and is usually a yearly visitor there. In a poll taken by UK magazine, "The Beat Goes On", was voted number 1, "Best International Act". Billboard magazine once called him "One of the top ten most consistent chart makers ever".
BobbyVee, whose hits included the chart-topping “Take Good Care of My Baby” and who helped a young Bob Dylan get his start, died in October of 2016. Bobby was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2011, and performed his last show that year.
Bobby had been in memory care at The Wellstead of Rogers & Diamondcrest in Rogers, about 25 miles northwest of Minneapolis, for the past 13 months and in hospice care in recent weeks.
Jeff Velline, said his father died peacefully surrounded by family, calling it “the end of a long hard road.”
He said his father was “a person who brought joy all over the world. That was his job.”
Awards
2017Spirit of the Music Award