Bobby Vee Says He Has Alzheimer's Disease

[Mastaclocksetta]

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-31749_162-57425102-10391698/bobby-vee-says-he-has-alzheimers-disease/

[Kelly Watts]

I had the pleasure of interviewing Bobby a few years back.  A great guy, thoughts an prayers with Bobby and his wife.

[KR4BD]

Bobby is a great talent whom I have seen in person many times.  My wife and I even got to spend a week with Bobby on a cruise in 2004 with Brian Hyland, Dotie Stevens, Chris Montez, The Crickets and the late Ray Peterson.  Our group of about 250 had a private concert with these stars each night which was closed to the other 2500 on the ship!  We had a special dining area where we sat with the stars each night for dinner.  Mingling, autographs....you name it!  It was a great week for an oldies junkie!  This was a cruise sponsored by "The Late Oldies 104.5" in Indianapolis. 

I should add to this that Bobby's wife of about 50 years, Karen, is not well.  She is on a waiting list for a lung transplant. 

One thing that I think is not right.... Bobby is NOT a Rock Hall of Fame member.  For some reason, he's been overlooked.  Historically, HE has a unique and important place rock history.  He was there..."The Day the Music Died", February 3, 1959 filling in for Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens.

[vchimpanzee]

I didn't even know he was still alive.

I apparently like a lot of his music, because his name keeps coming up when I look up songs I've heard on the radio.

[cyberdad]

Sad news.  I also had the pleasure of meeting him once after a performance at the Wisconsin State Fair in Milwaukee.  Super-nice guy, very easy to talk to, quick to smile/crack a joke, and very gracious with fans.  He and his wife will certainly be in our prayers.

Rock Hall material?  You could certainly argue that, and I personally would like to see him in.  Heck, I even bought my copy of his greatest hits CD at the Rock Hall.

But as much as I like the guy and his music, I can see where that might be a tough sell.  I think he's got a couple of things working against him.  First of all, I think there's a bit of a bias against the so-called "teen idols".  These are the white male singers who flourished during the roughly four or five year period between the payola scandals and the advent of the British invasion.  These are the neatly-scrubbed "PG rated" replacements for the edgier performers who came first (especially the likes of Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, etc.)  Whether or not they deserved it, the "teen idol" artists were accused of "dumbing down" and "santizing" rock music.

Also, to my understanding, one of the criteria for election to the rock hall is to what extent has the artist been an influence on other performers and the music itself.  In my one-man's-opinion, Bobby Vee stand ahead of his peers for keeping Buddy Holly's flame alive...especially early in his career.  But as solid as that and the rest of his body of work was, I'm not aware of him being widely credited as an influence. 

Then there's the matter of the member of his backup group that Bobby Vee fired in the early '60s.  A hard-to-control young musician by the name of Bobby Zimmerman!

[skippertthomas]

What a pop icon.... Branson gave him a venue in recent times... Versatile performer... "Take Good Care of Our Bobby".... Amen....