Rock and roll music legend, friend of the Surf Ballroom Bobby Vee dies at 73

(Above) Bobby Vee entertained at the 2009 Winter Dance Party in Clear Lake.-Reporter file photo.

Bobby Vee, who at the age of 15 was recruited with his band, The Shadows, to fill in for Buddy Holly on the Winter Dance Party tour the night after Buddy Holly died in a plane crash outside Clear Lake, died early Monday morning of complications from Alzheimer’s disease. He was 73.

Born Robert Thomas Velline on April 30, 1943, and raised in Fargo, N.D., Vee’s career included 38 singles in the Billboard Hot 100 between 1959-1970.  His first number one in Billboard happened in 1961 with “Take Good Care of My Baby.”  Other hits included “Suzie Baby,” “Devil or Angel,” “Rubber Ball,” “Take Good Care of My Baby,” “Run To Him” and “The Night Has a Thousand Eyes.”

The Beatles recorded “Take Good Care” and  “Devil or Angel,” during their failed auditions for Decca Records in 1961, each with George Harrison singing lead vocals. Decades later, Paul McCartney invited Vee over to England to perform in tributes to Buddy Holly, whose song publishing McCartney co-owns. Vee would also perform and record with Holly’s surviving bandmates, the Crickets.

Vee continued to perform 75-plus shows per year and make albums well into his 60s. He considered the Surf Ballroom to be a favorite venue and performed at the Surf as part of Winter Dance Parties, as well as other celebrations.

The Surf Ballroom posted the following message on its Facebook site: “The always charming and always smiling friend, songwriter, musician and mentor will be greatly missed by all of us at the Surf Ballroom.  Our thoughts are with his family, friends and all of those who he influenced musically.”