20180126 1953 Bobby Rydell

you're watching the 2018 ligado summit thank you well it's again congressman Rothfuss and for this special presentation tonight hey did you all enjoy your meal are you enjoying your meal right now I just want to give a shout out I have a real compassion for people who serve and for the people who are so behind the scenes chef Shawn and his team I think they certainly deserve a round of applause and even our servers and I don't know about you but I'm pretty excited for tonight's keynote I'll be calling up mr. Bobby Rydell because I've got a few questions for him and you know what he can't lie to a priest all right I'd like to introduce to you mr. Bobby Rydell he is an American entertainment legend you all know this with a career starting as a 1950s teen idol I was just going to say something about Justin Bieber people all right to the present mr. Bobby Rydell draws crowds across every age group nationality and he's he's amazing as an international performing star as well Bobby first took the stage as a professional drummer at the age of 19 and was a polished performer at the age excuse me at the age of nine and a pub polished performer at the age of 19 Bobby's recording career earned him 34 top 40 hits placing him in the top five artists of his era Bobby will share with us how applause became a meter throughout his life and how we can apply applause simply in our lives and how his faith was tested many many times as a reporter recently stated Bobby Rydell is a true American treasure and it is a privilege to share this stage with him ladies and gentlemen let's welcome mr. Bobby Rydell oh good night folks thank you ever so much it was a pleasure being here for the goddess that's my job mr. Rydell just letting you know like you said everything fine well okay you know now that we're just sitting here sure we're gonna make this legitimate here yes bless me exactly well you've got quite the story and what I'd love to do is just simply chat with you and and learn a lot about you because first of all I know about you the book that you have Bobby Rydell teen idol on the rocks a tale of second chances I've learned so much about not just you but also just about music in general and so I have to first say that the title of your talk the title of this applause meter of life it's very intriguing tell me a little bit about well we put this together with my event coordinator maria nove and you know it's been a big part of my life you know so you don't mind if I read from this to you but you can see whatever you want I give you so much that bless you [Laughter] Oh okay for all you ladies I kissed him okay no I do have a crucifix it is and it has my finger my little finger on my right hand since 1960 I love it I love that real enough I met I did the Perry Como show and his priest was a guy by the name of father Bob was always with him and Perry had this ring and I went to Rome and I thought I went to a religious store yet on this ring and it's been there ever since Wow yeah anyway okay so applause as a form of acceptance or recognition it's something we all understand and in which we've all taken part you all just applauded me based on maybe something that I have done in the past hopefully that all of you liked you know think about the very first things that baby does you know when say he claps his hands well right we do that for the baby that's a form of it of acceptance applause when I was 7 8 years old that's the first time I ever experienced applause because my dad used to take me around the clubs when I was 7 8 years old applauding was you know it was it was used by the Romans during the road the rise of the Roman Empire applause became a way for leaders to gauge the the mood of supporters sort of like an ancient poll and my business applauses away a performance is accepted a performer is recognized experiencing applause is a great feeling but think think about applauding someone is a great feeling - why is applause today only related to performances such as entertainment or sports why not everyday life right including our faith throughout the next hour I'm hoping everyone will understand you know what applause really means a matter of fact and in the psalm 47 clap your hands all you nations shout to God with crowds of joy so why not everybody applauded right now I feel like I'm in a Baptist Church right about now ladies hey hey wait you grew up in South Philadelphia wasn't even Philly its South Philly and for those who are are you kidding we're about South Philly where Norristown that's not self Philly but by any chance do you happen to have my hubcaps oh yeah Sal is South Philadelphia was great father what was it like I mean well you know growing up growing up as a kid you know basically in South Philadelphia a lot of Irish a lot of Italian which I'm Italian my real name Roberto Luigi read the deli which Luciano knows all about travel Luciano Bravo Luciano and it was a blue-collar neighborhood matter of fact when we were kids we made up or he games father yeah we didn't have the money to buy a bad a glove ball you know and we used to have a game I don't know if you remember maybe some of you do some of you don't was called half ball yeah see yeah this was a game that was made up in South Philadelphia you got your mom's broom you cut off the the bottom of the broom that became your bat and then you bought these little rubber balls they were called pimple balls and you cut them in half and that's where hef balls all came about and the wonderful thing about hip hop was you didn't even have to run bases you just had the broom stick and a guy would throw these hair falls to you across the street was a single over the were swindle a double third window with triple if he hit it over the roof a homerun there you go yeah yeah that that you know that was our games back then it was so pure so simple