Aired on Treasure Island Oldies – August 2009
It was not uncommon during our teenage years to ask ourselves “What happened to summer?” as the last days of August zoomed by.
Before we knew it, it was Labor Day, signaling the end of summer. Dressed in new clothes we headed back to school for another year. The only good thing was reuniting with our classmates and sharing our summer experiences.
In our junior and senior years at high school, we also began ramping up our dating activities … and thanks to school we got to see our “sweethearts” on a daily basis.
Many a song has been written on high school romances including one by a young Canadian heartthrob that went to #2 in Toronto and Top 10 across Canada in 1963.
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The music scene in the early 60s in the United States was inundated with “Bobbys.” This is not that surprising given that most of these Bobbys were born in the late 30s or early 40s, two decades where the name “Robert” ranked #1 (1930-1939) and #2 (1940-1949) in birth names chosen for boys. It’s also interesting to note that the name “Robert” is associated with brightness and fame.
Canada’s answer to the “Bobby epidemic” was Bobby Curtola who gained international fame when he made it onto the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. with “Fortune Teller” followed up by “Aladdin” in 1962.
Born in Port Arthur, Ontario in 1944, Curtola had many other records that became hits in Canada, including “Don’t You Sweetheart Me,” “Hitchhiker,” “Johnny Take Your Time,” “Destination Love,” “Indian Giver,” and “Little Girl Blue.”
Curtola’s most successful recording relating to teenage school days came out in 1963 and centered around a boy so infatuated with a girl in his class that he could not get his homework done. She sat “Three Rows Over” (And Two Seats Down).
YouTube video of this song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjO72B2tJ5w
This “Moments In Time” story is yet another example of a “golden oldie” or forgotten favorite that earned its place in the evolution of Rock & Roll.
