Bobby Vee

American musician, a singer, songwriter and guitarist. A teenage idol who sang pop ballads rather than rock'n'roll, he began his career by touring. He managed to remain an active and reasonably successful performer long after the majority of his contemporaries of the early '60s had faded from public view.

He was the son of a chef who was an amateur musician and both of his brothers, Sidney Jr and Bill became accomplished guitarist in the mid'50s, members of a 15-piece band that performed locally. At 15, Bobby persuaded Sid to teach him guitar, and he learned the lyrics to the pop songs of the day.

According to legend, after Buddy Holly's band crashed in Fargo in 1959, Sid and Bill's band was asked to fill in for the gig. Since Bobby was the only one who knew the words to all the songs, he was appointed lead singer by default. They did well enough to make a disk that made Billboard's top 10 in 1960 on the Liberty label. Bobby was on his way to the top.

In 1961, he made a film debut in "Swingin' Along." In 1967, he put out a single that went gold, "Come Back When You Grow Up," and in late 1970 had another hit with "Sweet Sweetheart." His LPs sold steadily, often years after their original release.

After the '70s, Bobby Vee kept busy with club dates on the circuit as well as appearing in rock-revival shows.

On 29 April 2012, Vee announced on his website that a year prior he had been diagnosed with an early stage of Alzheimer's disease and consequently would withdraw from the music business. For the year prior to his death, Vee received hospice care in a long-term facility in Rogers, Minnesota just outside of Minneapolis.

Vee died on 24 October 2016 from complications of early onset Alzheimer's disease. He was 73.