PHILADELPHIA (Washington Insider Magazine) – On Tuesday, Bobby Rydell, a pompadoured classic rock ‘n roll idol who featured on TV, radio, and in the cinema musical “Bye Bye Birdie,” died.
Rydell died of pneumonia complications at a hospital in a suburb of his hometown of Philadelphia, according to an announcement made by his event and marketing coordinator Maria Novey.
According to ABC NEWS, Rydell, who credited a liver and kidney transplant in 2012 for extending his life, died at the age of 79.
Frankie Avalon, James Darren, and Fabian were among a generation of wholesome teen idols that emerged after Elvis Presley and before the rise of the Beatles, including Rydell.
Between 1959 and 1964, he had around 3 dozen Top 40 hits, including “The Cha-Cha-Cha,” “Wild One,” “Wildwood Days,” “Volare,” and “Forget Him,” a song about a heartbroken lady that was the inspiration for the Beatles’ famous “She Loves You.”
In 1963, “Bye Bye Birdie” was rewritten to include Rydell as Ann-Margret’s lover and he had recurrent roles on “The Red Skelton Show” as well as other television series. He didn’t want to move to Hollywood, thus “Birdie” was his final major movie performance, despite the fact that his high school in the legendary 1970s musical “Grease” was also named after him.
Rydell grew up in Philadelphia but never ventured far from his home. Bobby Rydell Boulevard was renamed by his community in 1995, after the neighbourhood of 11th Street where he grew up.
Robert Ridarelli grew up in the same neighbourhood as teen superstars Avalon, Darren, and Fabian in South Philadelphia. When they were younger, Rydell played the drums and Avalon played trumpet in a band called Rocco and the Saints.
Before dazzling the covers of teen magazines and emerging on movie screens, Rydell cut his teeth as a youth in Philadelphia pubs.
At the age of 7, he debuted on stage as a drummer rather than a vocalist. After taking him to see Gene Krupa perform, his father, Al Ridarelli, bought him his 1st drum kit as a present.
When he was 9 years old, he debuted on an independent television programme and continued on as the programme’s resident drummer for three years.
Rydell’s big breakthrough arrived in 1959, when he featured on the Philadelphia-based show “American Bandstand.” His breakout single, “Kissing Time,” came immediately after, and the slim 17-year-old with the pompadour haircut shot to stardom. The host of “Bandstand,” Dick Clark, regarded Rydell and his fellow Philadelphia musicians as ideal prospects for making rock n’ roll accessible to both young and old. He went on to make live performances around the country as part of a tour arranged by Clark.
Changes in musical trends driven in by the Beatles and the remainder of the British Invasion stifled Rydell’s and his colleagues’ hit-making ventures, and he continued to play and compose songs with limited success during the late 1960s and 1970s. He did, however, rejoin with his old friends Fabian and Avalon for a select performances in 1985. The group was dubbed “The Golden Boys of Bandstand,” and their shows were so well-received that they went on a three-year tour, performing 300 concerts across the country.
Rydell’s first wife and longtime sweetheart, Camille, passed away in 2003.
He is survived by his second wife, Linda Hoffman, and his children Robert Ridarelli and Jennifer Dulin, as well as 5 grandchildren.