The Fantastic 50s: Bobby Day "Rockin Robin'"

The next one hit wonder that I will be exploring is Bobby Day's "Rockin Robin'". My grandfather remembers dancing to this song at a record hop. A record hop is where new music would be played in the 1950s. A record hop is similar to a prom but not as formal. This was a bit different than a sock hop which was dancing to new music but faculty members allowed students to take off their shoes to dance. The song came out in 1958 and was written by songwriter Leon Rene. Rene often wrote songs using various pseudonyms (Most often an artist or author going by a different name).Rene used the name either Jimmy or Jesse Thomas on the song. Bobby Day is sometimes credited as co-writer of the song where he gave his real name Robert Byrd. There is one instrument that stood out to me and that was the piccolo because the instrument makes the sound that a robin would make when it tweets. Although it was not uncommon for songwriters to use pseudonyms (a different name) it made the song writing credits confusing for the average fan. Interestingly, the 2 minute 33 second song manages to repeat the catchy chorus four times. Although the song "Over and Over" was a popular song for Bobby Day, it did not crack the top 40 on the US Billboards. "Over and Over" was covered by the Dave Clark Five in 1965 and become a #1 hit on the US Billboards.

“Rockin' Robin by Bobby Day - Songfacts.” Song Meanings at Songfacts, 2021, www.songfacts.com/facts/bobby-day/rockin-robin.