back then everything was just and I'm you know you know what's on so much so you should have been a baseball player but you got interested in music how did you get involved in music my father God rest his soul I was five years old and my father was a big band freak and he took me to an afternoon performance to see the Benny Goodman band now I'm five years old I didn't know who but but my father wanted to introduce me to big band music so there I am sitting in the audience and I'm looking at this wonderful Orchestra and I said to my father I said I don't know who that guy is daddy but I want to be him Wow matter of fact it was Gene Krupa who was playing drums for the Benny Goodman Orchestra and since that day you know I started playing drums and to this day I still you know have the instrument at home and I and my father introduced me to that kind of music but music and show business are two different things how did you get involved in show business once again because of my dad when I was like if I had any talent within me whatsoever my dad was the first one to see it and I think it's written in your notes there father that when my dad was overseas I was three years old so we're talking about 1945 and my mother used to write to my father the baby's always singing the babies always and my father wrote back and I still have the letter to this day in my home and he wrote well Jenny who knows maybe one day we'll have a star in the family Wow is it yeah and if I had any talent with me whatsoever my dad used to take me around the clubs like I said earlier when I was seven eight years old and I would get up and sing and do a couple of person Asians and people would do this interesting and I said wow all I have to do is do that and they do this what a wonderful feeling yeah so that's basically what I'm talking abut this idea of you really breaking out you were on American Bandstand oh and then like this whole teen idol thing kicked in it was literally it was a game changer for you what was that like to be on that show and then just to grow in humongous population well I recorded for a independent label in Philadelphia called cameo which later became cameo Parkway and I had three records for cameo that I signed with cameo I guess it was 1957 okay and I had three records that did absolutely nothing oh and I said well I said probably this is really not for me I was really happy playing drums that was my first love playing drums when I saw Gene Krupa Bernie Lowe who was the president of cameo wrote a song called Kissin time which became my very first hit record back in the summer of 1959 okay and he went over to Dick Clark and I don't know many of you know but we you would have acetates or dubs you know of you know a new recording so Bernie Lowell one over to Dick Clark because he turned down my first three he said no no no Bernie Lowe brought over Kissin time Dick Clark dropped a needle on it and he said that's a hit Wow and that was a summer of 1959 and yet because I live in Philadelphia and I've lived there all of my life and I love it back east and I'm I can't wait for February to before so the third time is a charm father I'm sick in New England it's enough already Belichick Brady had said no so that was fifty nine and then the 60s crazy time for the world but an amazing time for you Copacabana I mean I that's just what was that like for you to be able to perform there at the age of nineteen years old very nerve-wracking can only imagine I worked with a couple of people by the name an old Sherman and Lou Spencer who staged and produced my act and prior to getting into the Copa gana at Copacabana we went to Pittsburgh we went to Syracuse New York to fine tune fine tune the act and lose Spencer God rest his soul after I would come off stage you would have a roll of toilet paper and he'd rolled out the roll it'll take the toilet paper and he said this is and then he would tear off a little sheep he'd roll it out he said this is everything you did wrong this is what you did right you know under mine so by the time I got to the Copacabana I was fine-tuned I was ready and you know when that ladies and gentlemen the Copacabana is proudly present singing star Bobby Rydell and all of the red coats and the white coach blue coats it on go out there Bobby go out there knock them dead kill him and of course my mom and dad are there they're sitting you know in the front row and my opening song was lots of living from Bye Bye Birdie yep and I started there Archie but it took me about four bars you know maybe possibly eight bars and then relax but you know to be I to be the only entertainer at that particular age 19 years old to work at Copa was a nice feather in my cap I can imagine and you just mentioned Bye Bye Birdie with and Margaret and that was Copacabana and now Hollywood you know I'd love to hear about that experience well matter of fact I screamed too stood with an and matter-of-fact an and I talked every couple of months or so just like how you know we're all doing you know and she just lost her husband not too long ago Roger Smith who was on Sunset Strip remember and we screen tested and and read some lines at the for art for the director George Sidney marvelous director and then of course we sang one of the tunes that we did in Bye Bye Birdie was wrong boy one special boy one girl one special and mr. Sidney said okay you know thank you ever so much I went back home I'm home two weeks my manager design was a man by the name of Frankie day his real name friend just got called key and he said you just landed the part of Hugo Peabody Wow and I you know it was amazing it was amazing father really I mean just did the people who were in the movie Paul Lynn Sherr Dick Van Dyke Janet Lee Maureen Stapleton and Margaret sir and me yeah but it's changed from music and now to Hollywood what was that like was I really didn't like