"Fascinating memoir"
In 1956, two students meet for the first time at the
prestigious Bronx High School of Science. Both are excited
with the new music rocking the country and want to be part
of the revolution. They become friends, form an act
together and travel to their first dig, two weeks in a
sleazy joint in Detroit. However, they break up. The
Italian Walden Robert Cassotto changes his name to Bobby
Darin before achieving fame while the Jew Steve Karmen
writes his commercial jingles like "You Deserve a Break
Today," "I Love New York," and "Nationwide Is on Your
Side." Steve Karmen provides an interesting "autobiography-
biography" mostly focused on those two weeks in the pre
Motown Motor City where the pair are surrounded by a world
of sex filled with racketeers,
strippers, and aging vaudeville comedians. The memoir
provides the audience a glimpse at an early Rock and Roll
legend as much as how what seemed a friendship forever
dissolved under the pressure of fame, fortune, and sex.
Easy to read just like one of the author's famous jingles,
ME AND BOBBY D is a winner for readers who relish an
intriguing tell all look at the ups and downs of fame with
special insight into the life of Bobby Darin. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted June 16, 2003
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