Out-of-Print Darin CD to Be Released

Neon Tonic Records is set to release a previously out-of-print Bobby Darin album, and just in time for Las Vegas’ yearlong centennial birthday bash.

The release of the 1971 recording Live At the Desert Inn is set for March 22 and captures Darin performing a variety of songs, including a Beatles Medley and his hit

“Mack the Knife.” The album also features two previously unreleased bonus tracks: live versions of “Work Song” and the Darin signature “Beyond the Sea.”

Throughout his career, which ended with his death in 1973,Darin experimented with multiple musical styles, singing everything from R&B and folk to pop and rock. Although Darin is probably best known for his Vegas gigs, he started his career as a teen idol in the late 1950s. His breakthrough hit was “Splish Splash,” and his other tunes – “Queen of Hop” and “Dream Lover” – helped propel Darin into the spotlight.

Darin continued to score hits with songs like “You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby” and “Lazy River,” but received little critical acclaim for his works until recently. In 1990, Darin was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and in 2004 Kevin Spacey put together a film about Darin’s life called Beyond the Sea.

Originally Published March 31, 2005