Bobby Sherman

This article is about the 1960s and 1970s American entertainer and teen idol. For other people named Robert Sherman, see Robert Sherman (disambiguation).
Bobby Sherman

Sherman in 1969.
Background information
Birth name Robert Cabot Sherman, Jr.
Born (1943-07-22) July 22, 1943
Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Genres Pop
Occupation(s) Singer, Actor
Years active 1964–1995
Labels Various; see Discography
Associated acts David Cassidy, The Monkees

Robert Cabot "Bobby" Sherman, Jr. (born July 22, 1943) is an American singer, actor and occasional songwriter, who became a popular teen idol in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

He graduated in 1961 from Birmingham High School in Van Nuys, California. Sherman attended Pierce College in Woodland Hills, California.

Career as performer

Bobby's interest in music began at age 11 when he learned to play the trumpet. He eventually progressed to playing 16 musical instruments. At Birmingham High School Bobby played football, joined a dance band, and discovered his love for singing. From the time he was in high school, Bobby knew that he wanted to be some type of performer, but wasn't sure how to make it happen.

In 1962 Sal Mineo took Sherman under his wing and wrote two songs for him as well as arranging for Sherman to record the songs, then in 1964 when Sherman was asked by Mineo to sing with his old band at a Hollywood party (there were many actors and agents in attendance) he made such an impression at that party he landed an agent and eventually a part on the ABC television show Shindig! as a regular cast member/house singer. The show ran for two years, from 1964 to 1966. During that time Bobby made several records with Decca and another smaller label, and landed in all the teen magazines, but it did not seem to catapult his career. Sherman's luck changed drastically early in 1968 when, out of hundreds of actors, he was cast in the role as the bashful, stammering logger, Jeremy Bolt, in the television series Here Come the Brides (1968-1970 ABC), with Bridget Hanley as his romantic interest, Candy Pruitt. The cast included Robert Brown, David Soul, and Joan Blondell. Sherman managed to become the breakout star of the show as well as a beloved teen idol worldwide.

Sherman appeared on an episode of Honey West (1964) entitled "The Princess and the Paupers" as a kidnapped band member, The Monkees entitled "Monkees at the Movies", playing a pompous surfer/singer named Frankie Catalina in the vein of Frankie Avalon, performing the song "The New Girl in School" (the flip of Jan & Dean's "Dead Man's Curve", co-written by The Beach Boys' Brian Wilson, Jan Berry of Jan and Dean, songwriter Roger Christian and Bob Norberg, who was a roommate of Wilson's at the time).

Sherman released 107 songs, 23 singles and 10 albums between 1962-1976. In his recording career he earned seven gold singles, one platinum single, and five gold albums. He had a career total of seven top 40 hits. In 1969, he signed with Metromedia Records, the new recording arm of the then-large broadcast entity single, "Little Woman", became popular, peaking at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart (#2 in Canada) and spending nine weeks in the Top 20. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. in October 1969.[1] His other hits were "Julie, Do Ya Love Me" (US #5/AC #2) (Canada #3) (Australia #3) (written by Tom Bahler), "Easy Come, Easy Go" (US #9/AC #2) (Canada #6), "Jennifer" (US #60/AC #9) (Canada #32), "La La La (If I Had You)" (US #9/AC #14) (Canada #7), and "The Drum" (US #29/AC #2) (Canada #7) (written by Alan O'Day). Some of these songs were produced by Jackie Mills, a Hollywood record producer, who also produced the Brady Bunch Kids. In Canada "Hey, Mister Sun" reached #19, "Cried Like a Baby" reached #10, and "Waiting At The Bus Stop" reached #31. "La, La, La," "Easy Come, Easy Go," and "Julie, Do Ya Love Me" all sold in excess of a million copies and garnered further gold discs for Sherman.[1] "Julie, Do Ya Love Me" was Sherman's sole excursion in the UK Singles Chart, where it peaked at #28 in November 1970.[2] The song competed there for chart space with White Plains' cover version, which eventually placed higher at #8.[3]

Sherman toured extensively through the United States and the world in support of his many records and albums. He gave many concerts to sellout crowds of mostly screaming young women from the late 1960s to the mid 1970s. The screaming by the young women was so loud that Sherman to this day has experienced hearing loss.

