every morning thereafter.” (The culprit was actually a mockingbird, by the way, and not a robin.) But the next night the bird flew into a tree outside my window and woke me up … and about 2 a.m. “I told her I couldn’t unless I threw a rock at him. “She asked me to chase him away so that she could get some sleep,” Leon René explained. Leon René wrote the song after his wife complained about a bird keeping her awake at night. The genesis of “Rockin’ Robin” was a rock ‘n’ roll story of legend. Leon René had approached the musician with the idea of Day recording the tune for the teenage market. singer Thurston Harris recorded a Top 10 cover version.)ĭay’s next release in early 1958 would sell a million copies and become his signature song - and his only real success. Near the end of 1957, Day cut a minor hit called “Little Bitty Pretty One.” (Fellow L. Day recorded for Class Records, a small-time label owned by brothers Leon and Otis René. When Jackson’s “Rockin’ Robin” was hot, the Jackson 5 issued another blast-from-the-past winner called “Little Bitty Pretty One.” As it turns out, both “Rockin’ Robin” and “Little Bitty Pretty One” had first been done in the late 1950s by the same little-remembered artist, Bobby Day.ĭay was a fixture on the Los Angeles R&B scene for years, having first achieved success as the leader of the Hollywood Flames (“Buzz-Buzz-Buzz”). Young Jackson’s fans heartily embraced the single release, though, and bought enough copies to rocket it to Number Two on the charts.

But his next offering of a kid-oriented “oldie” brought grumbles from those in the industry who felt the bouncy ditty too “lightweight” for any Mo town artist, even 13-year-old Jackson. Lead singer Michael Jackson later recalled, “It was (Motown founder) Berry Gordy’s idea that I should do a solo recording, and so I became one of the first people in a Motown group to really step out.”Īnd did he ever step out! “Got to Be There” established Jackson’s groundbreaking solo path. He has done numerous personality profiles of rock and pop artist for the record-collector magazine Goldmine.īy the early 1970s, Motown’s teenage brother group the Jackson 5 was regularly burning up the Billboard singles and album charts.

He has extensive writing credits including the first three editions of the House of Collectibles’ The Official Price Guide to Collectible Rock Records, which was reviewed on NBC’s “Today” show.

Later, he taught language arts at Fairvalley High School in Covina, Calif., where he offered “The Rock and Roll Years,” an elective fine arts class that featured invited guest speakers: Jan and Dean, Bobby Vee, Freddy Cannon, to name a few. While attending college in Long Beach, Calif., he worked as a DJ at two radio stations. Hill, Brandon, Ore., is a retired English teacher with a master’s degree.

Rocking robin guide