One of the classic teen idols of the late 1950s and early ’60s, Bobby Rydell, who has died at the age of 79 of complications from pneumonia, was only seven when he took to the stage in his hometown of Philadelphia. Over the next 70 years he sang everything from rock ‘n’ roll and cozy love songs to disco, Broadway classics and Italian pop tunes.
He made the Billboard Top 40 with 19 singles, including the most successful with We Got Love, Wild One and Volare. It was fitting that his name was chosen for Rydell High School in Grease, the Broadway and later film musical that depicted the life of teenagers in the early rock ‘n’ roll days of the late ’50s. If he was, as one New York Times critic put it, “more of a crooner than a rocker,” Rydell’s photogenic looks and endearing personality ensured he would prove far more consistent than many flashier, more confrontational performers. Rydell and many of his generation were knocked off their pop pedestal by the dramatic arrival of the Beatles and their British counterparts, but he had the staying power of mainstream artists of a slightly earlier generation.
He was born Robert Ridarelli in Philadelphia to Jennie (née Sapienza) and Adrio “Al” Ridarelli. His father was a foreman in a machine shop. Bobby was raised on South 11th Street and his career achievements were recognized by his hometown in 1995 when the street was renamed Bobby Rydell Boulevard. There’s also a mural of Rydell on the boardwalk at Wildwood, New Jersey, the beach resort that inspired his 1963 hit song Wildwood Days.
Bobby Rydell and Ann-Margret in Bye Bye Birdie (1963). Photo: Moviestore/ShutterstockHis father sparked his interest in music by taking him to the jazz bands of Artie Shaw and Benny Goodman, and he began playing drums and singing at age seven in nightclubs in Philadelphia and New Jersey. When he was nine years old, young Robert won a spot on the television show Paul Whiteman’s TV Teen Club and became a regular cast member. After three years on the show, he performed with local bands including Rocco and the Saints — in which fellow Philistine artist Frankie Avalon played trumpet — and changed his name to Rydell.
After cutting a few unsuccessful singles, Rydell signed to Cameo Records and made his debut on the charts with the exuberant Kissin’ Time (1959). The follow-up “We Got Love” sold a million copies and sparked a string of hits including “Wild One”, “Swingin’ School”, “Ding-A-Ling” and “Volare”. In 1961, at the age of 19 and now a committed teen heartthrob, he became the youngest artist to headline New York’s legendary Copacabana club.
In 1963 he was cast as Hugo Peabody in the film version of the musical Bye Bye Birdie, alongside Ann-Margret and Dick Van Dyke. Rydell recalled how the film’s director, George Sidney, “saw a kind of magic between Ann-Margret and I, and every day that I returned to Columbia Studios, my script got bigger and bigger and bigger”.
Bobby Rydell in 1965, a time when his hits were drying up. Photo: Dezo Hoffman/ShutterstockHe has been a regular guest on numerous TV shows including those hosted by Red Skelton, Jack Benny, Joey Bishop, Perry Como and George Burns. “I was fortunate to have my prime as a recording artist during the golden age of TV variety shows,” he wrote in his autobiography Bobby Rydell: Teen Idol on the Rocks – A Tale of Second Chances (2016). His international reputation has been bolstered with tours in Europe and elsewhere to Australia – where he has toured 20 times -, Japan and the Far East. The Beatles attempted to meet him when he visited Britain in 1963, and Paul McCartney said that the Lennon and McCartney song She Loves You was based on a Rydell song, although he did not specify which one (Swingin’ School is a likely candidate ). .
Nonetheless, Rydell’s hits dried up in 1964, although that year he reached No. 4 with Forget Him and his generation of performers were sidelined by the seismic effects of the Beatles and the British invasion. His last appearance on Billboard’s Hot 100 was in 1965 with Diana, which peaked at #98. Even signing a deal with Frank Sinatra’s Reprise label in 1968 couldn’t reverse the slide, and Rydell complained that Reprise didn’t get him a promotion.
Rydell still had enough audience loyalty to tour regularly, performing in Las Vegas nightclubs and venues throughout the 1970’s and 80’s where, alongside his pop and easy repertoire, he published the great American songbook featuring material by the likes of Cole Porter, George Gershwin and Richard Rodgers performed – audio material. In 1976 he celebrated another chart success with a disco version of his song Sway.
Bobby Rydell performing in New York in 2016: “I keep doing what I really enjoy.” Photo: Bobby Bank/WireImageIn 1985, he joined Avalon and another former teen pop star, Fabian, to form a touring act, the Golden Boys. In 2020, he recalled, “I said to Frankie … ‘that’s great, but how long is this going to take? A year, two years at most, it’s over.’ Well, that was 1985, and we’re moving on in 2021, and we’re still making the show. It is wonderful.”
There had been some bumpy moments along the way. The death of his wife Camille Quattrone in 2003 after 35 years of marriage plunged him into life-threatening alcoholism. “Vodka became a very, very dear friend,” he said, “to the point where it led to a double transplant a few years later. A new liver and a new kidney from all the drinking.”
He married Linda Hoffman in 2009. His alcohol-related illness forced him to cancel a tour of Australia in 2012. After a transplant, he returned to the stage the following year with three sold-out shows in Las Vegas. His career has had “ups and downs, ups and downs,” he said, “but I got through it all and continue to do what I really enjoy.”
He is survived by Linda and two children, Robert and Jennifer, from his first marriage.
Bobby Rydell (Robert Louis Ridarelli), singer and musician, born April 26, 1942; died April 5, 2022