Hollywood father you know I'm an East Coast guy you know I'm a big sports fan one of my very dear friends who was here I don't know how many years ago Frankie Avalon you know and and and we since 1985 Frankie Avalon Fabian and myself we do a show called the golden boys and we started it in 1985 we're still doing it today 2018 but the show has changed from the golden boys to the olden boys what was the question like oh yeah now how do you stay grounded I mean there are a lot of people who are going to Hollywood now and just doing anything even selling their soul just to be on screen how did you stay grounded you're 19 years old you're a teen idol what kept you well you know why father I think it was basically and ultimately the faith and being Italian the family being Catholic me being Catholic the love the warmth and respect you know that we had you know throughout the family was absolutely wonderful and I think that's what really kept my head you know at a at a good level rather than going wow you know Here I am Bobby Rydell poom and listen but I was always I was always a neighborhood guy you know well maybe that maybe the kid you met Frank Sinatra he calls you what's called you a good friend he calls you how do you how do you maintain that when you say that your faith keeps you grounded in your family what did you do in your faith that helped keep you grounded besides go to confession you know that's I was married excuse me I get a little choked up I was married for 36 years my first wife Camille Carmela Quattrone we had two wonderful children and we got married in 1968 at Stella Morris Catholic Church in South Philadelphia and in 2003 she passed away with breast cancer and I was lost I was totally lost and truthfully you know I was I was kind of angry at the guy I was kind of angry at God but as the years progressed the months weeks years the ADI Yatta Yatta so on so forth I figured that he's got a plan he absolutely has a plan for me sure and he absolutely did and you've experienced a ton of applause in your life you were on so many shows I mean it's just almost impossible to recount how popular you are as an American teen idol and then the music industry kind of grows a little bit with this invasion of these British singers oh yeah like the Beatles how did that change the industry for you oh well you know totally destroyed you know all of the emergence it destroyed all of the American artists matter of fact in 1963 I recorded my last hit record my less million-seller was a song called forget him which I recorded in London England and gentleman by the name of Tony Hatcher with a song while there and Margaret and I did a command performance for the royal family and then I went on tour with a young lady by the name of Helen Shapiro really fine singer in the UK so we're traveling on the bus in the middle of the UK and all of a sudden the bus stops and Helen Shapiro says they're the Beatles it's 1963 I started looking around the bus for cockroaches I don't know what she was talking about they all came on the bus you know the Ford the original Ford they knew me Wow you know and they went on there and I figured well you know for nice guys they're probably you know doing a cabaret gig you know they're going to a dance thing this that you know you know six months later I'm back home in Philadelphia and I'm watching that Sullivan yeah lighter and boom the Beatles I said I met those guys I could kick myself in a real father for not having a foot in the middle of the UK door like 10 11 o'clock at night a picture with the for those guys in me so the industry changes and things changed for you popularity can go up and down absolutely how do you deal with that how did you stay rooted and all that I just kept working father you know because that just as you said there's so many you know ups and downs and peaks and valleys in the business and as long as you're able to keep working and nurture your craft and you know just stay in there you know and God gives you the face to stay in there and you figure it you know sooner or later something's going to turn around and it did everything turned around back in 1985 when my manager had the idea to put these three Italian guys from South Philadelphia who were you know quote teenage idols Frankie Avalon Fabian and myself and we started that tour and then from 1985 to this day 2018 everything has been absolutely wonderful where I forget who it's a gentleman who used to be a waiter at the Copacabana we used to call him Tony lip and his his son is now a producer and he called me and they're making a movie about the Copacabana and they're going to use a guy who's me Wow in this movie at like nineteen years old they said wow you know that's fantastic you know great says does that change you I mean no how have you changed I haven't changed at all father Wow no I'm I mean you know I I just love to talk to people go upside a lot of graves take pictures I'm just a neighborhood guy I really am you know and and most of the entertainers who came out of South Philadelphia like Frankie Avalon like Fabian like myself like Chubby Checker Wow al Marty nobody Greco Mario Lanza anywhere we were just neighborhood guys and things started happening but you could never lose you know you could never lose those roots where it all came from so the applause is back on top people are just celebrating your career and then like all things good news and bad news yeah how do you deal with some of the bad news especially you mentioned it a little bit for yeah about your wife exactly one Camille passed away and I as I said earlier I thought you know you know you know my wife was looking so much forward to the golden years and you know God took her away from me you know and earlier like I said I was I was kind of mad I was kind of mad but like I said earlier he had some kind of a plan for me and back in Oh God