April 2022 In Memoriam




Bobby Rydell died 4/5/2022 at age 79. Known for many hits, including "Gotta Lot of Livin' to Do" later covered by TJB.
As a former Philadelphian, I heard naturally of native son Bobby Rydell, but only on the fringes, as I wasn't a big pop music listener in the late 50s and early 60s.

Nevertheless, one of his records stuck in my head, but it wasn't from airplay at all. No, instead it was from an often-repeated commercial on a UHF television station in 1968. I think Mr. Rydell was appearing at one of the local music venues, and the commercial played a few of his hits in the background, but the one that cut through to me was his then-current single called "The River Is Wide". It was apparently a remake of a record done by The Grass Roots, but that was one I'd never heard. So, this fragment of a song got stuck in my head, and it wasn't until a coupled of years ago that it came to the forefront of the brain and I tracked it down. I don't think the record ever appeared on an album, and it wasn't ever a hit, but it remains my favorite Bobby Rydell record.

 
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