Added: 4 years ago
From: bdfan62
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  • Bobby and Sandra.... Rest In Peace, love and miss you so, M xox

  • One of the most 'swinging' singers of all time. A great example & inspiration to all that followed. A young singer for Yorkshire called AJ BROWN is making great strides in the profession mostly because of Bobby Darin and Michael Buble. He has recorded Bobby Darin's Hello Young Lovers, Clementine and Don't Rain on My Parade on is debut album 'ON SONG' Check him out on You Tube singing his own composition ' You Just Don't Love Me Anymore' He is going places!

  • His voice is amazing....sang with such passion....very touching!

  • my mom played this for me when i was 5....my dad broke her heart

  • He and Connie Francis should have been together.but her father put an end to that......I think she still always loved him.

  • I love this one!!!! BEAUTIFUL

  • Love this song, and love performances of it ... but this is what happens when an Oscar- caliber actor show us what it's about. Heart-rending.

  • Mesmerizing!!

    

  • Holy Shit! Bobby Darin has a Awesome singing voice! Listening to this sometimes makes me cry.

  • Beautiful man, beautiful voice, beautiful song...I am moved to tears every time I hear this.

  • I cry everytime I see this....knowing he and Sandra had broke up...

  • Bobby Darin was the bridge between the crooners and the rockers.

  • I don't like this, I LOVE this!

  • Hey KentuckyJet-I went back and listened to Sinatra's version after hearing Bobby's. Sinatra was great, but nobody could put heart and soul into a song like Darin. Nobody could take a song and swing it like Darin. Keep in mind, you're listening to a man who struggled for air everytime he took a breath, but you never knew it listening to him. He was amazing and was the single greatest performer ever. I grew up thinking Sinatra was the greatest......till I discovered Darin.

  • Bolger's is the fine original, Darin does it beautifully, and Strouse himself singing it, late in life especially, has great resonance. A brilliant song, expertly covered by many of the greats, deserves as much recognition as such a classic as this can muster. Once upon a time...

  • this song makes me teary eyed, love you Bobby!

  • This song by Bobby is all the more meaningful when your realize that he had to catch his breath probably because of his bad heart......with heart failure, the fluid/blood backs up in the lungs and you get short of breath. He gave his all to his audience. RIP Bobby. You will never be forgotten.

  • singing this for choir:))

  • His name's spelt T-A-L-E-N-T. Virtuoso singer who had the touch of great singers in taking a song everyone had done and spinning gossamer notes and a new take.

  • Once Upon A Time there was the great Bobby Darin! Double J

  • There was magic in every Darin performance. Bobby always gave his best, and his best was second to none.

  • This is such a beautiful sad sweet song. Bobby put so much feeling and emotion into it. Thank you for posting . 5*****

  • Remembering the fantastic music of Bobby Darin from the 'baby boomer' generation of the 50's & 60's. Nostalgia & remembering the good-ole days is fun. This song "Once Upon A Time" was a classic for sure. He was a delightful 'Crooner' to listen to. Check out his BIO & more info at FindAgrave doht cohm just click on Famous grave search & enter his name.

  • I hate liking these singers that are dead. Elvis, Bobby Darin, Dean Martin, Stevie Ray Vaughan... Just the fact of knowing I will never get to see them live and in person and that they will never make another song or movie just depresses me........... Thank you Michael Buble for opening my ears to this fabulous music without him I would have never known that Bobby Darin sung something besides Splish, Splash........

  • Pure charisma.

  • I remember when he died. My boyfriend and future husband were driving when we heard it on the radio. We just looked at each other. We knew something great was gone. What a voice.

  • only 36???? i cannot believe it. he was part of my growing up years. gone too soon.

  • I came across with this beautiful song, it seems the time stood still when he sing...the sadness and regret takes my breath away.

  • I'm playing Fodorski in our rendition... I never will be half as great as this man, and I'm fine with it, cause this man is more than perfect

  • I have no forum to express the grief that I feel for my dearest friend, Ken Sandy. He died and I did not know until after the fact. I did not go to his funeral but hearing Bobby sing this song, I can express some of my grief. I have so much inside of me and listening to Bobby I can let go and live some of the times with Ken. I love you Ken. God's speed.

  • Wonderful!

    @jotheodorou Yes they do!

    Robert Cuccioli sang it monday night at Feinstein's and it was equally beautiful and emotional.

