Remembering Bobby Rydell
• Bobby Rydell, the 1960s-era teen idol and star of the 1963 film Bye Bye Birdie, died Tuesday, April 5 in his native Philadelphia, after a battle with non-COVID-related pneumonia. He was 79. The news of Rydell’s passing was shared late yesterday by Pat St. John during his SiriusXM show and also reported by Billboard.
And speaking of Billboard charts, RAMP‘s own in-house chart guru Steve Resnik notes that Rydell charted 30 songs on the Billboard charts over his career, starting with 1959’s “Kissin’ Time,” which reached #11. Notable follow-up hits included “We Got Love (#6, 1959); “Wild One” (#2, 1960); “Swingin’ School” (#5, 1960); and “Volare” (#4, 1960). Rydell’s later chart hits included “Good Time Baby” (#11, 1961); “I’ll Never Dance Again” (#14, 1962); “Wildwood Days” (#17, 1963), and his last major hit, “Forget Him,” which reached #4 in 1963. Resnik notes that six of Rydell’s songs were two-sided hits — up there with Elvis and The Beatles.
Rydell was also the first guest of veteran radio personality Joey Reynolds back in the day when Reynolds was working at WNCO/Ashland, OH. As Reynolds recounts, “We hit it off immediately and went out for dinner and drank 3.2 beer after his show because we were both underage.” Reynolds added, “Bobby Rydell, Fabian and Frankie Avalon were all stars launched by American Bandstand, and Bobby was the most talented of all of them! He was fun and a good friend.”
Rydell is survived by his wife, Linda, son Robert Ridarelli, daughter Jennifer Dulin, and five grandchildren. [Special thanks Steve Resnik and Art Vuolo]