think it was 2010 yes - July 9th 2010 I had to have major surgery and that was a double transplant of a new liver and a new kidney my yeah and that all happened because you know I had no but you know after Camille passed I had nobody to talk to nobody to laugh with nobody to smile with nobody to cry with nobody to tell your stories to so I turned to alcohol and that's what happened then God in His infinite wisdom sent me a wonderful sent me wonderful lady who is now my wife Linda who we just celebrated our ninth wedding anniversary and if it wasn't for her father I wouldn't be here today she was the greatest caregiver I mean she took care and I was I I was on death's doorstep but once again God had this plan in mind for me and the plan that I think he wants me to relate to all of you people who are Catholic and believe in God and believe on our faith and trust in our faith the thing that I think God wanted me to do because of the double transplant was to get all the people that I talked to whether it be here or whether I'm doing my show to get involved with organ donation and that's I think the message that God sent me and that's the message I try to give everywhere I perform because if it wasn't for organ donation you know I called it and it truly is a gift of life absolutely and I try to express upon everybody when I do my shows how important it is if you're not an organ donor as a favor to me become an organ donor because it truly is the gift of life and I think that's what God hadn't planned for me that's beautiful and your your family I know that your your father passed away and just yeah the year 2000 and then just more bad news in the early 2000s right and and you're living with your mother at this point and so you've got some amazing women in your life but no one more amazing than obviously the woman who brought you into this world can you tell us a little bit about your mother she was evil [Laughter] IIIi mean folks she was an evil mean person my father was my champion well you know my father was absolutely my champion my mother you could never satisfy her nothing was ever right you know you could never to the point where my child my daughter Jennifer she was 10 years old and she was doing Oliver at her school and she had the lead song and she was wonderful absolutely wonderful she came home right from the play my wife Camille myself Jennifer and she said I sing just like my daddy Oh my mother said you'll never be what your father is oh your father was making money when he was 10 years old and when it wasn't happy it wasn't a happy family with you know and I don't know why God left me on this cross I don't know what he did because my dad passed away first that's right my wife passed away second and I was left with her [Laughter] [Applause] Oh oh hey but probably because no matter what family is completely imperfect you proved something that you are a family and that what is what keeps you grounded well absolutely I mean you know when Camille and I were married or both brought up Catholic you know I was an altar boy for five years at the Epiphany parish and back then of course the mass was done in Latin which I loved the mess and Latin I really missed a mess and laughing and at that time you had book or Bell and I had booked I went up to the right side of the altar and the priest is reading the Epistle and I'm waiting for him to read the Epistle to go to the left side of the altar to read the gospel and remember in a Bible and that wooden stands were heavy and I'm 10 years old and I bow and I come down you know you make the V yeah and then you genuflect in front of the tabernacle well as I'm coming down the right side of the altar the pages are going something years old I figure father's gonna lose his place I take one hand then I go like this you know that what the place Baram on the books all pages all over the altar you know this was the nine o'clock mess we have all the old Italian ladies they're all dressed in black God he marches are very foul needless to say when I got back into sacristy priests to serve Damascus Father Gillooly yeah but can we sign him up to serve for tomorrow's liturgy but my till of course my children are all born and raised Catholic you know yeah my my mod my son went to Waldron Academy a marvelous Catholic private school my daughter went to Marian Mercy and then my son went to st. Joe Prep then he went to Villanova and then what No Linda is letting you know that you've confused your children like my mother does to me and my brothers is what I do Roberts Villanova Jennifer is what st. Joe University I should so let me can you come up here cuz I think we need to do some marriage counseling Oh God and this is so beautiful because she is very much a part of your entire life to the point where she's telling you what your children's names off a magazine but talk about stability well yeah like I said I'm you know God sent her to me there is no doubt in my in my mind that God meant her for me that is really beautiful now you faced your biggest test in the spring ish summer-ish of 2012 can you tell us a little bit about that oh that I think I said it was a couple of years earlier that's right that's why I'm here thank you ever so much fatherly oh yeah it was too thick july 9th of 2012 we met back in 2007 babe right we got married in 2009 and then all of a sudden she found out that I had a major problem with alcohol you know and once again that all stemmed from Camille passing away it's sure 60 years old in 2003 and that's what I was I was one death's doorstep you know I was two weeks away from dying and Luciano knows a very dear friend of ours who was my surgeon his name Cataldo Doria we called him Aldo he was my surgeon he put in my liver and he put in my kidney and like I said earlier you know Linda was the one who really didn't know how much I drank and I drank a lot and