Parents Interested in Youthful Singer
Warning...you're going to take exception to something in a paragraph towards the end of the article!! What?!?! Other than that, it's a nice article about Bobby.
The Argus, Fremont-Newark, California - Monday, May 31, 1971
Parents Interested in Youthful Singer
HOLLYWOOD (UPI) - Thirty years ago distraught parents thought Frank Sinatra's voice would ruin their daughters, 15 years later they were certain Elvis Presley's gyrations would spawn a generation of nymphomaniacs. Then came the Beatles and mothers could only pray for guidance.
Enter Bobby Sherman, 1970. Not a peep from parents. In fact they take their daughters from age 6 to 60 to Sherman concerts. Compared with Sherman, Mr. Clean is a dirty old man.
Not since Presley has a soloist set the recording charts afire. Bobby has recorded five albums. Sales: 4 million. Bobby has recorded seven singles. Sales: 10 million. And those figures don't count a cereal company's promotion gimmick of Sherman's records on their boxes for another 30 million records.
Less splashy and flashy than Sinatra, Presley and the others, Bobby Sherman appears to be the vocal idol for the 1970s.
Non-Sherman fans may recall him as the stuttering youngest brother of the television series "Here Come the Brides" which left the air last season.
Next fall Sherman will star in his own show, "Getting Together."
For a preview of the youngest generation's newest hero Sherman heads a half-hour musical special June 4 on ABC. The show will give doubters an insight into Bobby's appeal.
He defines his music as "soft rock." At 25 he appears a half dozen years younger. His face is open, his hair medium length. But his real bag is wholesomeness. He's not Pablum, but neither is Sherman a sex symbol in, say, the style of Presley or Tom Jones.
"My approach to singing, acting and all the rest is honesty," Bobby said, "and because I enjoy entertaining people. Audiences sense that I'm having a good time. People aren't easily fooled. They think, 'If he doesn't care about us, then why should we care about him'?"
Bobby cares. He touches people emotionally with his eyes and some other appeal that is difficult to analyze.
He's small in stature and not particularly handsome. But he has "star" written all over him. His personal charm is as responsible for his tremendous success as his voice or singing style which is not nearly distinctive as Sinatra's, Presley's or Andy Williams'.
Bobby appears to be somewhat shell-shocked by his impact on young people and old alike. He made 50 concert appearances in the past year, playing for some 2 million persons.
"My first concern is for the kids," he said. "They're honest and loyal. My music doesn't have any hidden lyrics about drugs. I just sing and try to entertain the people, and not with what they call bubblegum music either. I hope the lyrics mean something and are pleasant to hear."
Apparently Bobby Sherman has the perfect formula.