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Some of the pictures on this page come from the PBS Documentary Beyond the Song. The other video captures as well as the soundfiles come from a bootleg copy of the program which was obtained from Danny's Video. The quality is less than perfect, and if anyone has a better copy, please let us know and I'll announce it on the site.

Audio file

David Frost: We've been looking forward to having you with us since the show began
and it's the first time you've been with us and were delighted. And happy anniversary, first of all congratulations on a great stint at the Copa, and second, tomorrow is happy anniversary ... isn't, its your ...

Bobby Darin: 16th, I think, yeah 16th year ...

David Frost: Since you made your debut, March 10, 1956....

Bobby Darin: Does it work out to be 16 years, David? I think so, yeah. I had never appeared professionally before an audience prior to that date and I had a marvelous debut, I think. It was on a show called the Stage Show and it was one half of the
Jackie Gleason hour, in those days Jackie used to do a half hour of The Honeymooners filmed and the other half hour belonged to Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey, rest their souls, and they brought out new talent and what have you, it was the same show Presley was introduced nationally on. I was squeezed in between one of four or five of The King's performances ... needless to say I was (Laughter from the audience) .... totally
obliviated (oblivious) and rightfully so. But what happened was ... that I forgotten all the lyrics. I covered Lonnie Donegon's record of 'Rock Island Line.' I was with Decca at the time. They said, 'We have a record here and its gonna be a smash, we'll get a cover record.' In those days, you did that. To make a long story short, which maybe
too late ... I learned it on a Tuesday, recorded it on a Tuesday evening, and then did
The Jackie Gleason Show on a Saturday evening and I was really wasn't sure of the lyrics ... and they weren't about to serve my myopic condition and so therefore they couldn't give me cue cards. So I devised my own which was on the palm of my hand. So,
I sang 'Rock Island Line, its a mighty fine road, Rock Island Line, it's the road to ride, Rock Island Line it's a mighty fine road ...' and so forth. At the end of the show everyone knew what I was doing, of course, except my sweet Mama who said, 'You
were wonderful, I never saw anyone use his hands like that there.' (Laughter from the audience)

David Frost: Had you changed you name by then?

Bobby Darin: Oh yes, it was Bobby Darin.

David Frost: What was your name before?

Bobby Darin: Walden Robert Cassotto. (Laughter from audience) Oh yeah? Could you see that on a marquee? 'And now tonight, one night only ... Walden Robert Cassotto!!'
It would have to be one night only! They couldn't afford enough letters to have a
second night! (Laughter from the audience)

David Frost: How did you decide on Darin?

Bobby Darin: Well I went to the letter D, don't ask me why ... I'm not a numerologist
or letterlogist ... what's the word? In any event, the letter D has always attracted me, and I just went to the phone book and I just ran it down until I found one that was spelled slightly differently ... and I just changed a little bit, put a D-a-r-I-N and used it and I was JUST as unknown for years after that ... (Laughter from the audience) ... the name had nothing to do with it.

Audio file

David Frost: In your show at the Copa ... you talk about Tim Hardin, the composer, you had a great hit together ... tell us about that.

Bobby Darin: Well, what actually happened was some fellas came to be with some songs. They were very fresh in the music publishing business and it was in 1966, and I was kinda looking for a hit. They brought me a song, which went a little like this (singing) 'Do you believe in magic ... in a young girls heart?' and I said, 'Fellas, that's a lovely song, it really is, but it'll never be a hit.' I know what it feels to be an idiot (Laughter form audience) ... it was a smash, as you all know, a million and a half seller, maybe a two million seller. A couple of three months went by and they were very solicitous, by the way. The first time they came into the office, they were all kinda dressed up to here, and they were trying to make a impression. So they had said to me 'Mr. Darin, may we see you?' and once you call me Mister, you know, I go crackers, I like that. 'OK, great,' I said, 'Yeah,' and then they played me that song ... I turned it down. Couple of months later, after having that success already, they walked back into my office and said, 'Hey Bobby!'... (Laughter from audience) ...'We don't wanna bug you but we have a new song,' ... they played me a song that went something like (singing) 'Younger girl ... across my mind' and I said 'Fellas, at my age I cannot be singing about no younger girl or they'll throw me in jail.' That's not exactly the way I said it, because we're not in a nightclub, I can't tell you the way I exactly said it ... in any event that sold two and half million records, it was a big smash. They came back to me a third time, this time they said 'Hey Baby, wanna get behind this number before you catch yourself in slumber ... we came back to your shack, Jack, this time in a cadillac ... so we hate to trouble you, because we know you can't make the payments on the VW, but if you do this song before long it'll be a smash, bigger cash than you made with 'Splash,' so I said, 'Well play it, don't say it, play it,' ... so they put it on the machine and it went like this ...'Summer in the city and the back of my neck gets tired and gritty' ... and I turned that one down too (Laughter from the audience) ... 3 million copies, number one for 28 weeks, it was an incredible record. The next time they came into the office I was laying and waiting for 'em, I said, I don't care what you got I'm gonna record it and they whipped out the sheet music ... I thought it was, it wasn't, it was an eviction notice ... it was a piece of paper that said, 'We have just bought this building with the royalties we made from you turnin' down our records!' (Laughter from the audience) But, before they left altogether they did give me a very lovely Tim Hardin song and I wasn't about to let them get away with that.

David Frost: (Applauding with audience) and THAT of course was a huge smash and
sold millions of copies for YOU.

Bobby Darin: Well, it was a nice sized record, yes it was very good sized. I'll tell ya,
it was departure also for me in terms of a commercial record. I had sung other songs in that vein, but certainly none that broke through like that. Tim Hardin is a fine songwriter, I'd like to hear more of his material, I really would.