Robert Cabot Sherman Jr. (born July 22, 1943) is an American singer, actor and occasional songwriter, who became a popular teen idol in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He had a series of successful singles, notably the million-seller "Little Woman" (1969). Sherman mostly retired from music in the 1970s for a career as a paramedic and later police officer, though he still performs and records occasionally.
Career as performer
Sherman graduated in 1961 from Birmingham High School in Van Nuys, California. He attended Pierce College in Woodland Hills, California. His interest in music began at age 11 when he learned to play the trumpet. He eventually progressed to playing 16 musical instruments. At Birmingham High School Bobby played football, joined a dance band, and discovered his love for singing. From the time he was in high school, Bobby knew that he wanted to be some type of performer, but wasn't sure how to make it happen.
In 1962 Sal Mineo took Sherman under his wing and wrote two songs for him as well as arranging for Sherman to record the songs, then in 1964 when Sherman was asked by Mineo to sing with his old band at a Hollywood party (there were many actors and agents in attendance) he made such an impression at that party he landed an agent and eventually a part on the ABC television show Shindig! as a regular cast member/house singer. The show ran for two years, from 1964 to 1966. During that time Bobby made several records with Decca and another smaller label, and landed in all the teen magazines, but it did not seem to catapult his career. Sherman's luck changed drastically early in 1968 when, out of hundreds of actors, he was cast in the role as the bashful, stammering logger, Jeremy Bolt, in the television series Here Come the Brides (1968-1970 ABC).
Sherman appeared on an episode of Honey West (1964) entitled "The Princess and the Paupers" as a kidnapped band member, The Monkees entitled "Monkees at the Movies", playing a pompous surfer/singer named Frankie Catalina in the vein of Frankie Avalon, performing the song "The New Girl in School" (the flip of Jan & Dean's "Dead Man's Curve", co-written by The Beach Boys' Brian Wilson, Jan Berry of Jan and Dean, songwriter Roger Christian and Bob Norberg, who was a roommate of Wilson at the time).
Sherman released 107 songs, 23 singles and 10 albums between 1962-76. In his recording career he earned seven gold singles, one platinum single, and five gold albums. He had a career total of seven top 40 hits. In 1969, he signed with Metromedia Records, the new recording arm of Metromedia. In May 1969 they released the single "Little Woman", which peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart (#2 in Canada) and spent nine weeks in the Top 20. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. in October 1969.
His other hits were "Julie, Do Ya Love Me" (US #5/AC #2) (Canada #3) (Australia #3) (written by Tom Bahler), "Easy Come, Easy Go" (US #9/AC #2) (Canada #6), "Jennifer" (US #60/AC #9) (Canada #32), "La La La (If I Had You)" (US #9/AC #14) (Canada #7), and "The Drum" (US #29/AC #2) (Canada #7) (written by Alan O'Day). Some of these songs were produced by Jackie Mills, a Hollywood record producer, who also produced the Brady Bunch Kids. In Canada "Hey, Mister Sun" reached #19, "Cried Like a Baby" reached #10, and "Waiting At The Bus Stop" reached #31. "La, La, La," "Easy Come, Easy Go," and "Julie, Do Ya Love Me" all sold in excess of a million copies and garnered further gold discs for Sherman. "Julie, Do Ya Love Me" was Sherman's sole excursion in the UK Singles Chart, where it peaked at #28 in November 1970. The song competed there for chart space with White Plains' cover version, which eventually placed higher at #8.
Sherman toured extensively through the United States and the world in support of his many records and albums. He gave many concerts to sellout crowds of mostly screaming young women from the late 1960s to the mid 1970s. The screaming by the young women was so loud that Sherman to this day has experienced hearing loss.
Sherman was a frequent guest on American Bandstand and Where the Action Is. He made local and regional TV performances. A March 1971 episode of The Partridge Family featured Sherman, serving as a back-door pilot for the ABC TV series Getting Together, which aired starting in September 1971. The show competed with All in the Family on Saturday nights and was canceled after 14 episodes.
