Screenland Plus TV-Land (Jul 1959 - May 1960)

The Boy Who Didn't Belong continued from page 55 mean a thing, but I didn't know it then and I felt big. The mutual friend who introduced us said that Bobby wrote songs, too, and we went over to the friend's house to listen to them." The expansive hopefulness of that evening brings a smile now. Don says, "I thought Bobby's songs were the greatest and I got carried away. I said I was going to make him into the top star of the country. The truth was that I had no more idea of how to sell a song than he did." Their first collaboration led only to deeper discouragement. "Bobby convinced himself that I was the one who was going to make it and at best, he'd only go along for the ride. He would vanish for days and the bunch of us who believed in him would have to hunt him up and start him writing again." THEIR first break was a contract to write singing commercials for a New Jersey radio station. "We got $500, which was more money than either of us had seen up to that time. Hearing our stuff on the air gave us confidence. Bobby began to believe more in himself." But Bobby's nerves showed. Playing the clown had always been his defense when he felt he was the outsider. Don says, "Before going to see a new publisher, I'd always say to him, 'Now Bobby, just take it easy. Everything will be all right.' But like as not, he'd jump on the piano and sing at the top of his voice. Some thought it was funny. Others threw us out. Bobby never would play it safe." Two who gave him a sincere hearing were Connie Francis and her manager, George Scheck. Connie was just getting started as a recording artist, but she had long been a featured performer on Scheck's TV show, "Startime". Recalling their meeting, Don says, "We went out to Connie's home in New Jersey to demonstrate a song we had written. I was with a group of other people when I noticed that Bobby and Connie were deep in a conversation of their own. I listened, and they weren't talking about music or the record business. They were talking psychology and philosophy. When Connie recorded our song, 'My First Real Love', it was important, even if the record wasn't a big hit." There have been many charming little stories told about the Connie FrancisBobby Darin association. Did Connie love Bobby? Did Bobby love Connie? There are those who say that for both, this was a strong attachment, but the questions are academic now, for both were very young and the romance turned to friendship before it got too serious. From it, however, both gained an understanding and a sharing of ambitions that neither had ever before experienced. George Scheck got Bobby his first contract with Decca. They cut four records. All were bombs. Some of the sting was taken out of the failure when LaVern Baker and Gene Vincent turned tunes written by Don and Bobby into hits. Don observes, "Even then, Bobby wasn't happy. I realized that this guy would never be satisfied with just moderate success. He had to be a top star." Bobby got that first hit with "Splish Splash" at Atco Records. He celebrated his gold record by buying a house at Hiawatha Lake, New Jersey, and moving his family — his mother, Nina, Charles and their children to the country. For him, this was the biggest of milestones. He says, "I had hated the places where we had lived in New York. Now I was able to do something about it. I had started to put my rebellion to work." There he had the joy of seeing his mother live out her last years in comfort and security. There, Nina and Charles continue to make the home that Bobby returns to between shows. Social scientists have a saying, "Rebellion is part of growing up. Bobby Darin goes farther than that. He regards rebellion as his greatest asset. He says, "I'm rebellious by nature. If I don't like a thing, I won't accept it just because that's the way it has always been." Just griping about things which disturb him is no good, either, Bobby believes. "I could kick myself for all the time I've wasted just being sore about a situation instead of trying to change it. You've got to learn to use your rebellion." He cites two instances. "Some people in the entertainment business had me classified as a rock 'n' roller and insisted that was all I could do. They said I couldn't get as much as a night club booking out on Long Island and they laughed when I wanted to make an album. Well, I just made up my mind that I was going to shock the shoes off them." Bobby cut loose on that album called, "That's All". In it, he did ballads, swing tunes, standard pop songs and that offbeat number from "Threepenny Opera" called "Mack The Knife". Some disc jockeys first played it out of curiosity alone. They wanted to find out just what kind of a fool this restricted rock 'n' roller had made of himself. They played it again because they liked it, and they kept on playing "Mack" until it was issued as a single and swiftly went to Number One. Bobby Darin had become an entertainer. The kid who couldn't book into Long Island went into some of the top clubs in the country. The kid actor that no one would take for a walk-on role had his choice of motion picture contracts. Bobby sums it up. "I said I'd show them, and I did. But to accomplish it, I had to do a little growing myself. I had to learn. That's what I mean by using my streak of rebellion. By using it, I've found the place where I belong." END INSTANT Glamour WIG In Ten Breathless Colors to Match Any Outfit — Makes a Big Hit at Parties, Dances, Anywhere A Perfect Cover-Up After Swimming, Setting or Washing Your Own Hair — Soft & Lovely As a Movie Star's Hair-Do. Be bewitching, daring, winsome, demure! Make this split-second change to a new personality ... a glamorous hair-do in one of ten breathless, highfashion colors. 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