Robert Thomas Freeman (June 13, 1940 – January 23, 2017)"Bobby Freeman"
Ace Records.co.uk. Retrieved February 13, 2017. was an American rock,

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

and R&B singer, songwriter and record producer from San Francisco, best known for his two Top Ten hits, the first in 1958 on

Josie Records Josie Records was a subsidiary of Jubilee Records in New York City that was active from 1954 to 1971. The label's best selling bands were The Cadillacs ("Speedoo"), Bobby Freeman and the Meters. Other hits for Josie Records included the Chip ...

called "

Do You Want to Dance "Do You Want to Dance" is a song written by American singer Bobby Freeman and recorded by him in 1958. It reached number No. 5 on the United States ''Billboard'' Top 100 Sides pop chart and No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart. Cliff Richard ...

" and the second in 1964 for Autumn Records, "

C'mon and Swim "C'mon and Swim" is a song by Bobby Freeman, written by Thomas Coman and Sylvester Stewart (later known as Sly Stone) and produced by Stewart. It reached #5 on the U.S. pop chart in 1964. It was featured on Freeman's 1964 album ''C'mon and Swim'' ...

".. Retrieved June 13, 2010.

Biography

Freeman was born in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

and spent much of his youth in San Francisco, California. He attended

Mission High School Mission High School may refer to: * Mission High School (San Francisco, California), a public high school in the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) San Francisco, California * Mission High School (Mission, Texas), a secondary school loc ...

. He started singing in a doo-wop group, the Romancers, in his early teens, and first recorded with them for Dootone Records in 1956. Their recordings included "House Cat", included on several later

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

compilations. However, the group soon fell apart, and Freeman started a new group, the Vocaleers (not to be confused with an earlier group of the same name who recorded "Is It a Dream")."Bobby Freeman biography"
rockabilly.nl. Retrieved January 31, 2017."‘Do You Wanna Dance’ Singer Bobby Freeman Dies"
BestClassicBands.com. Retrieved February 1, 2017. When asked by a local DJ if he had written any songs, he wrote several and recorded them as solo demos. These included "Do You Want to Dance", which were heard by a visiting record label executive, Mortimer Palitz of

Jubilee Records Jubilee Records was an American independent record label, specializing in rhythm and blues and novelty records. It was founded in New York City in 1946 by Herb Abramson. His partner was Jerry Blaine. Blaine bought Abramson's half of the compan ...

. He signed Freeman to the label and had the original recording overdubbed in New York by session musicians including guitarist

Billy Mure Sebastian "Billy" Mure (Born on November 4, 1915 – September 25, 2013) was an American guitarist and songwriter who recorded several albums in the 1950s and 1960s in a variety of styles, including surf, Hawaiian music, swing, pop, and loung ...

. Released on the Jubilee subsidiary label Josie, "Do You Want to Dance" quickly rose to number 5 on the

pop chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include re ...

and number 2 on the

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

in early 1958, when Freeman was still only 17. The song was

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

later (as "Do You Wanna Dance") by

Del Shannon Charles Weedon Westover (December 30, 1934 – February 8, 1990), better known by his stage name Del Shannon, was an American musician, singer and songwriter, best known for his 1961 number-one ''Billboard'' hit "Runaway". In 1999, he was induc ...

the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...

Johnny Rivers Johnny Rivers (born John Henry Ramistella; November 7, 1942) is an American musician. His repertoire includes pop, folk, blues, and old-time rock 'n' roll. Rivers charted during the 1960s and 1970s but remains best known for a string of hit sing ...

, Bette Midler,

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...

, Marc Bolan & T.Rex,

the Mamas & The Papas The Mamas & the Papas were a folk rock vocal group formed in Los Angeles, California, which recorded and performed from 1965 to 1968. The group was a defining force in the music scene of the counterculture of the 1960s. The group consisted of Am ...