Bobby was a frequent guest on American television shows American Bandstand and Where the Action Is. He also made local and regional TV performances. A March 1971 episode of The Partridge Family featured Sherman, serving as a back-door pilot for the ABC TV series Getting Together which aired starting in September 1971. The show competed with CBS's All in the Family on Saturday nights and was canceled after 14 episodes. The theme song, "Getting Together" by Helen Miller and Roger Atkins, should not be confused with the Ritchie Cordell tune by Tommy James & the Shondells which hit the Top 20 in 1967. Sherman also had a self-titled TV special that aired June 4, 1971.

Sherman has been a guest star on television series such as The Mod Squad, Ellery Queen, Murder She Wrote and Frasier. He has also been a guest on The Ed Sullivan Show, American Bandstand, The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, KTLA Morning News, Visiting with Huell Howser on PBS, Good Day LA, The Rosie O'Donnell Show, Good Morning America, and The Tonight Show with both Johnny Carson and later with Jay Leno. He was featured on 20/20, VH1, Entertainment Tonight, and Extra, among other television shows.

Sherman was a regular cast member on the television show Sanchez of Bel Air in 1986.

In 1998, after a 25-year absence, eager fans flocked to see him in concert as part of "The Teen Idol Tour" with Peter Noone, and Davy Jones. Fellow Monkees member Micky Dolenz replaced Davy Jones on the tour in 1999. Bobby did his last concert as a solo performer in Lincoln, RI on August 25, 2001. Bobby has retired from public life; however, he still does corporate events occasionally as well as his ongoing charities.

Sherman was ranked #8 in TV Guide's list of "TV's 25 Greatest Teen Idols" (January 23, 2005 issue).

Sherman had never officially received his platinum record for "Julie, Do Ya Love Me" because Metromedia shut its record division down in 1974 (Metromedia ceased to function as a media company in 1997); the platinum plaque was finally presented to Sherman in summer 2010.

The first season of Sherman's show Here Come the Brides was released on DVD by Sony Pictures on May 16, 2006. Season two was released on February 28, 2012. Antenna TV started airing both seasons of Here Come the Brides on Sundays, beginning in early 2011, as part of their station launch (HCTB premiered on January 9, 2011).

Discography

Singles

Original LPs

NOTE: Metromedia released 2 versions of Christmas Album: one contained "Prologue"; the other replaced it with "Goin' Home (Sing A Song Of Christmas Cheer)"—rest of LP is identical.

Compilation LPs

CDs

Songs included on Various Artists Compilation CDs

Selected filmography

Appearances, unless otherwise noted

Post-entertainment career

When Sherman guest-starred on an episode of the Jack Webb television series Emergency! ("Fools," season 3, episode 17, aired 1/19/1974), he found a new calling that focused more on his personal life, and he eventually left the public spotlight and became an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). He soon volunteered with the Los Angeles Police Department, working with paramedics, and giving CPR and first aid classes. Sherman officially became a technical Reserve Police Officer with the Los Angeles Police Department in the 1990s, a position he still holds today. Sherman was later promoted to Captain status in the Los Angeles Police Department. For over a decade he has served as a medical training officer at the Los Angeles Police Academy, instructing thousands of police officers in first aid and CPR. He was named LAPD’s Reserve Officer of the Year in 1999.

Sherman also became a Reserve Deputy Sheriff in 1999 with the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department continuing his CPR/emergency training of new deputy hires. Sherman retired from the Sheriff's Department in 2010, but continues with the LAPD. According to Sherman, "I've been bestowed a mountain of blessings. I felt a need to start giving back." The entertainer subsequently received several awards for his humanitarian efforts.

Sherman founded the Bobby Sherman Volunteer EMT Foundation. His organization coordinates medical services at many community and charity events in southern California.

Sherman also founded the Brigitte & Bobby Sherman Children's Foundation (www.bbscfoundation.org). BBSC Foundation's mission is to provide motivated students in Ghana with a high quality education and music program, thus giving them the tools they need to pursue higher education and become successful, contributing adults. BBSC Foundation has headquarters in Los Angeles and operates in the cities of Ada and Accra, Ghana. BBSCF supports primary and secondary school tuition and fee assistance, tutoring and enrichment activities, and music lessons focusing on indigenous and other world music.

