Roman Candle: The Life of Bobby Darin

Beyond the Flick by Fred L. Gardaphe
ROMAN CANDLE: THE LIFE OF BOBBY DARIN
By David Evanier
Rodale

The new Kevin Spacey film, Beyond the Sea, has returned Bobby Darin to the center of American culture. While the film, which doesn't claim to be an exact biography, is a beautiful vision of the performer's life. You need to get David Evanier's biography, Roman Candle, to see the well from which Spacey's version is drawn, especially if you're a stickler for the facts.

Born in 1936, Darin was dead by the time he was 37, having done more in less than two decades than most singers do in five. Evanier's biography makes clear that Darin, often referred to as a Sinatra wannabe, did things in life and music that Sinatra never could.

There's some controversy as to just how Italian Darin really was. Born Walden Robert Cassoto, his last name coming from his grandfather (described by Evanier as a small-time thug) Darin grew up with a weak heart in tough New York City neighborhoods. Armed with a rough demeanor and a genius IQ, he learned to play piano, drums and guitar.

Darin made it through the prestigious Bronx Science High School and began taking musician gigs. He formed a number of musical groups and started writing songs. One of his earliest compositions, "Splish Splash," gave him national attention and a recording contract. Not wanting to be known as a rock-n-roll artist, he began recording standards, especially songs out of the vaudeville era. He befriends old-timers like George Burns and Jimmy Durante, many of whom become father figures. He has a wild dating period with Connie Francis and later marries the All-American girl, Sandra Dee, after first dating her mother.

Always in Sinatra's shadow, Darin refused to move to Sinatra's own Reprise label when he was invited. Instead, Darin's agent took the opportunity to have Bobby switch to Capitol Records, Sinatra's old label, becuse Bobby was obsessed with doing things like and better than Frank. Darin once was misquoted as saying he wanted to be bigger than Sinatra, which caused a ripple through the business and led to a sitdown between the two.

Evanier does an excellent job of investigating the many secrets of the great performer's life. He vividly recreates the era of teen dances, nightclubs, like the Copacabana, television variety shows, and the heyday of the Las Vegas strip. We see Bobby as he struggles and succeeds with boldness and humility. Evanier smartly steps back and lets those who knew Bobby best tell their stories, giving us many angles by which to view the man and the star. Evanier can even be poetic, as in his description of the album Bobby did with Johnny Mercer: "Mercer and Darin wing it together, scatting, riffing, improvising, doing what's necessary, they're having a ball. They slide, they glide, they dance, they fly."

We learn how Bobby's life and his life choices were always influenced by an awareness that he would probably not live beyond the age of 30. Through commentary and criticism, Evanier takes chances that some biographer's might not, making this the book you want to read before seeing the film. At times some of the writing borders on outright cheering, but as Evanier points out, if you loved Bobby Darin, nothing could shake it. Kevin Spacey may have captured Bobby's spirit in his film, but Evanier does nothing short of capturing the man in all his fancy and with all his faults. Black and white photos and a selected guide to his recordings are included.