Sherman was a guest star on television series such as The Mod Squad, Ellery Queen, Murder She Wrote and Frasier. He has also been a guest on The Ed Sullivan Show, American Bandstand, The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, KTLA Morning News, Visiting with Huell Howser on PBS, Good Day LA, The Rosie O'Donnell Show, Good Morning America, and The Tonight Show with both Johnny Carson and later with Jay Leno. He was featured on 20/20, VH1, Entertainment Tonight, and Extra, among other television shows. Sherman was a regular cast member on the television show Sanchez of Bel Air in 1986.
In 1998, after a 25-year absence, eager fans flocked to see him in concert as part of "The Teen Idol Tour" with Peter Noone, and Davy Jones. Fellow Monkees member Micky Dolenz replaced Davy Jones on the tour in 1999. He did his last concert as a solo performer in Lincoln, Rhode Island on August 25, 2001. Bobby has retired from public life; however, he still does corporate events occasionally as well as his ongoing charities. He was ranked #8 in TV Guide's list of "TV's 25 Greatest Teen Idols" (January 23, 2005 issue).
Discography
Singles
- 1962 "Judy, You'll Never Know (I'll Never Tell You)"/"The Telegram" (Starcrest)
- 1963 "I Want to Hear It From Her"/"Nobody's Sweetheart" (Dot)
- 1964 "You Make Me Happy"/"Man Overboard" (Decca)
- 1965 "It Hurts Me"/"Give Me Your Word" (Decca)
- 1965 "Hey Little Girl"/"Well, Allright" (Decca)
- 1965 "Anything Your Little Heart Desires"/Goody Galum-Shus" (Parkway)
- 1965 "Happiness Is"/"Can't Get Used To Losing You" (Cameo)
- 1967 "Cold Girl"/"Think Of Rain" (Epic)
- 1969 "Judy, You'll Never Know (I'll Never Tell You")/"The Telegram" (Condor) (reissue)
- 1969 "Little Woman"/"One Too Many Mornings" (Metromedia), Pop #3
- 1969 "La La La (If I Had You)"/"Time" (Metromedia), Pop #9, Adult Contemporary #14
- 1970 "Easy Come, Easy Go"/"Sounds Along the Way" (Metromedia), Pop #9, Adult Contemporary #2
- 1970 "Hey, Mister Sun"/"Two Blind Minds" (Metromedia), Pop #24, Adult Contemporary #3
- 1970 "Julie, Do Ya Love Me"/"Spend Some Time Lovin Me" (Metromedia), Pop #5, Adult Contemporary #2
- 1971 "Goin' Home (Sing a Song of Christmas Cheer)"/"Love's What You're Getting For Christmas" (Metromedia)
- 1971 "Cried Like a Baby"/"Is Anybody There" (Metromedia), Pop #16, Adult Contemporary #9
- 1971 "The Drum"/"Free Now To Roam" (Metromedia), Pop #29, Adult Contemporary #2
- 1971 "Waiting At The Bus Stop"/"Run Away" (Metromedia), Pop #54
- 1971 "Jennifer"/"Getting Together" (Metromedia), Pop #60, Adult Contemporary #9
- 1972 "Together Again"/"Picture A Little Girl" (Metromedia), Pop #91
- 1972 "I Don't Believe In Magic"/"Just A Little While Longer" (Metromedia)
- 1972 "Early In the Morning"/"Unborn Lullabye" (Metromedia), Pop #113
- 1974 "Mr. Success"/"Runaway" (Janus)
- 1975 "Our Last Song Together"/"Sunshine Rose" (Janus), Adult Contemporary #34
Original LPs
- 1969 Bobby Sherman (Metromedia), Pop #11, Gold album
- 1970 Here Comes Bobby (Metromedia), Pop #10, Gold album
- 1970 With Love, Bobby (Metromedia), Pop #20, Gold album
- 1970 Christmas Album (Metromedia) (see NOTE below)
- 1971 Portrait of Bobby (Metromedia), Pop #48
- 1971 Getting Together (Metromedia), Pop #71
- 1972 Just For You (Metromedia)
NOTE: Metromedia released 2 versions of Christmas Album: one contained "Prologue"; the other replaced it with "Goin' Home (Sing A Song Of Christmas Cheer)"â€"rest of LP is identical.