Sherman built a one-fifth scale model of Disneyland's Main Street, made entirely by hand in his yard at his home.[4] His replica of "Disney's Main Street" has been featured on many television shows and news programs.

Books

Bobby Sherman co-wrote his nationally published best-selling autobiography with Dena Hill, Still Remembering You in 1996.

Though he is mentioned, Sherman did not participate in Jonathan Etter's 2009 nostalgic paperback Gangway Lord, (the) Here come the Brides book.

Sherman is extensively discussed and remembered in Michael Gregg Michaud's 2010 biography Sal Mineo: A Biography. In 2011 James Franco announced he would direct & co-star in a film based on the Sal Mineo biography.

Personal life

Sherman was born to Robert Cabot Sherman Sr. and Juanita "Nita" Sherman (née Freeman) in Santa Monica, California. He grew up in Van Nuys, California along with his sister Darlene.

Sherman later married Patti Carnel from 1971-1979. The couple divorced. They had two sons, born in the early 1970s. Both of his sons are married and have children of their own, making Sherman a grandfather of six. Sherman is remarried and lives in the Los Angeles area.

References in popular culture

Sherman was mentioned in The Simpsons episode "Brother from the Same Planet". Marge Simpson remembered how she had a crush on him. In another episode, "Lisa the Tree Hugger", Homer compared Jesse's "non-threatening good looks" to Sherman. In an episode of The Critic, "Eyes on the Prize", a lady asks Jay to sing the theme from Here Come the Brides and Jay's producer says, "Wait a minute, you think he's Bobby Sherman!"

Sherman was also mentioned in The Nanny episode "My Fair Nanny". While Fran was advising Maggie on how to increase her popularity in high school, Fran told her to discuss "the three universal topics: boys, clothes, and Bobby Sherman." When Maggie asked who Sherman is, Fran told her to use Marky Mark, even though he "doesn't have half the talent of Bobby." Sherman also appeared as himself in one episode of Frasier.

In the 1999 film Dick, set in 1972, a teen magazine runs a contest to win a date with Sherman, with an entry deadline of midnight on June 18, attracting the interest of two teenage girls. Late on the night of June 17, they wander around the apartment complex where one of them lives to mail in their entry before it was too late - and in the process, they encounter other people sneaking around the complex, and end up playing a major role in the Watergate scandal.

The phrase "Peace, Love, and Bobby Sherman" became a popular saying in the 1960s and 1970s.

On Frank Zappa's Fillmore East - June 1971 album, vocalists Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman play a rock star and a groupie in dialogue between songs; at one point, Volman (as the groupie) asks, gushingly, "Do you know Bobby Sherman?!"

In Nickelodeon's series Big Time Rush, in the episode "Contest," Sherman was mentioned by an old woman telling Logan "You're cute, but you're no Bobby Sherman."

In the 2012 film Dark Shadows, the character Carolyn Stoddard is seen reading a teen magazine, circa 1972, featuring a full back cover of Bobby Sherman.

In their 2012 concert tour "An Evening with The Monkees", Michael Nesmith and Micky Dolenz did a comedy routine introducing the song "Daily Nightly". Since this was one of the first pop songs to use a MOOG synthesizer, the routine centered around Nesmith seeking to find one for the show. It was revealed that he was not able to get an actual MOOG, but instead brought a picture of one - which he displayed and stated "I think it's Bobby Sherman's MOOG."

Bobby was mentioned in the ABC series Malibu Country by Reba McEntire in the March 1, 2013 episode titled "Oh Brother." Reba's mom Lily Mae (played by Lily Tomlin) is cooking up a batch of her famous BBQ sauce and Reba says "I used to dream about this sauce; well, that and Bobby."

On the July 3, 2013 episode of Hot In Cleveland, Valerie Bertinelli references Bobby Sherman as her first love.

On the April 1, 2015 episode of sitcom "The Middle", Bobby was mentioned in conversation with Mike and his brother.

References

  1. 1 2 Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. pp. 267 & 285. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
  2. ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 496. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  3. ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 599. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  4. ↑ "Disney Model". Retrieved 29 November 2008.

External links

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