When did Bobby Darin record his first hit, “Splish Splash”?
Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto, May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was one of the most popular American big band performers and rock and roll teen idols of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Darin performed widely in a range of music genres, including pop, jazz, folk and country. Although unknown to his public, his health was dangerously fragile and strongly motivated him to succeed within the limited lifetime he feared he had. He was also an actor, singer/songwriter and music business entrepreneur. His wish for a legacy was “to be remembered as a human being and as a great performer.”[1] Among his many other contributions, he became a goodwill ambassador for the American Heart Association. Sources: http://en.wikipedia.
“Splish Splash” is a 1958 song performed and co-written by Bobby Darin. It was written with DJ Murray the K (Murray Kaufman), who bet that Darin couldn’t write a song that started out with the words, “Splish Splash, I was takin’ a bath”, as suggested by Murray’s mother, Jean Kaufman. The song was credited to Bobby Darin and “Jean Murray” (a compilation of their names) to avoid any hint of payola. The song helped to give Darin a major boost in his career, reaching number 3 in the U.S. pop singles charts. The lyrics mention several characters from other songs of the period, including “Lollipop”, “Peggy Sue”, and “Good Golly Miss Molly”. Sources: http://en.wikipedia.
