Take Good Care of My Baby

September–October 1961

It seems we have a perennial affection for teenage singers. Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber today are simply the current iterations in a trend that goes back for decades. And so we come to Bobby Vee, who was only 18 when he had his only #1 hit, "Take Good Care of My Baby." Who could resist those boyish charms?

The song is one of several highly successful hits written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin, before King became well-known as a performer (they also brought us "Will You Love Me Tomorrow," and they're not done yet on this blog). The young singer, Bobby Vee, is not really much more than a vehicle for the song, which is really quite charming. But what can you expect from such a young teen idol? He gets the job done reasonably well.

Although he's not exactly well-known today, Vee was very successful at the time. "Take Good Care of My Baby" was one of five top 10 hits he released between 1960 and 1962 – aged 17 to 19. Most of the others aren't too exciting to today's ears, though. One is a blatant ripoff of the song "Earth Angel," and another is a lame Buddy Holly impersonation. Let's just say the guy didn't have a unique artistic vision all his own. But the last big hit of his teenage years, "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes," is quite good. I dare say it might be my favorite Bobby Vee song.

Like so many teen performers, his success didn't really depend on his own talent, but on the people around him that were involved in the production of his music. The upshot of this is that his fame didn't last long. He managed to eke out one last top 10, in 1967, at the ripe old age of 24. It's fairly mediocre, and it was his last whiff of real success. He turned out to be just one more disposable teenage face, crooning on the radio. America quickly lost interest, but at least "Take Good Care of My Baby" has had some lasting resonance, thanks to its sharp songwriting.

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