Bobby Rydell “We Got Love” / “I Dig Girls”

A couple of typical rock’n’roll songs from 1959 from teen idol Bobby Rydell—this was a hit record. They pack a lot into each song, backing vocals, honking sax, barroom piano, and a lot of words. It’s crazy to think about someone having to get up (or stop dancing) in order to turn over or change the record after two minutes and fifteen seconds, but that’s how they used to do it. Bobby Rydell only recently passed away, and it sounds like he kept preforming, as his health would permit, for his lifelong fans. I’ve always known his name but wasn’t a big fan—I missed him by a generation or two—though this could have been a single my parents had. I love the Cameo label—it looks hand drawn—it probably was—plus, it reminds me of my favorite pizza joint (The Cameo), growing up. “We Got Love” is one of those songs that lists a lot of numbers (“five o’clock I call you and by six we got a date”)—clever and corny—but eight children? That’s commitment, I guess. “I Dig Girls” similarly lists stuff—a few body types (he digs ’em all) and then goes into geography—chicks from Tennessee, New York, Chicago, Tallahassee… even Sioux City. And then some specific names (including “you”), and then more types—not real particular. He doesn’t care if she’s a “dream lover” or a “nightmare”—that’s commitment.

4.7.23