Bobby Vee (born Robert Thomas Velline, April 30, 1943, Fargo, North Dakota, United States) is an American pop music singer. According to Billboard magazine Vee has had 34 Hot 100 chart hits, 10 of which hit the Top 20.

Vee's 1961 summer release "Take Good Care of My Baby" went to No.1 on the Billboard U.S. listings and number 3 in the UK Singles Chart. Known primarily as a performer of Brill Building pop material, he went on to record a string of international hits in the 1960s, including "Devil or Angel", "Rubber Ball" (1961), "More Than I Can Say" (1961), "Run To Him" (1961), "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes" (1963), and "Come Back When You Grow Up". When Vee recorded "Come Back When You Grow Up" in 1967, he was joined by a band called 'The Strangers'.

His first single was "Suzie Baby", an original song penned by Vee which nodded towards Buddy Holly's "Peggy Sue" for the Minneapolis-based Soma Records in 1959; it drew enough attention and chart action to be purchased by Liberty Records, which signed him to their label in early 1960. His follow-up single, a cover of Adam Faith's UK Number 1 "What Do You Want?" charted in the lower reaches of Billboard in early 1960; however, it was his fourth recording, a revival of The Clovers' doo-wop ballad "Devil or Angel", that brought him into the big time with U.S. buyers. His next single, "Rubber Ball", was the record that made him an international star.

Vee was also a pioneer in the music video genre, appearing in several musical motion pictures as well as in the Scopitone series of early film-and-music jukebox recordings. He is a 1999 inductee of the North Dakota Roughrider Award. He is mentioned in the movie No Direction Home, with regards to his brief musical association with Bob Dylan and Dylan's suggestion that he was 'Bobby Vee' after Vee's regional hit.

Bobby Vee released 'The Very Best of Bobby Vee' on May 12th 2008.

The day the music died

Vee's career began amid tragedy. On "The Day the Music Died" (3 February 1959), the three headline acts in the line-up of the traveling 'Winter Dance Party', Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and The Big Bopper were killed in the crash of aircraft N3974N near Clear Lake, Iowa while en route to the next show on the tour itinerary in Moorhead, Minnesota. Velline, then aged 15, and a hastily-assembled band of Fargo, North Dakota schoolboys calling themselves Bobby Vee and the Shadows volunteered for and were given the unenviable job of filling in for Holly and his band at the Moorhead engagement. Their performance there was a success, setting in motion a chain of events that led to Vee's career as a popular singer.

Despite the circumstances of his debut, Vee went on to become a bona fide star, and regularly performs at the Winter Dance Party memorial concerts in Clear Lake to this day.

Personal

As a child Bobby spent summers on the Tuomala Family Farm in Perth, North Dakota with his cousins. He lived in Beverly Hills, California for decades, but relocated back to Avon, Minnesota.

Vee later married and fathered three sons and a daughter. He is still active and touring internationally as a performer as of 2008, along with his backup band, The Vees, which includes his two elder sons, Jeff and Tommy Vee. His youngest son, Robby Vee is also a recording and performing artist. Bobby Vee is a recipient of the state of North Dakota's Roughrider Award and his contribution to the genre has been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.

Current activities

Vee currently performs at Dick Clark's American Bandstand Theater in Branson, Missouri. He performs in the 8:00pm 'Original Stars at American Bandstand' show along with Fabian, Chris Montez, Brian Hyland, and The Chiffons.

In October 2007 he was on tour performing in 'The Last of the Big Rock Shows' along with Lesley Gore and Billy "Crash" Craddock in Australia.

Lore

Early in Vee's career, a musician named Elston Gunn briefly toured with the band. "Gunn", whose birth name was Robert Allen Zimmerman, later went on to fame as Bob Dylan.

Films

SWINGIN' ALONG (1962) Lippert Films, color, 74 minutes, DIRECTOR: Charles Barton PRODUCER: Jack Leewood SCREENPLAY: Arthur Morton

A comedy about a songwriting contest, originally released in 1961 as Double Trouble. Scenes were added of Ray Charles (doing "What'd I Say") and Bobby Vee (doing "More Than I Can Say").

PLAY IT COOL (1962) Allied Artists, black & white, 82 minutes DIRECTOR: Michael Winner PRODUCERS: Leslie Parkyn, Julian Wintle SCREENPLAY: Jack Henry

Good selection of early Sixties' performers woven through a plot about a bratty teenage rich girl looking for her boyfriend. Bobby sings "At A Time Like This."

JUST FOR FUN (1963) Columbia Pictures, black & white, 85 minutes DIRECTOR: Gordon Fleming PRODUCER: Milton Subotsky SCREENPLAY: Milton Subotsky

British teens win the right to vote, so the two major political parties try hard to win this new voting block to their side. Meanwhile, there's a parade of pop stars including Freddy Cannon, Ketty Lester, Jeremy Lloyd, Bobby Vee, The Crickets, The Springfields, Jet Harris, Tony Meehan, Joe Brown and the Bruvvers, The Tornadoes, Brian Poole and the Tremoloes and Johnny Tillotson. Bobby sings "All You Gotta Do Is Touch Me," and "The Night Has A Thousand Eyes."

C'MON, LET'S LIVE A LITTLE (1967) Paramount Pictures, color, 85 minutes DIRECTOR: David Butler PRODUCERS: John Herelandy, June Starr SCREENPLAY: June Starr

Bobby Vee stars as a country boy gone to college. He romances the dean's daughter who also sings played by Jackie DeShannon. Their talents are soon exploited by a campus rabblerouser. Bobby sings "Instant Girl"