Friday, Feb. 15, 2002 | 4:36 a.m.
WEEKEND EDITION
What ever happened to singer Doris Troy ("Just One Look") or Bobby Day ("Rockin' Robin") or Claudine Clark ("Party Lights")?
The rock 'n' roll landscape of the '50s and '60s is littered with the careers of would-be teen idols who had a hit record and then dropped off the radar screen.
Where are Curtis Lee ("Pretty Little Angel Eyes"), Jimmy Soul ("If You Wanna Be Happy") and Joanie Sommers ("Johnny Get Angry")?
While most didn't hit it big, some stars of those early days forged enduring careers that transcended the teen years, young adulthood and growing maturity.
Take, for example, Bobby Rydell, who performs Friday through Feb. 24 at Suncoast.
Rydell, 59, and living in his native Philadelphia, had such hits as "Kissin' Time" in 1959, and "Wild One" and "Volare" (both recorded in 1960). He could have been a passing fancy, but was more than a singer with a hit: He was an entertainer who knew when he was 5 years old that the stage was his destiny.
During a recent telephone interview from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., where he was performing, Rydell talked about his life in the spotlight:
Las Vegas Sun: How have you, a former teen idol, been able to endure in the entertainment industry while so many others who started at around the same time failed?
Bobby Rydell: I was always more than a singer. I was able to incorporate my drum playing into my act, and comedy and the hit records and doing other things -- special pieces of material. I was much more than just a singer.
Sun: You were quite young when you became interested in entertaining. Did you ever want to be anything but a performer?
BR: It's the only thing I can remember wanting to do all my life. If there is any talent in me, my father was the first to notice. I would mimic everyone on TV. My dad used to take me around to clubs in the Philadelphia area and ask, "Is it OK if my son gets up and sings a few songs?" I was about 8 years old and he was taking me around to the clubs.
Prior to that, at about 5 years old, there was a place in Philadelphia called the Earl Theatre. My father loved the big bands. I'll never forget one Saturday afternoon matinee performance at the Earl Theatre. Dad took me to see Benny Goodman, and who was playing drums but Gene Krupa. I said, "That's what I want to do -- that guy playing drums." I've been playing drums since I was 5 years old.
I got introduced to really great music at an early age. I caught the end of the big-band era. I saw the likes of Tex Beneke and the Dorsey brothers and Benny Goodman. I was a big fan of jazz. I really never listened to rock 'n' roll. I was always listening to big bands, to jazz, to Frank Sinatra. That's how I grew up, listening to that kind of music.
Sun: Was your father a professional entertainer?
BR: No, but from what I understand back in the '40s he used to wear a fur coat, play the ukulele and sing. But my grandfather, my mom's dad, he was in vaudeville. I guess that's where my interest in entertaining comes from. I remember grandfather dancing and singing around the house. It was funny, my grandpop. It's in the genes, I guess.
Sun: When did your career begin?
BR: I was about 10. Paul Whiteman (a legendary big-band conductor) had an amateur show in Philadelphia called "Paul Whiteman's TV Teen Club." It gave young talent a shot at show business. At the time, I was doing impersonations -- James Cagney, James Stewart, Jerry Lewis. I competed with maybe five acts and I won.
For whatever reason, Mr. Whiteman loved me so much, and the producer and director liked me, too, so they decided to keep me on as a regular to do little production numbers, like dancing, bits of comedy and other things. I was on the show for a year or a year and a half. Then the show went off the air. I was out of work when I was 12 years old.
Sun: What did you do then?
BF: I played with some bands. I recorded quite a few records, but they all bombed. I tried out for different recording companies, majors like RCA and Capital, and got the turn down but I was happy playing drums (on the road).
Then me and my first manager, Frankie Day, went back to Philly and auditioned for Bernie Lowe, who owned Cameo Records. The funny thing about it was, Bernie Lowe played the piano for Paul Whiteman's band on the television show where I won the contest when I was 10 years old. Now here I am, seven years later, and he becomes my boss.
I signed with Cameo, recorded three records and they all bombed. I said, "This is really not for me, I'm a drummer." Then they wrote a song for me in the summer of '59 called "Kissin' Time." It became my first hit. I was 17 years old.
Sun: Frankie Avalon and Fabian came from your neighborhood in South Philadelphia. The three of you are close friends now and perform together. Were you friends growing up?
BR: No, not at all. Fabian lived a half-block from me, but I didn't know him till we both got into the business. In South Philly, each particluar street had a different "hang" -- we hung with a certain bunch of guys and girls. Half a block away they hung with another group. I really never knew Fabe growing up. Frankie and I, we go back a long time. We used to do USO shows, veterans' hospitals. Frankie played trumpet at the time, I was playing drums, doing comedy and impersonations.
Sun: What was it like being in on almost the beginning of rock 'n' roll?
BR: It was an incredible experience. I remember traveling with the Dick Clark Rock 'n' Roll Caravan. We used to travel on a bus for six weeks at a time, stopping in different cities. There were 20 acts, like Dion and the Belmonts, Freddy Cannon, Clyde McPhatter and Paul Anka. It was just awesome.
Sun: When did you first perform in Las Vegas?
BR: My first appearance in Las Vegas was in 1960 at the Sahara hotel. I did two weeks with George Burns. What a kick. He was absolutely tremendous. He would introduce me, I would come out and do my thing, then we would have a little patter and do a soft-shoe routine with a derby and cane. Mr. Burns only worked with three people -- Ann-Margret, Bobby Darin and me.
Sun: You've played Las Vegas a lot over the years.
BR: Oh, God yes. We worked the old Sands. I worked with Alan King, Joey Bishop. I did the Tropicana when they had the Blue Room. I worked the Dunes. Frankie (Avalon) and I work the Orleans four times a year. Then we do the Suncoast, not together.
Sun: Do you spend most of your time touring?
BR: Yeah. I'm busy enough that I'm on the road eight months out of the year. We work Vegas a lot, and Atlantic City, that type of thing. Every once in a while a corporate date is thrown in. I'm in Florida as we speak, doing condos.
Sun: Condos?
BR: My manager called me one day and said he would book me in a condo. I said, "I don't want to do condos." Jimmy (James) Darren calls and says, "I did the condos. They are great."
In Florida, it's all condominiums. You go in and do a show for people who live in the condos. They have beautiful theaters in the condos, nice big bands, a comedian who opens up the show. I do my thing. It's wonderful."
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