Hi, everyone. Welcome to this week’s edition of Music Monday.

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Walden Robert Cassotto, more commonly known by his stage name Bobby Darin, was born 90 years ago in East Harlem, New York on May 14, 1936. He attended the Bronx High School of Science and learned to play several instruments including guitar, harmonica, piano and drums. By 1955 he was a songwriter at the Brill Building but was also an aspiring actor & singer. His self-titled debut album was released in September 1958 which included the Top Ten hit, “Splish Splash”. His version of “Mack The Knife” won him Record of the Year & Best New Artist at the 2nd Annual Grammy Awards in November 1959.

Over the next decade Darin’s musical career evolved into more introspective songs & different genres which led to his recording of over two dozen albums in his career. He also pursued an acting career and appeared in several movies. He was well known for his night club shows as well along with his personal life which included his high profile marriage and divorce to actress Sandra Dee. The couple had one son born in December 1961 which was Darin’s only child.

Walden Robert Cassotto: May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973.

Bobby Darin circa 1959. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Darin circa 1962. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Darin (R) with his wife Sandra Dee (L) circa 1962. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Bob Dylan turned 85 last month. Born Robert Zimmerman on May 24, 1941 in Duluth, Minnesota, his love of music started early & was fueled by the early rock & roll music of the late 1950’s. He played in a few bands in high school and by 1961, he moved to New York City where he began singing in local clubs as a folk singer.

This period of his life is the focus of the 2024 biopic, “A Complete Unknown”, which I highly recommend. Timothée Chalamet brought the singer to life and watching Dylan’s arrival in NYC, his adoration and eventual friendship with Woody Guthrie & Pete Seeger (spectacularly played by Scoot McNairy and Edward Norton, respectively) and Dylan’s rise in the folk movement until he went electric at the Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island in July 1965 make for a great story. And it was that period that established Dylan as the definitive voice for a new era of life, music and political change in the turbulence that was the 1960’s.

Two of his albums celebrate milestone anniversaries this year: Blonde on Blonde was released 60 years ago in June 1966 and Desire was released 50 years ago in January 1976. And 10 years ago, Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature-the first for a musician-further illustrating the renowned power of his words.

Bob Dylan’s seventh album, Bonde On Blonde, was released 60 years ago in June 1966. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Dylan’s seventeenth album, Desire, was released 50 years ago in June 1976. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Dylan circa 2019. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

The eleventh album by The Beach Boys, Pet Sounds, was released 60 years ago on May 16, 1966. They were not a band I listened to-surf music was not my thing-but the genius of Brian Wilson was on full display here so as a music lover, the impact of this record was not lost on me.

The famed Wrecking Crew played on the album as did Glen Campbell, contributing music on the banjo plus 12 string electric & acoustic guitars. Forty years later in March 2006 the HBO series, “Big Love”, premiered using one of the tracks from this album, universally known as one of the most beloved from Brian Wilson’s extensive catalog. The song was used as the theme song for the first three seasons of the show which ended its five season run 15 years ago in March 2011.

Five months after Pet Sounds made its debut, The Beach Boys followed it up with their biggest single & signature song, a track that revolutionized the role of the studio in how music was created. The painstaking precision & attention to detail Wilson used to create the song was dramatized in the 2014 movie, “Love & Mercy”. That same track was used nearly 41 years after its release in the 2007 Season 3 finale of one of my favorite TV series EVER-“Lost”-as the secret code to deactivate a blocking device so a radio call for help could be sent out from the survivors of Flight 815.

June 11 will mark one year since Wilson’s death in 2025 at age 82. Pet Sounds holds as one of his most significant & influential works.

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Bobby Darin: “Dream Lover” (1959, written by Bobby Darin).

Bobby Darin: “Mack The Knife” (1959, written by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill).

Bobby Darin: “If I Were a Carpenter” (1966, written by Tim Hardin).

Bob Dylan: “Blowin’ In The Wind” (1963, written by Bob Dylan).

Bob Dylan: “The Times They Are A-Changin‘” (1964, written by Bob Dylan).

Bob Dylan: “Positively 4th Street” (1965, written by Bob Dylan).

Bob Dylan: “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” (1973, written by Bob Dylan).

The Beach Boys: “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” (1966, written by Tony Asher, Mike Love and Brian Wilson).

The Beach Boys: “God Only Knows” (1966, written by Tony Asher and Brian Wilson).

The Beach Boys: “Good Vibrations” (1966, written by Mike Love and Brian Wilson).

Stay safe & well.