Legends

As Long As I'm Singing: The Bobby Darin Collection; Bobby Darin

When I worked on Premier Cruise Line in 1991, two cruises weekly out of Port Canaveral, Florida, bound for the Bahamas aboard the SS Oceanic, the Las Vegas-based production company called “Legends In Concert” provided the entertainment for one evening on each cruise. “Legends In Concert” pays tribute to legendary, or, dare I say, iconic superstars in pop music culture through the means of musical impersonators who resemble and sing like the original artists. The band that I played in, called Excalibur, backed up the performers.

During the concerts on the SS Oceanic, four “Legends” would have fifteen minutes in which to perform their act, providing the audience with a solid hour of entertainment. Just a few of the “Legends” personified over the four months that I served on this ship included Roy Orbisson, Cher, Bette Midler, the Blues Brothers, Buddy Holly, Elton John, Tina Turner and Michael Jackson. We even had Al Jolson for a few weeks.

My favorite was Bobby Darin. The guy who portrayed him looked like Bobby Darin. He sang like Bobby Darin. He danced, he ate, he blinked, he spat, he crossed his legs like Bobby Darin. He was Bobby Darin when he brushed his teeth. He was Bobby Darin when he opened the door. He was Bobby Darin when he took a nap.

During his fifteen minutes on the floor, he rocked the room with “Splish Splash”, he crooned his way through “Dream Lover”, had a four-minute love affair with every woman in his vicinity with “If I Were A Carpenter” and swung everybody all to death with “Beyond The Sea”. “Beyond The Sea”, the biopic about Darin, directed by and starring Kevin Spacey, knocked me out and made me curious about other Darin songs. I discovered this box set of four CD’s put out by Rhino while roaming around on Amazon. Sounds like I was out on safari, doesn't it?

Yes. Yes. Yes, yes, yes, we had an Elvis on the “Legends” show. During my time on the ship, we suffered through three Elivissuses – or, Elvii, if you please. They were kind of hard to work with. All of them thought they were really Elvis.

Now and then, while working on the Delta Queen, we would have a talent contest while tied up in Memphis, Tennessee. The first time we did so, we asked for a VIP from the city to choose the winner in order to have impartial judging. They sent an Elvis impersonator. As an impersonator, he was awful. We initially asked each other, “Where’d they get this guy? Wal-Mart?” But then we found out that he was hilarious. And we wanted him every time. So, whenever we needed him to come judge a contest, we called up the city office in Memphis and requested the “Wal-Mart” Elvis. They knew who we meant.

Credits: To Art Vargas, for exemplifying the persona of Bobby Darin. You’ve been singing like Bobby Darin longer than Bobby Darin. Very hip, man.