Compilation LPs
- 1971 Bobby Bobby Bobby (promo only) (Metromedia Special Products)
- 1972 Bobby Sherman's Greatest Hits (Metromedia), Pop #83
- 1972 Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Bobby Sherman (Superstar Records)
- 1975 Remembering You (Phase One) (This album contains 7 previously released songs (Mr. Success, Julie Do You Love Me, Runaway, Easy Come Easy Go, Early In The Morning, Cried Like A Baby, Our Last Song Together) and 5 new songs not available anywhere else (Beginnings Are Easy, Fresh Out Of Love, I'll Never Stop Singing My Song, Here With You, Just Ask Me I've Been There)).
CDs
- 1990 What Came Before (Teen Ager #622) ("Just For You" with bonus tracks)
- 1991 The Very Best of Bobby Sherman (Restless)
- 1992 Christmas Album (Restless)
- 1995 All-Time Greatest Hits (K-tel) (contains 2 previously unreleased songs, "Where There's A Heartache" and "I Can't Wait Until Tomorrow")
- 1995 Bobby Sherman (K-tel)
- 1995 Here Comes Bobby (K-tel)
- 1995 With Love, Bobby (K-tel)
- 1995 Portrait of Bobby (K-tel)
- 1995 Getting Together (K-tel)
- 1999 My Christmas Wish (KRB) (reissue of Christmas Album)
- 2000 The Very Best of Bobby Sherman (Varese)
- 2001 Here Comes Bobby / With Love, Bobby (Collectables Records) (2 albums on 1 CD)
- 2001 Bobby Sherman / Portrait of Bobby (Collectables Records) (2 albums on 1 CD)
- 2008 Just For You (K-tel)
- 2010 "Love Songs" (K-Tel)
- 2015 "Missing Pieces" (Bell) (one track is Bobby Sherman singing "Stephanie")
- 2017 "Singles" (Four-Teen) (contains 6 previously unreleased songs, "Stop The Music", "Old Girlfriends", "Over Here", "The New Girl In School", "Beautiful Doll" and "Today I Chipped A Piece Off Of The Sun")
Songs included on Various Artists Compilation CDs
- 1993 Yesterday's Heroes: Teen Idols of the 70's (Rhino)
- 1994 Have a Nice Christmas: Christmas in the 70's (Rhino)
- 1994 Tube Tunes Volume One: the 70's (Rhino)
- 1996 Bubblegum Classics, Vol. 3 (Varese)
- 1992 TV Family Christmas (Scotti Brothers)
Selected filmography
Appearances, unless otherwise noted
- Honey West-The Princess and the Paupers 1965
- Wild in the Streets - 1968
- Here Come the Brides - 1968-1970, television series, ABC
- Getting Together - 1971-1972, television series, ABC
- Skyway to Death - 1974 television movie
- The Day The Earth Moved - 1974 (as co-producer and music writer)
- He Is My Brother - 1975
- The Gossip Columnist - 1980
- Get Crazy - 1981
- The Video Game Challenge (Pilot) - 1983
- Thin Blue Line (non-profit training film for Los Angeles Police Department) - 1995 (as music video director)
Post-entertainment career
When Sherman guest-starred on an episode of the Jack Webb television series Emergency! ("Fools", season 3, episode 17, aired January 19, 1974), he found a new calling that focused more on his personal life, and he eventually left the public spotlight and became an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). He volunteered with the Los Angeles Police Department, working with paramedics, and giving CPR and first aid classes. He officially became a technical Reserve Police Officer with the Los Angeles Police Department in the 1990s, a position he still holds today. He was later promoted to Captain status in the Los Angeles Police Department. For more than a decade he served as a medical training officer at the Los Angeles Police Academy, instructing thousands of police officers in first aid and CPR. He was named LAPD's Reserve Officer of the Year in 1999.