when it came down to the nitty-gritty she really became you know my extreme caregiver after the surgery was completed I saw this doctor O'Mara's at Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia and he said I said to him I said I thought that I was the primary recipient of the liver given by our donor a young girl by the name of Julia 20 21 years old hit by a car okay father now there was a little girl four years old who got 25% of Julia's liver I got 75% of Julia's liver Doctorow Maris you know when I said I thought III was the you know the premotor number one guy he said Bobby he said there were 14 people in front of you waiting for a liver I said why he said 14 people turned down Wow lit liver in other words if you take one liver out you put it in somebody else just like removing the old battery putting in a new battery when you split a liver it becomes much more complicated surgery right and I said Wow 14 and my wife and I always talked to say I wonder how many you know of those 14 people are still alive today and dr. O'Mara's I'll never forget him he said Bobby somebody up there likes you yeah Wow you know that's the truth yeah what would you what would you say to people who are going through some difficult times they may have not had any of the successes that you've had and even certainly not the people that support you maybe they've had a family full of your mother's oh my god what would you say to someone who's going through a difficult time and they look at you and think you've got a blessed life but obviously they don't know all of it what more can I say father I mean yeah I'm not the most religious guy in the world you know I try to make mass every time because I'm on the road so much but I I have a solid faith of my religion and my Lord Jesus Christ when I go to bed every night you know back home I have a rosary hanging on the left my side of the bed and also I have on my nightstand a scapula mm-hmm because I figure if I'm gonna flew the coop the scapular gets you in there right away yeah there's no local it depends on the color ocular Bobby you gotta let you know oh really I didn't know it was a collar that's what I got I got a brown one I got a problem so you go right on the or right on the Express you don't even have to see st. Peter you know right to God and that's it just come on scripture no I you know what would you say you know I don't know you know who knows darn a Catholic or a Protestant or they this or that the other thing you just have to have a lot of faith and and I do have a lot of faith while I hope everybody everybody here in this room has a lot of faith how can we you know get that across to I don't know millions and millions of people you just whatever you know like I said earlier whatever God gives you in life there's always something more that he has in store for you that's beautifully put he had for me that is beautiful I'm just gonna go off-script I just want to ask you a couple other questions because it's fun for me to do and I never when was the last time a priest has ever interviewed you know don't even answer that Vegas no interviewed me yeah I'm hit you the guy we got to put this down in the goddess history ladies and gentlemen now I have a very dear friend in Scranton where my wife is from is named fall de sica I've known father Sica for the better part of 40 years and he he was teaching at Pocono Central Catholic and I was doing his show and I met father secant and he said Bobby would you do a benefit for me Wow and I said certainly father he said how much would you want I said nothing father I said I don't want any money I said you have to pay the band musicians want to get paid this was about 40 years ago and we've become you like this and he's a wonderful wonderful guy Wow yeah what what's your favorite food because I'm anything to tell you anything it's a yeah and that's it [Applause] maybe chicken soup better and do you have a do you have a hero or even perhaps a favorite saint that you kind of think about whenever you're going through difficult times who is who's ever available at the time I don't care to be Saint Anthony's Saint Jude who's ever around I'll call I'll talk I'll pray you know what I sound like I'm Jewish Oliver and are there is there I'm you know you're speaking to this this group of people who first of all love hearing your story did you all enjoy hearing your story thank you applause you're gonna have it we are gonna have the great fortune of hearing you tomorrow yeah I can't wait are you excited about that ladies gentlemen huh gonna have a marvelous Orchestra really a great Orchestra from the Orlando area matter of fact this is gonna be exciting but before that is there anything that you would just like to share with us any message any inspiration any other thoughts before we give you an awesome meter for life oh god father I think we more or less you know covered at all I don't think there's anything I can really say to this congregation here in this room because we're all Catholic we believe in our Lord we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ our faith which has kept us you know through good and bad and whatever the times may be all I can say is that you just you know you keep believing in our Lord Jesus Christ and believe in your faith and everything will be fine well before we go I'm gonna take full advantage of this opportunity and do a selfie with mr. just let you know all right I don't care please ladies and gentlemen mr. Bobby right now applause thank you folks thank you ever so much thank you please join us for the 2019 summit at the monarch Beach Resort in Dana Point California January 24th through the 26th 2019

Channel: Legatus Headquarters

Views: 1,809

Rating: 5 out of 5

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Id: I6_wl01F-e4

Length: 40min 35sec (2435 seconds)

Published: Tue Feb 13 2018