REASON FIVE

Bobby Darin was unafraid to bring his broad musical interests to his audience. Just two months after his gratifying 1959 win of two Grammy Awards, Bobby Darin returned to the recording studio. What would he decide to record? By this time Darin was at the top of his profession. Mack The Knife was a two-million seller. This Is Darin had just been released and would go on to be his highest-selling album. He was in demand as a live performer and succeeding with his appearances on television. His fans were both teens and adults. He proved that he could sell records that were either Rock or Big Band Swing. He could do whatever he wanted and people listened.

Most singers in his position would have continued in the same vein of their success and established an identity as a singer who could be expected to do more of what made him popular. It would have made sense for Bobby Darin to continue on that road; however, his personal desire to continue to grow and prove that he could sing in many styles would send him on another path. Bye bye, big band. Hello, jazz combo. A fine personal and musical association with Bobby Scott, great jazz pianist and arranger, would be the result.

When Bobby Darin entered the Atco recording studio in January 1960, he was still only 23 years old. He, Torri Zito, and Bobby Scott created an album entitled It's You Or No One. It has an upbeat side and a melancholy side. He tackles songs written by some of America's finest composers. The album contains interesting instrumentation including xylophone, great flute playing, and, on the B side, a very modern 20th century dissonant-sounding string quartet. Darin sings masterfully. If you do not have this album and you consider yourself a Darin fan, you must add this to your collection. Be ready to enhance your idea of what is possible for a singer of pop music.

One week later, during the first days of February 1960, Bobby Darin went back into the recording studio to lay down all but two tracks for the album Winners. The remaining songs, Milord and Golden Earrings, were the A and B sides of an already recorded and successful single. Now, he was ready to further expand his musical universe, show more of his versatility, and present himself as a singer capable of and at ease with being a jazz singer—the after-hours kind. He was knocking at the door of Dinah and Ella and Nat.

The transition from big band to small combo is interesting for a soloist. His voice is more exposed and vocal weaknesses show up more easily. It takes courage. Darin used this opportunity to expand his repertoire. Bobby Scott brought his estimable piano skills and, in true jazz combo fashion, the singer shared the spotlight with his accompanist.

Anatomy of an Album

The first Darin-Scott track on the album shows Darin giving a lighthearted and frisky reading of Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea. His voice is youthful, brash, and edgy. Written in 1931 by Harold Arlen, the song was a big hit for Cab Calloway. Scott uses a sextet comprised of piano, vibes, guitar, bass, drums, and bongos to set the background for Bobby's vocals. It sounds as if they used head arrangements whereby the musicians are given a loose outline of chord changes and tempo. It sounds relaxed and free because it is—excellent musicians bringing what they know to the creative endeavor to make effervescent swing music.

Next up is Cole Porter's Anything Goes, which was written in 1934 and introduced by Ethel Merman in the show of the same name. Bobby has a blast with the lyrics, which he sings with a dazzling breath control. When Bobby ends the first chorus he says, "Let's do the whole thing one more time," showing his joy and enjoyment of how things are going along in this tune. His phrasing of the lyric and melody is superb, and he uses long arcs to tell his tale.

Duke Ellington's Do Nothing 'Til You Hear From Me was written in 1943 and became a big hit vocal for Al Hibbler. Interestingly, it was composed as an instrumental, but when the musicians' recording strike occurred in 1942, a masterful set of lyrics was set to it and vocalists began to record it. Scott is brilliant in his solo work. Bobby sounds cheeky and tough, but relaxed, and he brings the song to a socko lowdown ending.

When Day Is Done (written in 1926) is a beautiful ballad sung beautifully by Darin. It is a change of pace from the upbeat to the melancholy. Scott's piano weaves delicate, lacelike sonorities around Bobby's hushed vocal. The edge in his voice is not used. The line "My lonely heart is sinking with the sun" is beautifully affecting.

I Found a New Baby (written in 1926) takes us back to an upbeat frame of mind. Bobby's snapping fingers can be clearly heard. He has a ball with the 20's-style lyrics that are full of the sayings of those times, such as "sweet turtle-dovin'," "just had a fall," "sweetest miss," and "fashion plate baby" to name a few. Scott takes off on an extended solo. Like Errol Garner, he tends to make noises as he plays and Bobby improvises, "Oh, growl on it, growl on it." Fun stuff all around.

1934's What a Difference a Day Made is just gorgeous. Dinah Washington's big hit is a more forceful approach, but Darin's lyric reading is so langorous and heartfelt that you just melt at the idea of finding romance on your menu. Scott's playing wraps around Darin's vocal with beautiful chords. There is great brush work from the drummer and a drop-dead gorgeous ending from Bobby. One of his great tracks of all time.

Another song from 1926, What Can I Say After I Say I'm Sorry, contains a great piece of solo work by Scott after Bobby says, "Let's give it to the ensemble." Playing in a George Shearing style, Scott develops the idea with block chords and single line, then Bobby comes back in with a count of 2-3. Darin's confidence is evident throughout. Great ending with a little scat. Nice.

"Even icemen leave her alone" is a great line from the great tune Hard-Hearted Hannah. From 1924, when the iceman would come daily to your house and deliver a block for your icebox, Bobby Darin tells the story of a gal who liked to see men suffer. He sings it with ebullient swing. This is a highly entertaining track. Darin is irresistible.

And now we come to a personal all-time favorite—a hauntingly beautiful Darin rendition of Easy Living. This is a classic Darin track. The song is not easy to sing because it has wide intervals. Billie Holiday sang it. Wardell Gray played it. Bobby Darin owns it. Anyone who hears Bobby sing this song would never dare to suggest that he cannot sing a ballad. Let the door close forever on that myth.

Winners comes to a close with a Gershwin song from 1936, They All Laughed. Bobby does some improvising and George Burns injects some humorous laughs until Bobby tells him, "The record's over." Alas, it is.

Winners is an excellent album sung with great Darin style. Atco shelved it for four years because they did not consider it commercial enough. When it was finally released in 1964, it came in and went away without being much heard or talked about. Thanks to Collector's Choice, both Winners and It's You Or No One were released again in 2003. It is time for people to hear and talk about the remarkable breadth of musical talent demonstrated by the intrepid Bobby Darin in these two very fine albums.

 

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