Sherman also became a Reserve Deputy Sheriff in 1999 with the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department continuing his CPR/emergency training of new deputy hires. Sherman retired from the Sheriff's Department in 2010, but continues with the LAPD. According to Sherman, "I've been bestowed a mountain of blessings. I felt a need to start giving back."
He subsequently received several awards for his humanitarian efforts. Sherman founded the Bobby Sherman Volunteer EMT Foundation. His organization coordinates medical services at many community and charity events in southern California.
Sherman founded the Brigitte & Bobby Sherman Children's (BBSC) Foundation. The foundation's mission is to provide motivated students in Ghana with a high quality education and music program, thus giving them the tools they need to pursue higher education and become successful, contributing adults.
Sherman built a one-fifth scale model of Disneyland's Main Street, made entirely by hand in his yard at his home.
Personal life
Sherman was born to Robert Cabot Sherman Sr. and Juanita (née Freeman) Sherman in Santa Monica, California. He grew up in Van Nuys, California along with his sister Darlene. Sherman was married to Patti Carnel from 1971 until their divorce in 1979. They had two sons.
Sherman married Brigitte Poublon on July 18, 2010 in Las Vegas. Together they founded the Brigitte & Bobby Sherman Children's Foundation.
References in popular culture
Sherman was mentioned in The Simpsons episode "Brother from the Same Planet". Marge Simpson remembered how she had a crush on him. In another episode, "Lisa the Tree Hugger", Homer compared Jesse's "non-threatening good looks" to Sherman. In an episode of The Critic, "Eyes on the Prize", a lady asks Jay to sing the theme from Here Come the Brides and Jay's producer says, "Wait a minute, you think he's Bobby Sherman!"
Sherman was also mentioned in The Nanny episode "My Fair Nanny". While Fran was advising Maggie on how to increase her popularity in high school, Fran told her to discuss "the three universal topics: boys, clothes, and Bobby Sherman." When Maggie asked who Sherman is, Fran told her to use Marky Mark, even though he "doesn't have half the talent of Bobby."
In the 1999 film Dick, set in 1972, a teen magazine runs a contest to win a date with Sherman, with an entry deadline of midnight on June 18, attracting the interest of two teenage girls. Late on the night of June 17, they wander around the apartment complex where one of them lives to mail in their entry before it was too late - and in the process, they encounter other people sneaking around the complex, and end up playing a major role in the Watergate scandal.
On Frank Zappa's Fillmore East - June 1971 album, vocalists Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman play a rock star and a groupie in dialogue between songs; at one point, Volman (as the groupie) asks, gushingly, "Do you know Bobby Sherman?!"
In Nickelodeon's series Big Time Rush (episode "Contest"), Sherman was mentioned by an old woman telling Logan "You're cute, but you're no Bobby Sherman."
In the 2012 film version of Dark Shadows, Carolyn Stoddard is seen reading a teen magazine from circa 1972, featuring a full back cover of Sherman.
In their 2012 concert tour "An Evening with The Monkees", Michael Nesmith and Micky Dolenz did [1] a comedy routine introducing the song "Daily Nightly". Since this was one of the first pop songs to use a MOOG synthesizer, the routine centered around Nesmith seeking to find one for the show. It was revealed that he was not able to get an actual MOOG, but instead brought a picture of one - which he displayed and stated "I think it's Bobby Sherman's MOOG."
References
External links
- Official website
- Bobby Sherman on IMDb
- Ginny's World of Peace, Love and Bobby Sherman, fansite
- Whatever Happened To: Bobby Sherman