  • We are singing this in my chorus and we are nowhere near this amazing!

  • Miss that type of performer...do they exist anymore? He was a true star.

    Great accompaniment/arrangement....l­ove the strings.

  • Taken from us too soon.

  • he's just incredible, really.

  • This brought tears to my eyes--absolutely beautiful. Thank you.

  • what a man

  • love this song so from the hart

  • A performance dripping with emotion. He believed what he was singing.

  • @boxyboy46  I couldn't agree more! I never watch this performance with dry eyes!! Two months after his divorce from Sandra

  • @MSglaserads For purely vocal technique I dare say he delivered more precise performances a thousand times. But, for honesty, heart, soul and passion, this is spine tingling. I just wish the recording quality was a little better.

  • Such a gifted talent!! So much emotion in this song.

  • I have an arrangement for this in treble clef (female version) and I love singing it.

  • I love his version of this song. I was lucky to have met him years ago and spent time with him. He was and always will be a great talent and, for me, the legend he always aspired to be.

  • Keith Jarrett has been playing this from time to time at his trio concerts and it's simply stunning.

  • enjoyed listening to Bobby Darin as a kid growing up. still do!!

  • I remeber singing this back in high school for our broadway review.

  • .....what a performance...I truly don't think I have ever seen one better...Bobby Darin was about to take off into outer space when it just all came to an end..and what a loss of all of us...Devastating loss to music lovers

  • Fabulous

  • such a beautiful song, a wonderful heart..thank you naomi for the share, so lovely yet so sad, my best wishes ann=)

  • Saddest song I ever heard.

  • He's like Sinatra. Irreplecable.

  • For my sweet Oletha...we all love you so much....joanie, Marion, Ollie, Marta..we will

    always miss you...

  • So i've come back for the 20th time to view this wonderfully personal, beautifully nuanced and deeply touching performance and I've just realized why BD looks familiar to me even though I hadn't seen him before this video. He bears a striking resemblance to Robert Mitchum in "The Night Of The Hunter"

  • Bob really made this pretty song beautiful - as if coming from a better place than our everyday world we live in. Thanks Bob. It means a lot to me.

  • This is , by far, the best example of telling a story when singing. I've seen a lot of comments saying check out other singer's renditions of this song. I checked them out and while I'll acknowledge that some of the other tones, arrangements of these others might be even more pleasing than BD's version NONE of them sang with this level of emotion. It's absolutely breathtaking. In BD's eyes you can see him reliving the lyrics that he is singing. This is artistry. This performance is a gift.

  • @valarierenee You summed it up perfectly!

  • love this song..memories

  • I can't get this song out of my mind now! A sad, touching, and souful rendition by the truly great voice of Bobby Darin!

  • This guy was blessed with so much talent. His magnificent recordings will live on forever yet his loss at only 37 was a tragedy.

  • just gut wrenching.....so poignant and beauitiful

  • God, that just made me cry, thinking about he died. But he's still alive -- I'm in my 30s, and I've always loved his music.

  • Bobby Darin died at 37 years old, but not before he left us so many beautiful songs rest in peace sir.

  • @joevet66 But don't be so sad,He once said he'd be a legend by the time he was 25 and he achieved it

  • ... :(

  • I have always loved Bobby Darin, and seeing him sing this song just made me so sad. He had so much talent. He could do everything. Sing, act, play any instrument. He could do it all. I wonder if he was born today, if the doctors could have fixed his heart.

  • agree 10000% darin was great he was beyond sea. too bad his heart valve sunk him. they put "artificial flowers" on his grave. R.I.P. darin was great. i got sad too and cried.ROGHARM i first heard this song on the ===Woolworth hour the best in music++++on the cbs radio network. before tv tookover. the singers and music were live then in the 1950's. the music/songs were great. not the junque we have today.

  • @perfectstar14 I believe he had a bad heart valve as a result of rheumatic fever. I believe that today, it would a piece of cake to replace the bad valve. He had so much more to do, yet it wasn't in the cards. I used to think Tony Bennett's version of Once Upon A Time was best, until now. Darin's version tells a haunting story with a beautiful, real voice. It's the best!

  • My high school Jazz Choir got this as a piece to look at, and we ALL thought it was beautiful.

  • I never knew about this song until I heard it on Spacey's "Beyond the Sea" soundtrack. Beautiful sad song. Kevin does a great job singing it too.

