Robert James Byrd (July 1, 1930 – July 27, 1990), known by the stage name Bobby Day, was an American singer, multi-instrumentalist, music producer, and songwriter. He is best known for his hit record " Rockin' Robin", written by Leon René under the pseudonym Jimmie Thomas. Day also wrote the top-10 ''Billboard'' hits "

Little Bitty Pretty One "Little Bitty Pretty One" is a 1957 song written and originally recorded by Bobby Day. That same year, the song was popularized by Thurston Harris. Produced by Aladdin Records (located in Los Angeles, Calif.), and featuring the Sharps on backi ...

" (1957,

Thurston Harris Thurston Harris (July 11, 1931 – April 14, 1990) was an American singer and songwriter, best known for his 1957 hit "Little Bitty Pretty One". Career Harris first appeared on record in 1953. He was the vocalist for South Central Los Angel ...

) and " Over and Over" (1965,

the Dave Clark Five The Dave Clark Five, also known as the DC5, were an English rock and roll band formed in 1958 in Tottenham, London. Drummer Dave Clark was the group's leader, producer and co-songwriter. In January 1964, they had their first UK top-ten single, ...

Biography

Born in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

, United States, Day moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, at age 15. His first recording was "Young Girl" in 1949 in the R&B group

the Hollywood Flames The Hollywood Flames were an United States, American Rhythm and blues, R&B human voice, vocal group in the 1950s, best known for their No. 11 hit record, hit "Buzz-Buzz-Buzz" in 1957. Early years They formed as The Flames in 1949, in the Watts ...

, released in 1950 on the Selective Label. He went several years with minor musical success limited to the West Coast. Day recorded under numerous other names: The Jets, The Voices, The Sounds, The Crescendos, and as the original "Bob" in the duo Bob & Earl with singer Earl Nelson. As a member of

the Flames The Flames were a South African musical group formed in 1962, with their best-known lineup consisting of guitarists and vocalists Steve Fataar and Blondie Chaplin, bassist Edries "Brother" Fataar, and drummer Ricky Fataar. Considered one of ...

, he used the stage name Bobby Day. Day's penned song, " Buzz-Buzz-Buzz" was that outfit's first and biggest success. In 1957, he formed his own band called the Satellites, following which Day recorded three songs that are seen today as rock and roll classics. Day's best known songwriting efforts were " Over and Over", later made popular by

in 1965, and "

", popularized by

in 1957, Frankie Lymon in 1960,

Clyde McPhatter Clyde Lensley McPhatter (November 15, 1932 – June 13, 1972) was an American rhythm and blues, soul, and rock and roll singer. He was one of the most widely imitated R&B singers of the 1950s and early 1960sPalmer, Robert (1981)"Roy Brown, a Pio ...

in 1962, and the Jackson Five in 1972. However, Day is most remembered for his 1958 solo

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, re ...

of the

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

No. 2 hit, "Rockin' Robin", written by Leon Rene under the pseudonym Jimmie Thomas. It sold over one million copies and was awarded a

gold record Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

. "Rockin' Robin" was

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of ...

by Bob Luman at Town Hall Party on October 28, 1958,

the Hollies The Hollies are an English rock and pop band formed in Manchester in 1962. One of the leading British groups of the 1960s and into the mid-1970s, they are known for their distinctive three-part vocal harmony style. Singer Allan Clarke and ...

in 1964,

Gene Vincent Vincent Eugene Craddock (February 11, 1935 – October 12, 1971), known as Gene Vincent, was an American rock and roll musician who pioneered the style of rockabilly. His 1956 top ten hit with his backing band the Blue Caps, "Be-Bop-a-Lula", is ...

in 1969,

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

in 1972, Lolly in 1999, and by

McFly McFly are a British pop rock band formed in London in 2003. The band took their name from the ''Back to the Future (franchise), Back to the Future'' character Marty McFly. The band consists of Tom Fletcher (lead vocals, guitar, and piano), Da ...

in 2006. In 2012–13, Day's uncharted recording, "Beep-Beep-Beep", was the musical soundtrack for a Kia Sorento television commercial shown nationwide in the US. Day died of

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...

on July 27, 1990, at age 60, and is buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in

Culver City, California Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. It is mostly surrounded by Los Angeles, but also shares a border with the unincorporated area of Ladera Heights, Californi ...

Discography

Albums

* ''Rockin' with Robin'' (1959) * ''The Best of Bobby Day'' (1984) * ''The Original Rockin' Robin'' (1987) * ''The Great Bobby Day'' (1994) * ''Rockin' Robin'' (1994) * ''The Best of Bobby Day'' (2001) * ''The Very Best Of'' (2016) * ''Robins, Bluebirds, Buzzards & Orioles - The Bobby Day Story'' (2021)

Singles

Television appearances

*'' The Dick Clark Show'' (two episodes) (1958) *''

American Bandstand ''American Bandstand'' (AB) is an American Music television, music performance and dance television series that aired in various iterations from 1952 to 1989. It was hosted by Dick Clark who also served as the program's Television producer, pr ...

'' (four episodes) (1958) *''The Cinnamon Cinder Show'' (1963) *'' The Midnight Special'' (1973)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Day, Bobby 1930 births 1990 deaths African-American male songwriters American rhythm and blues singers American rock singers American soul singers Songwriters from Texas Jamie Records artists RCA Victor artists Class Records artists Rock and roll musicians Sue Records artists Musicians from Fort Worth, Texas Burials at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers Deaths from prostate cancer in California 20th-century American songwriters