Bobby Darin
b. Walden Robert Cassotto, 14 May 1936, New York, USA, d. 20 December 1973. Darin's entry to the music business occurred during the mid-'50s following a period playing in New York coffee houses. His friendship with co-writer/entrepreneur Don Kirshner resulted in his first single, My First Love. A meeting with Connie Francis' manager George Scheck led to a prestigious television appearance on the Tommy Dorsey television show and a contract with Decca. An unsuccessful attempt to score a hit with a cover of Lonnie Donegan's Rock Island Line was followed by a move towards pop novelty with Splish Splash. Darin's quirky vocal ensured that his song was a worldwide hit, although he was outsold in Britain by a rival version from comedian Charlie Drake. During this period, Darin also recorded in a group called the Ding Dongs, which prompted a dispute between Atco and Brunswick Records, culminating in the creation of a new group, the Rinky Dinks who were credited as the backing artists on his next single, Early In The Morning. Neither that, nor its successor, Mighty Mighty, proved commercially viable, but the intervening Darin solo release, Queen Of The Hop, sold a million. The period charm of Plain Jane presaged one of Darin's finest moments—the exceptional Dream Lover. An enticing vocal performance allied to strong production took the song to number 1 in the UK and number 2 in the USA. 
Already assured of considerable status as a pop artist, Darin dramatically changed direction with his next recording and emerged as a finger-clicking master of the supper club circuit. Mack The Knife, composed by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill for the celebrated Threepenny Opera, proved a million-seller and effectively raised Darin to new status as a ‘serious singer’— he even compared himself favourably with Frank Sinatra, in what was a classic example of pop hubris. Darin's hit treatments of La Mer (Beyond The Sea), Clementine, Won't You Come Home Bill Bailey? and You Must Have Been A Beautiful Baby revealed his ability to tackle variety material and transform it to his own ends. 
In 1960, Darin adeptly moved into film and was highly praised for his roles in Come September (whose star Sandra Dee he later married), State Fair, Too Late Blues, If A Man Answers, Pressure Point, Hell Is For Heroes and Captain Newman MD. He returned to form as a pop performer with the lyrically witty Multiplication and the equally clever Things. In the meantime, he had recorded an album of Ray Charles' songs, including the standard What'd I Say. During the beat boom era Darin briefly reverted to show tunes such as Baby Face and Hello Dolly, but a further change of style beckoned with the folk-rock boom of 1965. Suddenly, Darin was a protest singer, summing up the woes of a generation with the surly We Didn't Ask To Be Brought Here. Successful readings of Tim Hardin songs, including If I Were A Carpenter and The Lady Came From Baltimore, and John Sebastian's Lovin' You and Darling Be Home Soon demonstrate his potential as a cover artist of seemingly limitless range. A more contemporary poet/political direction was evident on the album BORN WALDEN ROBERT CASSOTTO, and its serious follow-up COMMITMENT. As the '60s ended Darin was more actively involved in related business interests, although he still appeared regularly on television. One of the great vocal chameleons of pop music, Darin suffered from a weak heart and after several operations time finally caught up with the singer at Hollywood's Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in December 1973.