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  • Awesome!

  • Year?

  • Masterpiece. Only 37 when he died. It still hurts.. I believe this was filmed in 1967. Bobby finally given a lifetime achievement award Sunday night at the Grammy's.

  • I hate hearing him say he needs to catch his breath... he was already ill, but gave everything he had to every performance.

  • A good singer is as good as a good song. Bobby Darin, Tony Bennett, Sinatra, the song carries them all. I love this beautiful song. Even Walter Matthau made it sound good, lol. xx

  • if anyone knows where i can get a performance track for this let me kno

  • This is consummate ballad singing. Just beautifully phrased, with tons of nuance and feeling.

  • Bearable ?

    Even with the static , this blows away the Tony Bennett Studio version - and not just the vocals but also the arrangement !

  • An incredibly deep, soulful and wonderfully nuanced performance. What heart he had.

  • He was great ,,, a real class guy.... real talent and a tough life he came into .. and overcame..

  • GREATNESS...

    THANKS bdfan62.

  • I don't know how anyone can listen to Bobby sing this song and not be reduced to tears. He just lays himself raw with emotion. He was never afraid to do that, to take chances, it is why he is and will always be so loved by his fans. His versatility and talent just know no end. A beautiful man singing a beautiful song. I am so glad this is preserved for the future for all to hear and be moved.

  • i have never heard of him before the movie beyond the sea. excuse my writing i am from mexico

  • Bobby in black and white. Such a vision.  The emotion and feeling in this song just takes your breath away.

  • Are there any documentery DVD's available on Bobby. Where are all these clips coming from?

  • Yea, You need to get the PBS Documentary Beyond The Song, its chocked full of performances and its a great doc. the DVD is on amazon!

  • Beautiful! There are no wrong notes in this jazz performance. Just a new interpitation. Tony does songs the exact same way every time. Both singers are different not better but both perform at a very high standard.Tony dosen't play and write,Bobby dosen't paint, Who cares.This is in the moment vunerable and heart felt.

    Love this.

  • Are you some kind of dumb asshole?!

  • THe background orchestration is intrusive, overpowering and distracting. Try to factor out the orchestration to fully appreciate the nuanced soulfulness of Darin's interpretation.  THe man understood this song!

  • This man put so much heart and soul into every performance, he gave his all. Sadly time was not on his side. Just cried like a baby when I heard on the radio that he died of heart failure. It was a shock because no one talked about the personal lives or health of stars back then, certainly not like now.

    He is a total babe, now and forever!!!!

  • @JoanOfArc14 on the radio the other day the man said that musicians need to put more heart and soul into their performances like they used to, i imediatly thought of Bobby.

  • @JoanOfArc14 What a performance, this is how a song should be sung. Bobby will never be forgotton. I wish his music was played more often. This song brings me to another place, a place that no other song brings me.

  • He had a very sad childhood; the woman he thought was his mother he found was his grandmother, and the girl he thought was hi sister he discovered was his mother.

  • Yes, and he had such class in spite of it all, or perhaps because of it.

  • That was beautiful.

  • great voice and always well prepared to perform on stage and entertain at the same time

  • What a beautiful voice...so romantic. Rest in peace Bobby Darin

  • What a beautifully moving performance.He had "it" all!

  • Bobby was born May 14, 1936; he would have been 73 years old today if he had lived.

    Happy Birthday Bobby

  • does anyone know what happens in the musical "All american" when this song is sung? I need to know for my voice lesson...

  • In the scene, a middle-aged college professor reminisces about his youth and the life (and girl) he left behind before he left his home country and came to America.

  • Honestly-I think this is the one true good song from the show.

  • Once upon a time there was Bobby Darin...

    How could you not love and admire him?

  • wooww!!and to think that the audio equipment at that time is no equal to what we have now..yet, the voice of bobby is impeccably caught and suited for the song..i thought he can't belt out a tune like this one, he being synonymous with mack the knife ...amazing bobby..!!!!simply one of the best singers of our lifetime!!!

  • Actually vintage recording gear of the 50's and 60's is very much sought after and commands high prices these days. google a "Neumann U47".

  • see kevin Spacey's portrayal of Darin in the film Beyond the sea. He does a beautiful job.

  • I agree, he sounds very close to Bobby and I think he did a great job.

