We tend to think of Bobby Darin as the last old-school pop singer, before the American songbook was submerged by the rock-and-soul surge of the 1960s. And in many respects he was. But just as Darin was becoming the heir to Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole and Tony Bennett, he became meaningless almost overnight. One day he was a young finger-snapping swinger and the next he was caught leaning in the wrong generation.
If you listen now to Darin's many albums recorded in the late 1950s and '60s, you come to realize that it's a mistake to write him off as a Johnny-come-lately. His sense of timing and swing exceeded even the best of the snap-brim crooners. A good place to start revisiting Darin is In a Broadway Bag. Released in 1966 by Atlantic, the album featured hits of top musicals of the day. Arranging duties were split by Perry Botkin Jr. and Shorty Rogers. There are taut swingers (by Botkin), including Mame, I Believe in You, It's Today, Everybody Has the Right to Be Wrong and Don't Rain on My Parade. The ballads (by Rogers) include The Other Half of Me, Once Upon a Time and the overlooked Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. The album has a few flaws but for the most part it perfectly illustrates Darin's prowess and innovative singing style.
On the album, Darin's voice reminds you of someone doing tricks with a yo-yo. His phrasing is so hip and natural, it's impossible to keep your feet still. Though Darin had a habit of over-hipping songs in places, he understood how to freshen up the weary genre and never seemed to work hard at doing so. The swing was soulful, from deep inside. Re-listening to In a Broadway Bag, I found myself struck by his punched-up versions of theater songs, many of which surpass renditions by more seasoned pros like Sinatra and Cole. There was an unmistakable modernity to Darin that makes the music and the ring-a-ding-ding thing feel young and shrewd. I wish Rhino or Universal would release all of Darin's albums in one box set. It's about time.
Bobby Darin died in 1973 at age 37.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find Bobby Darin's In a Broadway Bag here.
JazzWax clips: Here's I Believe in You from How to Succeed in Business (Without Really Trying)...
Here's Night Song from Golden Boy...
Here's The Other Half of Me from I Had a Ball...
And here's the complete album in tracks...
