Mid-20th century performers were known for their ability to entertain in almost every possible area, but Bobby Darin did so in a time that practically demanded he appeal to the widest possible demographic. So where do Bobby the rock idol, Darin the actor, Bob the folkie, and his other varied stage, screen, and studio personas meet? To get the big picture, you need to be as multimedia as Darin himself. This list of CDs, DVDs, and books represents the essential dcouments in exploring the enigma.
1. As Long As I'm Singing: The Bobby Darin Collection
Darin was, more so than perhaps any of his peers, a multigenre performer, making him one of the era's best candidates for a box set retrospective. Rhino's four-disc As Long As I'm Singing therefore becomes an important artifact for even casual fans wanting a full musical picture of the man, spanning rock, pop, musical theater, jazz vocal and even his final stops in folk activism, beginning with the Rinky Dinks and ending with "Simple Song Of Freedom."More »2. The Hit Singles Collection
This, on the other hand, is where you go if you know next to nothing about Bobby and just want the most popular songs on one disc. The patchwork nature of Darin's (relatively) brief career makes this a more demanding listen than most greatest hits albums, but then again, it's not as difficult for modern audiences to find a home for "Mack The Knife," "Queen Of The Hop" and "If I Were A Carpenter." Blessedly arranged chronologically, as it must be.More »3. Darin at the Copa
Bobby was an entertainer, first and foremost, and so to get the fullest possible portrait of his many talents, you have to see his show. Or at least hear it. This legendary 1960 date at New York's premiere supper club, the Copacabana, catches Darin at his early peak, free from teen idolhood but still exciting in his new "adult" phase. A public coming-out that also proves what a genius Darin was at song interpretation.More »4. Two of a Kind
A great idea: hook Bobby up with singer/lyricist Johnny Mercer, responsible for Capitol Records' greatest postwar successes, and then drag in Billy May to conduct. The result is the singer's greatest single slab of jazz-pop, a Tin Pan Alley songbook that ranges from "Mississippi Mud" to "I Ain't Gonna Give Nobody None Of My Jellyroll." The interplay between these two vocalists is as effortless (and effortlessly entertaining) as any in American history.More »5. Live! At the Desert Inn
Another live set (and only recently remastered), but along with Darin At The Copa, they serve as perfect matching bookends for Darin's career: by this time, the medical writing was on the wall, and Bobby knew it. Also by this time, his social conscience had grown along with his interpretive abilities, making Desert Inn a testament to just how much of his fractured nation one singer could hold in his arms. A stunning document.More »6. Bobby Darin - Beyond the Song
With the usual liberties being taken by Hollywood via Kevin Spacey's Beyond The Sea, this remains the single best Darin DVD to have in your collection, even if does run just over an hour -- this 2005 PBS documentary not only tells the singer's story in detail, but it also features lots of television performance footage not seen since the performer's death in the eEarly Seventies. A must-have visual document.More »7. Dream Lovers: The Magnificent Shattered Lives of Bobby Darin and Sandra Dee
Refreshingly honest yet respectful of this subject, this is the one biography we have that tells the Darin story from an insider's point of view, written as it is by son Dodd, the product of Darin's marriage to Sandra Dee. As the title indicates, this was far from an ideal hookup, but that had a lot to do with the emotional baggage each already carried. For those who suspected they were being cheated out of the real story by Spacey, this book proves you right.More »8. Roman Candle: The Life Of Bobby Darin
Not perfect, but still the best general bio of Bobby Darin, focusing on the way class warfare helped mold this tough Bronx kid into a Hollywood player with a ticking time bomb deep beneath his seemingly ruthless ambition. It never excuses Darin, but it takes pains not to damn him, either -- considering these facts, he might have turned out a lot worse. Happily, author David Evanier also has a handle on what made Bobby so compelling as an entertainer, as well.More »9. Captain Newman, M.D.
Bobby had meatier cinematic parts, to be sure, or at least some with more lines (his trilogy of unoriginal but effective bedroom farces with Sandra Dee comes to mind). But this movie, for which Darin was nominated for an Oscar, occasionally lets him act. And since his character also uses obnoxious behaviors to deal with a terrible, gnawing trauma, this performance reveals more about the singer himself than any other.More »10. That's All: Bobby Darin On Record, Stage & Screen
A performer this versatile needs a compendium no matter what critical consensus happens to be, and That's All is just that, 341 pages that chronicle his thirteen films, years of live performance, and, naturally, his vinyl work. There's also a great deal of insight here as to why Bobby was able to excel in so many areas, offered up by those he worked closely with. A must for fans of Darin the showbiz pro.More »
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