Today is the birthday of Bobby Freeman, a San Francisco performer I remember from my high school days. He was born on June 13, 1940. We went to different schools, he at Mission High, me at Poly High.
Mission High was one of the SF schools that were athletic rivals for my
school. I remember during one of the games we played with Mission he
performed during the half-time. Years later, he performed at the Condor Club at the corner of Broadway and Columbus Avenue in North Beach, near the Hungri i where I danced (links below).
He is known for his 1958 top ten hit, Do You Want to Dance on Josie Records when he was still only 17. The song was covered by Del Shannon, the Beach Boys, Johnny Rivers, Bette Midler, John Lennon, Cliff Richard with The Shadows, Marc Bolan & T.Rex, the Mamas & The Papas, Bobby Vee and the Ramones. He toured with Fats Domino, the Coasters, Jackie Wilson and 20-year-old Sylvester Stewart, later known as Sly Stone.
Do You Want to Dance was also featured in the George Lucas 1973 film, American Graffiti, which was based on the director’s teenage years growing up in Modesto and sparked the 1950s and ’60s revival that led to the TV series Happy Days and the blockbuster musical Grease.
Bobby Freeman died of natural causes on January 23, 2017, aged 76. He was remembered by SFGate
as "the man who became known as San Francisco's first rock 'n' roll
star after his song Do You Want to Dance climbed the pop charts in
1958."
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