  • You can agree or disagree on things, but all I care is this song and how he sang it! A matter of enjoying it as a listening pleasure!

  • All the credit is going to Bobby -- A Song by Lee Adams and Charles Strouse -- one of the best ever written.

  • All I know is Bobby singing this song has touched me.

  • This shows why: -- when you put Tony Bennett, Sinatra (Frank, that is), Martino, Jones Jr., Eddie Fisher, even Andy Williams, all those of that ilk, into a basket, and then shake it. --- up rises Bobby Darin, one of the top 10 male 'pop' vocalists (& performers) of the entire 20th Century!!!

  • Forget all the arguments; look at the facts. He was a fantastic singer who could interpret a song perfectly and his version of Once Upon a Time was the best - end of argument. He knew that he was ill, but still carried on - it was all he could do.

  • You are not him either ...even though in his case the lyrics might have been related to his life (I don't know that) most of the time lyrics are just lyrics , so you can feel the music , you can like the lyrics and interpret them with a lot of feeling , but that's about it . sinatra was not to be a great "interpreter" of the lyrics , for example--.the actor thing was a comparison. I'm a jazz pianist and I sing too . Main thing is , we both like it the song and the video !

  • I meant "Sinatra was KNOWN to be a great interpreter of songs lyrics"

  • true true....

  • Isn't commenting on youtube a bit fa waste of time ? :)

    so long

  • I have favorited this song and probably listen to it every week or 2, thanks so much for posting it. It is my favorite!

  • beautiful song....makes me remember my first true love.....

  • Lovely song!

    Today I was watching the movie

    "Hanging Up" starring Diane Keaton,

    Lisa Kudrow and Meg Ryan...

    Anyway my point is that this song was in the movie and I thougth that I just had to listen to it again on Youtube!

  • this one awakens memories in my heart that i can only feel

  • omg. Simply flawless. Where are all the artist of this caliber today?? This song brought tears to my eyes.

  • I wouldn't say "simply flawless" , but technique isn't all sometimes and he did a great job with the interpretation and the phrasing . We also have to remember he had heart problems .

    Great take , great video

  • Also beautiful "acting" of the song

  • he didn't "act". he felt it.

    maybe "delivery" is the word you're looking for. but not even that in this case. he just felt it.

  • There is something more than feeling anddelivering" a song when you are alone singing on a stage and you are singing words . His face expressions were in sink with the lyrics . That what I meant . You "act" the words of the song , there is nothing bad about it .

  • sorry. still don't agree. :)

    and besides, if you feel a song, truly feel it, relate to it, deliver it from the heart because it speaks to you, there is nothing more.

    the fact that he's alone on the stage just makes him more vulnerable to expose all these feelings.

    "his face expressions were in sync with the lyrics" because he felt them.

  • The best actors are the ones who win oscars because they totally feel the part to the maximum ...so it's almost a matter of semantics at this point ...he can't REALLY feel it because it's not his REAL life , so he feels the music and acts the lyrics in a profoundly felt way ...I know , you just don't like the word "acting":) , but isn't a singer a bit like an actor...?

  • sorry. all i can say is simply: i don't agree.

    we can discuss this all we want and still be turning in circles. ;)

  • you could not really say that because you are not him....you can't talk like if you really knew what really went through his mind or if he really felt it or not......an actor acts, and a singer sings.....thats about all we can really be sure of....Darin does look like he feels it no matter what you say....so if you want to talk for someone else first speak for yourself......are you an acting or singin coach????

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  • Like all GREAT performers.....pain in life can bring UNFORGETTABLE songs...R.I.P. ..SWEET BOBBY dh

  • beautiful.. what a performance!

    made me cry.. thanks for posting!!!

  • Without question, the most intelligent, moving interpretation of this wonderful song.

    Brilliant.

  • This is wonderful....thank you so much.

  • I was watching a rerun of Boston Legal and Scott Bakula sang this song. I was so touched by it that I had to find out which artists recorded it. I came upon this video version which brought tears to my eyes. Bobby was mesmerizing and I can tell he felt the lyrics so deeply. Thanks so much for posting this. I am 55 years old and have come to appreciate and regret my once upon a time....

  • EMOUVANT !!! MERCI POUR LA VIDEO

  • This is such a heart-breaking performance. Simpy beautiful, thanks for posting.

