Bobby Curtola
Robert Allen "Bobby" Curtola, CM (born April 17, 1943 in Port Arthur, Ontario) is an early Canadian rock and roll singer and teen idol.
History
Curtola had several songs on the Canadian music charts beginning with "Hand In Hand With You".[1] Backed by The Martels (named after Curtola's manager, Maria Martell), Curtola went on to record hits such as "Indian Giver", "Hand in Hand with You" and his biggest chart topper, "Fortune Teller" in 1962, which was also successful internationally.[2] Between 1960 and 1968 he had continual single and album releases on the Tartan label in Canada. The managers and main songwriters were brothers Dyer and Basil Hurdon. The Del-Fi label released some of those singles in the US.
In 1966 he won a RPM Gold Leaf Award[3] for becoming the first Canadian to have an album go gold.[4] In the early 1970s, Curtola hosted a CTV musical series entitled, Shake, Rock and Roll and Curtola went on to a successful singing career at Las Vegas, Nevada casino venues and still performs at various clubs today. In the 1980s, in an attempt at updating his image, Curtola briefly adopted the billing Boby Curtola and released one album under this name before reverting to his original spelling.
In 1998, in recognition of his long service to the Canadian music industry as well as his humanitarian work around the world, he was made a member of the Order of Canada.[5] His pioneering contribution to the genre has been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.[6]
Besides his musical work, Curtola is also a business entrepreneur, marketing a successful brand of Caesar cocktail. He is also chief executive officer of Home Farms Technologies, a Canadian-based company which is attempting to develop an environmentally friendly waste management system for hog waste. It is a development stage company and has not found the financing for its first plant yet.[7]
In 2011, Curtola received a star on the Italian Walk of Fame in Toronto, Canada.[8]
Discography
Albums
| Year | Album | CAN |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | Hitch-Hiker | — |
| 1962 | Mr. Personality | — |
| 1963 | Truly Yours | — |
| 1964 | 12 Tickets to Cloud 9 | — |
| 1965 | Love Story in Stereo | — |
| 1966 | Magic Moments | — |
| 12 Golden Hits | — | |
| 1970 | Changes | 71 |
| 1971 | Curtola | 88 |
| 1974 | Shake, Rattle and Roll | 93 |
| 1991 | 15 Greatest Hits | — |
| 1992 | Christmas Flashback Album | — |
| 1993 | Gotta Get Used to Being Country | — |
| 1998 | Turn the Radio Up | — |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart Positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN | CAN AC | CAN Country | US | ||
| 1960 | "Hand In Hand With You" | 26 | — | — | — |
| 1961 | "Don't You Sweetheart Me" | 5 | — | — | — |
| "I'll Never Be Alone Again" | 6 | — | — | — | |
| "Hitchhiker" | 4 | — | — | — | |
| 1962 | "Fortuneteller" | 5 | — | — | 41 |
| "Johnny Take Your Time" (B-side to "Fortuneteller") |
10 | — | — | — | |
| "You Must Belong To Me" | 23 | — | — | — | |
| "I Cry And Cry" | 15 | — | — | — | |
| "Aladdin" | 11 | — | — | 92 | |
| "My Christmas Tree" | 39 | — | — | — | |
| 1963 | "Destination Love" | 22 | — | — | — |
| "Gypsy Heart" | — | — | — | — | |
| "Indian Giver" | 3 | — | — | — | |
| "Three Rows Over" | 2 | — | — | — | |
| "Move Over" | 24 | — | — | — | |
| 1964 | "Little Girl Blue" | 7 | — | — | — |
| "You're Not A Goody Goody" | 31 | — | — | — | |
| "As Long as I'm Sure of You" | 11 | — | — | — | |
| "Come Home Little Girl" | 25 | — | — | — | |
| "Alone and Lonely" | 11 | — | — | — | |
| 1965 | "It's About Time" | 9 | — | — | — |
| "Mean Woman Blues" | 3 | — | — | — | |
| "Walkin with My Angel" | 3 | — | — | — | |
| "Makin' Love" | 2 | — | — | — | |
| "Forget Her" | 10 | — | — | — | |
| 1966 | "While I'm Away" | 4 | — | — | — |
| "Real Thing" | 15 | — | — | — | |
| "Wildwood Days" | 36 | — | — | — | |
| "It's Not Funny Honey" | 39 | — | — | — | |
| 1967 | "Give Me A Reason To Stay" | 37 | — | — | — |
| "Quando Quando Quando" | 72 | — | — | — | |
| "Footsteps" | 68 | — | — | — | |
| 1968 | "Sandy" | — | — | — | — |
| "Pretty Blue Eyes" | — | — | — | — | |
| "Step By Step" | — | — | — | — | |
| 1969 | "Unless You Care" | — | — | — | — |
| "Mammy Blue" | — | — | — | — | |
| "Gotta Give Love" | — | — | — | — | |
| 1970 | "Jean" | 39 | — | — | — |
| 1971 | "Way Down Deep" | 74 | — | — | — |
| 1973 | "Songman" | — | 32 | 83 | — |
| 1976 | "Oh My Marie" | — | 23 | — | — |
| 1990 | "Playin' the Shadows of Glory" | — | 31 | 25 | — |
| "Drivin' Down a Phantom Road" | — | — | 52 | — | |
See also
References
- ↑ "Canadian Charts from 1957 - 1986". 1050chum.com. Retrieved November 26, 2006
- ↑ "U.S Billboard chart rankings". billboard.com. Retrieved November 26, 2006
- ↑ "RPM Gold Leaf Award/Canadian Music Hall of Fame winner and nominations". juno-awards.ca. Retrieved November 26, 2006
- ↑ "Gold & Platinum certification of albums at RIAA". www.riaa.com. Retrieved November 26, 2006
- ↑ "The Order of Canada member list". nndb.com. November 26, 2006
- ↑ "Rockabilly Hall of Fame inductees". rockabillyhall.com. Retrieved November 26, 2006
- ↑ Home Farms website.
- ↑ Connor, Kevin."Walking proud in Little Italy"
External links
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