Bobby Freeman

17-year-old Bobby Freeman was still at High School in San Francisco when he began enjoying chart hits – none as great as his debut Do You Want To Dance? (1958).

The song (which was also later a hit for The Beach Boys, The Mama’s and The Papa’s and Bette Midler) won him a gold record and made Freeman one of San Francisco’s first teen idols.

His follow-up was Betty Lou Got A New Pair of Shoes, and between 1958 and 1961 seven of his records made the charts, including Need Your Love, Mary Ann Thomas, Ebb Tide, (I Do The) Shimmy-Shimmy, and Mess Around.

He toured the East Coast and appeared regularly on American Bandstand.

Back home in the Bay Area, he sang at Cow Palace rock & roll shows, and in 1964 he began his first stay on Broadway, singing seven nights a week.

He enjoyed another big hit with C’mon and Swim and went on the road again to capitalise on the hit. But by 1967 he was played out.

Five Willows, The This group first recorded as The Five Willows (after originally starting out as The Dovers in 1950). Original members were Richie…
Bobby Hebb Born in 1938 in Nashville to blind musician parents, Robert Von Hebb spent his childhood singing and tap dancing on…
B. Bumble & The Stingers This short-lived act was one of several US acts formed by pop svengali Kim Fowley as an outlet for his production and…
Bobby Sherman Before Shaun Cassidy, even before David Cassidy, there was TV teen heartthrob Bobby Sherman. At the height of his career, Sherman had…
Rufus Thomas Born on 26 March 1917 in Cayce, Mississippi, Rufus Thomas first hit the stage as a dancer and comedian with…
Fabian Born Fabiano Forte in Philadelphia on 6 February 1943, he attended the same boys club as his neighbourhood friends Frankie…
Barry Manilow Barry Manilow devoted himself to music at an early age, learning to play the accordion at age seven and later…
Johnny Ace Born in Memphis on 9 June 1929, Johnny Ace (real name John Marshall Alexander Jr) returned from service in the…