  • Great interpretation of this song. BD was such a wonderful talent. I can only wonder what he would have been able to accomplish if he was still here today. RIP Bobby

  • This is a heartbreaker of a song, knowing that Bobby was quite ill. He managed to squeeze into his short life all the talent and artistry most people take a lifetime to achieve. As the saying goes: "The candle that burns half as long, burns twice as bright." God bless his memory.

  • I have made a special request with my family that this song be played at my funeral. I think you have to be a certain age to truly understand the regret and rememberance expressed this song. I have an appreciation for it at age 51 that I did not possess at 21.

    The lyric "once upon a time, the world was sweeter that we knew." breaks my heart for its insight about the way we take life for granted when we are too young to know the true joys of youth. Thank you so much for this lovely video.

  • This is really quite beautiful. He seems to be feeling unwell and breathing with difficulty, which, ironically, give this more force. I had always loved the Sinatra version, which is very different. Sinatra is looking back with some distance; Darin is still smarting from the time "very long ago"...the difference between a singer who is 50 and one who is 30 or so. Thanks very much.

  • He was in love with Connie Francis early on and they wanted to get married... but her father chased bobby Darrin off and stopped there marriage. Sandra Dee was cute but Connie Francis was great all around.

  • Love this! Bobby had a beautiful voice. He and Sandy had a great love. you can see the emotion in his face. He was awesome!

  • Stunning, thank you.

  • how can i ever forget this song when i used to whisper all beautifully worded to fit its melody that it becomes my very favorite songs of all my time. thank you for downloading!!

  • Beautiful as it is, these lyrics tell such a depressing story. Bobby's version is so far beyond melencholly. Artistic performance, or true connection, the song's pathos is captured so perfectly.

  • rvcrvc2...... you said that so perfectly :} He lived this song with Sandra Dee...thats what I get from his emotion & expression :( A brilliant performer and he will always be dear to my heart....sigh dh

  • Gosh every time I see this video it makes me cry.

  • Bobby was a phenomenal talent that I have only recently discovered and am thoroughly enjoying THANKS to the many awesome video postings. Along with all his flawless performances (you never hear him take a breath), this multi-talented musical legend was accompanied by a multitude of unnamed gifted musicians. The strings, bass and piano are as silky and smooth as his incredible voice.

  • Once upon time a guy with hazel eyes once loved me. That was so long ago, but my love still grows. Im hauted by those hazel eyes. They wake me in the dawn, and that's when my pain starts, cuase he wont come back. kkg

    Where has my pretty eyes gone, so far, but never forgotten.

  • watch his lower lip and him toucjing his face from 2;50 till about 3:00

  • I had such a sad feeling at the start of this video when he asks the conductor to keep going so he can catch his breath. Knowing how sick he didn't squelch his desire to turn in another incredible performance. Very few talents can reach in and clutch our hearts the way Bobby did.

  • love this song..love it love it love it..he does it way better than anyone else..

  • Wonderful song with a wonderful singer and arranger, Roger Kellaway.

  • What a sad and tortured childhood he had. After contracting glandular fever he overheard the doctor tell his mother that he would probably die before the end of his teens, so the image of his death was ever present. He also found out later in life that his mother was actually his grandmother, and the girl he thought was his sister was his mother!

  • No father - never knew his identity.

    Rheumatic fever.

    Truly ill his whole life.

  • Until now, I always thought that Tony Bennett's version of this beautiful song was the best. After hearing Bobby's version, I have changed my mind. Wonderfully interpreted, and done with passion.

  • Magical. What a spectacular talent Bobby Darin was.

  • Oh I love this song so much! After watching the movie Hanging Up with Meg Ryan, I fell in love with it. Thanks for putting it up!!! :)

  • Look at all that emotion in his face....he was a sensitive & good man, just melts my heart watching this dh

  • loved it ' issy

  • Bobby darin was a real gifted man in song and it was a Tragedy that we only had him for a short time,but we did have him, and that was a blessing.The wonderful songs he left us he will certainly not be forgotten he was a Excellent singer.......Colin

  • Perfectly said. Thank you.

  • Absolutely wonderful.

    John

  • What a great artist Bobby Darin was. He performed this song just beautifully...5 stars and more if possible. Thanks to my friend Alex or BlueEyes0770 for sharing this video with me.

    Peace!!

  • Thanks to Alex for this share - they just don't make 'em like this anymore!