Bobby Vee Robert Thomas Velline (April 30, 1943 – October 24, 2016), known professionally as Bobby Vee, was an American singer who was a teen idol in the early 1960s and also appeared in films. According to ''Billboard'' magazine, he had thirty-ei ...

and the Ramones. Freeman appeared on '' American Bandstand'' and toured with such musicians as

Fats Domino Antoine Dominique Domino Jr. (February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017), known as Fats Domino, was an American pianist, singer and songwriter. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, Domino sold more than 65 million records. Born in New O ...

the Coasters The Coasters are an American rhythm and blues/rock and roll vocal group who had a string of hits in the late 1950s. Beginning with " Searchin'" and " Young Blood" in 1957, their most memorable songs were written by the songwriting and producin ...

, and Jackie Wilson. Several of his follow-ups on Josie, including "Betty Lou Got a New Pair of Shoes" and "Need Your Love", a ballad, also made the pop charts. He left Josie in 1960 and signed with King Records, reaching the charts again with "Shimmy Shimmy". However, several of Freeman's later recordings for King in the early 1960s went unreleased, for unexplained reasons. He did not return to the charts again until 1964, after signing for the Autumn label, when he had his second top ten hit with "C'mon and Swim". The song was co-written by label owner and radio DJ

Tom Donahue Thomas or Tom Donahue may refer to: * Thomas R. Donahue (born 1928), American trade union leader * Thomas Michael Donahue (1921–2004), American physicist, astronomer, and space and planetary scientist * Tom Donahue (DJ) (1928–1975), pioneerin ...

(credited under his birth name, Thomas Coman) and 20-year-old Sylvester Stewart, later known as

Sly Stone Sylvester Stewart (born March 15, 1943), better known by his stage name Sly Stone, is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer who is most famous for his role as frontman for Sly and the Family Stone, playing a critical role in the ...

, and was produced by Stewart. Freeman's final hit was "S-W-I-M", later in 1964. In 1964 Bobby Freeman played nightly at the

Condor Club The Condor Club nightclub is a striptease bar or topless bar in the North Beach section of San Francisco, California"Nudity, Noise Pay Off in Bay Area Night Clubs", ''Los Angeles Times'' (February 14, 1965) Page G5. The club became famous i ...

in San Francisco, where

Carol Doda Carol Ann Doda (August 29, 1937November 9, 2015) was an American topless dancer based in San Francisco, California, who was active from the 1960s through the 1980s. She was the first public topless dancer in the United States. In 1964, Doda made ...

performed her topless

go-go dancing Go-go dancers are dancers who are employed to entertain crowds at nightclubs or other venues where music is played. Go-go dancing originated in the early 1960s at the French bar Whisky a Gogo located in Juan-les-Pins. The bar's name was taken ...

shows. Mainly supporting himself as a singer in clubs by the late 1960s, Freeman continued to release singles on various small local labels through to the mid-1970s but met with little commercial success.Bobby Freeman discography
SoulfulKindaMusic. Retrieved January 31, 2017. Freeman performed at the Bay Area Music ("Bammy") Awards in later years. In 1970s, he was noticed among UK northern soul fans.

Death

Freeman died of natural causes on January 23, 2017, aged 76.

Discography

Albums

* 1958: ''Do You Wanna Dance'' (

Jubilee A jubilee is a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term is often now used to denote the celebrations associated with the reign of a monarch after a milestone number of y ...

) * 1959: ''Get in the Swim'' ( Josie) * 1960: ''Lovable Style of Bobby Freeman'' (

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

) * 1964: ''C'mon and Swim'' ( Autumn)

Chart singles

Note: * ''Billboard'' did not publish an R&B chart during this period.

Bibliography

* ''The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll'', Pareles, Jon & Romanowski, Patricia, eds., Summit Books 1983

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Freeman, Bobby American soul musicians African-American musicians 1940 births 2017 deaths Northern soul musicians People from Alameda County, California Singers from San Francisco Josie Records artists Loma Records artists King Records artists 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people