Bobby Vee

Born into a musical family, Robert Thomas Velline entered the world at Fargo, North Dakota on April 30, 1943. Family members would introduce Bobby to various musical instruments including the saxophone that he would play in the high school band.

On February 3, 1959, a light plane bound for an appearance at Moorhead, Minnesota, with rock stars Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and J.P. Richardson, known as the Big Bopper, crashed in a snowy Iowa field, killing all aboard. As other performers on tour with them arrived, the promoters decided to go ahead with the show and sent out an urgent call for local talent to fill in for the headliners.

Thus, a fifteen year old Bobby Vee began a career that would have made the missing stars proud. In the years following he would be known for not only being a hit maker, but for being a gentleman, a role model for others to follow.

A few months would pass before Bobby’s “Susie Baby” would hit the charts, followed by his million-selling Top Ten hits “Devil or Angel” and “Rubber Ball”. In the summer of 1961, his “Take Good Care of My Baby” would top the Hit Parade and before the year ended “Run to Him” gave Bobby Vee his fourth gold record. The following year, “The Night Has A Thousand Eyes” landed inside the Top Five for another million-seller, and in 1967 “Come Back When You Grow Up” would also reach the Top Five.

Bobby Vee’s popularity is international with hits in Japan, Australia, Germany, England and Europe.

Between Europe and America, Bobby and his band continue to perform about a hundred dates a year. When he is not touring or working on his own music, he is involved in the production of various other musical projects at his Rockhouse Recording Studio, located near St. Cloud, Minnesota.

In 2007 Bobby Vee became a nominee at the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.