Bobby Curtola

In early 1962 Canadians were searching for our own musical identity. It finally happened. A second generation Canadian of Italian lineage came roaring out of Port Arthur, Ontario. His name: Bobby Curtola. Bobby's managers Dyer and Basil Hurdon had taken the young singer to Nashville where arranger Bill Justis put the commercial touch to his voice and a Canadian star was born. Bobby possessed a fine clear voice and good looks. He was well mannered, soft spoken and every mother's idea of what a teenage idol should be. The material he sang was aimed directly at young girls. Bobby took the youth of the day by storm. He was the Justin Bieber of his time... without the tattoos! Through our exposure of his hits at C-FUN, KJR in Seattle picked up on the activity that he was generating in Vancouver. Through the airplay of KJR, Del-Fi Records in Los Angeles picked up the rights to his recordings for the U.S. market. Although Bobby had a whole series of hits in the Canadian market, only two made it on the U.S. charts. Those hits were "Fortune Teller" in May of 1962 and "Aladdin" in October of the same year. C-FUN put together a massive promotion for Bobby's first appearance in the city and allowed Vancouver teenagers to meet and greet their Canadian star at the Kitsilano Showboat. This outdoor stage was located in an amphitheatre right on the shore of one of Vancouver's beaches. The turnout for the C-FUN Good Guys' presentation of Bobby Curtola was so massive that he had to be brought in by boat to the back of the stage. It was an incredible evening in the Summer of '62. There was no doubt that the teenagers of the early sixties were looking for their own thing and they found it in part with Bobby Curtola. Bobby was the first Canadian to earn a gold record. Curtola had an incredible 31 consecutive pop singles in the Canadian Top 40, including a dozen Top 10s. He is a member of the Order of Canada. Four years after his death, Bobby Curtola was finally recognized for his contributions to pop music in Canada by the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in March 2020. Interview recorded at The Legends of Rock'n'Roll at EXPO86 in Vancouver. Bobby opened that night for Roy Orbison.