REASON THREE

Bobby Darin cheats death, lives on the internet. Few physical reminders of Bobby Darin's existence are left in this world. Upon his death in 1973, at the age of 37, his worldly possessions were given away to charity. No Graceland-type memorial offers a place for his fans to gather. There is not even a gravesite to visit, because Bobby Darin donated his body to science. For decades after Darin's passing, his fans had to look to England and Japan for reissues of his albums. Mack the Knife and If I Were a Carpenter made their appearances on oldies radio shows, while most of the rest of his 16 years of recordings were largely out of sight and out of mind for a new generation. In 1994, the marvelous four CD Rhino boxed set appeared to the delight of fans both old and new, but this failed to spark a true Darin renaissance.

Since then, Bobby Darin and his astounding musical legacy have found a rebirth on the internet. There is an official Darin Web site where the newly-initiated can learn about the man and his music. New Darin fan lists and blogs are being created every day by people who would never think of joining a traditional fan club (and there is not one for Darin at this time) so that they can talk about Darin and his music, his movies, his family, and his many dreams and ambitions.

People who knew and worked with him write tributes and post them for all the internet to see. Fans trade tapes and recordings—some of which have never been available commercially—because they simply cannot get enough of this incredibly vibrant, dynamic performer. These performances, which for the most part are not available on DVD, TV, or cable channels, have found a new audience through the tapping of keyboards on the internet.

Every year there comes a new crop of celebrities who are sold to the American public like snow tires or peanut butter—synthetic personalities like Britney Spears or Ashlee Simpson. We are told that they are singers, but they are really just people who are famous for being famous and for having corporate backers who remind us a thousand times a day, through every conceivable media outlet, that there are CDs to purchase, concerts to attend where the singers will pretend to sing and, by golly, that's entertainment!

Bobby Darin is the real thing. There were plenty of these media creations in Darin's day as well, "singers" who were crammed down our throats whom almost no one remembers now. This is why Darin's internet life is so marvelous, so organic, and real. There is no corporate presence behind Darin, just a few family members and friends keeping his name alive, and the internet has assisted in that mightily. But this only works because Darin actually has the goods to deliver. He is the real thing! It is his great talent, not simply a slick marketing campaign with nothing behind it, that makes us all show up online.

The nightclubs and stages of Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and other places where Darin performed may have met with the wrecking ball and the dynamite, but all is well because Darin continues to swing in cyberspace. That is where Bobby Darin lives today and where his fans will meet him beyond the sea.

gisele (guest writer)    

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