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- VIEW POINTS, Page 67MUSICA Bright Star Eclipsed
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- During the 1950s, BOBBY DARIN was a teen idol who wrote and
- sang some classic rockers (Splish Splash, Dream Lover), then
- decided to turn himself into Sinatra. No one ever said Darin was
- modest. That brashness, in fact, was part of his whole charming,
- overreaching package, which is welcomely represented on two
- Atlantic CDs called The Best of Bobby Darin (Splish Splash and
- Mack the Knife). Mack, of course, became Darin's signature
- song, making him equally at home in supper clubs and on American
- Bandstand. He went to Hollywood, made movies, played Vegas and
- laid down some exceptional, swinging sides, but after Mack,
- consistent success was as elusive as a single, solid performing
- style. He died, far from a superstar, in 1973. The new CDs prove
- that his pop singing, had it not been eclipsed by the advent of
- the Beatles and the passing of Tin Pan Alley, could have become
- world-class. Tunes like Clementine and Skylark, even a chestnut
- like Bill Bailey, can still make your speakers jump. Darin was
- born a little out of time, but time has been good to his music.
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- By Jay Cocks.
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