Robert Raymond Hendricks (February 22, 1938 – March 25, 2022) "Robert "Bobby" Hendricks", ''Dignity Memorial''
Retrieved April 27, 2022 was an American R&B singer who charted two hits in the late 1950s.

Life and career

Hendricks was born in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

, where he joined his first group, the Crowns, at the age of 16. He was then a member of The Swallows, and The Flyers, before joining

The Drifters The Drifters are an American pop and R&B/soul vocal group. They were originally formed as a backing group for Clyde McPhatter, formerly the lead tenor of Billy Ward and his Dominoes in 1953. The second group of Drifters, formed in 1959 and ...

in 1957. He sang lead on songs including " Drip Drop", and then became a successful solo act. His single "Itchy Twitchy Feeling", which was covered by his former band soon after it began attracting radio airplay, hit the U.S. charts, reaching No. 5 on the R&B Singles chart and No. 25 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1958. Hendricks's only other charting single, "Psycho", was a

novelty song A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and w ...

depicting a

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry. Psychiatrists are physicians who evaluate patients to determine whether their symptoms are the result of a physical illness, a combination of physical and mental ailments or strictly ...

talking with a patient. "Psycho" peaked at No. 73 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1960. New York City disc jockey Dr. Jive ( Tommy Smalls) was the voice of the psychiatrist on "Psycho". From 1961, on and off, through 2008, Bobby Hendricks worked as lead singer with Bill Pinkney's Original Drifters and appeared with them on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

in the ''Doo Wop 51'' television broadcast and ''Doo Wop Love Songs'', singing "Stand By Me" with Bill Pinkney, Charlie Thomas, and Ben E. King. Bobby Hendricks died of complications from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

at his home in

Lancaster, California Lancaster is a charter city in northern Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, in the Antelope Valley of the western Mojave Desert in Southern California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the popul ...

on March 25, 2022. He was 84 years old. He had been diagnosed with the disease in 2016.

Discography

Singles

*"Itchy Twitchy Feeling" / "A Thousand Dreams" -

Sue Records ''Sue Records was also the name of a Louisiana-based record company which owned Jewel Records (Shreveport record label).'' Sue Records ("The Sound of Soul") was an American record label founded by Juggy Murray, Henry 'Juggy' Murray and Bobby Robins ...

, 1958 *"Dreamy Eyes" / "Molly Be Good" - Sue Records, 1958 *"Cast Your Vote" / "It's Misery" - Sue Records, 1959 *"I'm A Big Boy Now" / "Good Things Will Come" - Sue Records, 1959 *"Little John Green" / "Sincerely, Your Lover" - Sue Records, 1959 *"City Of Angels" / "If I Just Had Your Love" - Sue Records, 1960 *"Busy Flirtin'" / "I Want That" - Sue Records, 1960 *"Psycho" / "Too Good To Be True" - Sue Records, 1960 *"I'm Coming Home" / "Every Other Night" -

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released ...

, (1961) *"That's All I Got From You" / "I Got A Feeling" - Alta Records, 1962 (with Jimmy Velvit) *"My Picture" / "You Drive Buddy" - Patience Records. 1962 (recorded as The Sprites) *"Let's Get It Over" / "Love In My Heart" - Cub Records, 1963 *"I Watched You Slowly Slip Away" (Howard Guyton) / "Let's Get It On" (Bobby Hendricks) - Stardust Records (year unknown) *"Let's Get It Over" / "Love In My Heart" -

MGM Records MGM Records was a record label founded by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946 for the purpose of releasing soundtrack recordings (later LP albums) of their musical films. It transitioned into a pop music label that continued into the ...

, 1963

Albums

*''Itchy Twitchy Feeling'' -

Collectables Records Collectables Records is an American reissue record label, founded in 1980 by Jerry Greene. Greene also formed the Lost Nite and Crimson record labels. History It maintains a catalogue of over 3,400 active titles on compact disc, with thousands ...

, 1996

Compilation albums (various artists)

''(Albums that include at least one track by Bobby Hendricks)'' *''Les Années 60 - Le Musée De S.L.C.'' (Volume 2) (2xLP)-

United Artists Records United Artists Records was an American record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 to issue movie soundtracks. The label expanded into other genres, such as easy listening, jazz, pop, and R&B. History Genres In 1958 ...

("Itchy Twitchy Feeling") *''The Rock 'N' Roll Era - The '50s: Rave On'' (2xLP, RM) - Time-Life Music, 1989 ("Itchy Twitchy Feeling") *''The Golden Age of American Rock 'N' Roll: Special Novelty Edition'' - Ace Records UK, 2003 ("Psycho") *''Very Best of The Drifters'' -

Rhino Records A rhinoceros ( ; ; ; : rhinoceros or rhinoceroses), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant taxon, extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls) in the family (biology), famil ...

, 1993 ("Drip Drop") *''Best of Sue Records'' -

, 1994 ("Itchy Twitchy Feeling") and ("A Thousand Dreams") *''The Sue Records Story'' -CD box set-

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

UK, 1994 ("Itchy Twitchy Feeling") + *''Blowing The Fuse - 31 R&B Classics That Rocked The Jukebox In 1958'' -

Bear Family Records Bear Family Records is a Germany-based independent record label, that specializes in reissues of archival material, ranging primarily in country music but varying in everything from 1950s rock and roll to old German movie soundtracks. History T ...

, 2006 ("Itchy Twitchy Feeling") *''Golden Age Of American Rock 'N Roll'' - Ace Records UK, 2003 ("Psycho") *''The Golden Age of American Rock 'N' Roll Vol. 6'' - Ace Records UK, 1997 ("Psycho")

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hendricks, Bobby 1938 births 2022 deaths 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American musicians American rhythm and blues singers American rock singers Atlantic Records artists Cub Records artists The Drifters members Alta Records artists MGM Records artists Mercury Records artists Singers from Baltimore Sue Records artists United Artists Records artists Warner Music Group artists American male pop singers 20th-century American singers 21st-century American singers 20th-century American male singers 21st-century American male singers