At a young age, I became a collector of music and film. Not just
a collection of material, but also a collection of knowledge as
well. As I got older, I had combined my hobbies with my profession,
and I was able to pool my resources together and preserve my collections.
I was involved in music from DJing, and I owned several video businesses.
I always stayed on the cutting edge of new things that would come
out, whether to record or to preserve. And that kind of led me in
the direction of archiving.
Let me just say, Linda
Johnson -- we all owe a debt of gratification to her because she
gave us a home, she gave us a hub, for all us Darin admirers and
Darin fans to go to. Linda and I have been friends for many years
before she even started the website. She's a wonderful girl and
she should be commended for everything she does. And it's all out
of love for Bobby, which is very important.
When Linda had made
the website and the Darin people were told about me through Linda,
that was it. I was in touch with them, and as time went on, the
relationship grew, and I'm very fortunate to have quite a bit of
Darin material, music and video, all documented now, and ready to
be sent out for possible radio and television commercials or usage,
whenever requested by the Darin estate. Those are basically my responsibilities.
At times I send out music for compilation disks. If there's a Bobby
song that might make the cut, I'll get a call from Steve Blauner,
who's extremely active. I mean, the guy works tirelessly, and again,
just like Linda, here's the beauty of all this, it's all done out
of love. Steve Blauner, Harriet Wasser and Linda Johnson. It's great.
The money is secondary, it's not even about that. It's about preserving
the name and keeping the body of work and the image of the man alive.
So that's very important, and these are the people I deal with.
As well as Dodd Darin. Classy guy. I'm very fortunate. Very, very
fortunate.
Being the archivist,
more people are channeled through me now. Between the website or
the estate, Steve Blauner calling me, or Harriet Wasser looking
or asking for stuff, "Do we have this?" "Do we have
that?" I notice that it's increasing, and it's a beautiful
thing. It's definitely a beautiful thing.
As far as seeing any
trends, when I think of the word "trend" it reminds me
of the Flavor of the Month. Bobby has never been anything but chocolate
or vanilla. As for the interest people hold for Bobby, I think it's
continually escalating, like a snowball effect. He won't be put
on the bargain rack like last season's clothing. The word I'm thinking
to describe him would probably be "staple."
A Bobby Darin Museum
or Library would be great. But I don't see Darin having his own
Graceland, unfortunately. I am, however, grateful that Bobby has
been acknowledged in the Rock
and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters
Hall of Fame. So thanks to these organizations, Bobby is counted
for and is able to share himself with other generations.
Legacy? A stunning,
vast body of work in such a short time is absolutely amazing. He
leaves us an image of a man with such persona and talent and gave
us, the public, a chance to see a kkool kkat. I mean that with double
k's. I mean, Bobby was always a cut above the rest.
After he passed, the
name and the songs just seemed to fade in the public's eye. It was
quite disconcerting to me. As generations passed, I feared a resurgence
might never come. But now it's happening. After all these years,
it makes me happy because there's only one answer now. How is it
a guy like this can do this after generations of being very quiet?
And I realize the only way this can be done, with the popularity,
is he was the real thing.
Why does he appeal
to people? Because he's the epitome of cool. He's music. He is music,
whether he be folk, whether he be jazz. He is music. That's it.
I'm sure we'll see
talented, complex individuals from time to time, but there's only
one Darin. He only comes along once in our lifetime. I think Webster's
Dictionary should include the word "Darinesque" as a style
of music.
Of course I'd like
him to be remembered by radio stations playing his music and televising
his image. But also playing different types of music so the listener
can experience the Darin that WE know and love. That would just
be the best thing, the best way to commemorate it.
You
may contact Jimmy Scalia here.
bobbydarin.net
bobbydarin.net
, All Rights Reserved.
