Tune Tuesday – The Night Has A Thousand Eyes

Bobby Vee was born on this day in 1943.  In his career he had quite a few hits under his belt, but had it not been for a tragedy, the world may never have known him.

Anyone familiar with “The Day the Music Died,” remembers that on February 3, 1959, three of the four main headliners of the touring “Winter Dance Party” were killed in an airplane crash.  Those three singers were Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and The Big Bopper.  Dion, the fourth headliner, chose not to travel by plane to the next city on the tour. That city was Moorhead, Minnesota. 

The show in Moorhead went on as scheduled, but organizers searched for a musical act to fill in for Buddy Holly.  Bobby Vee (who was 15 at the time) gathered up some musicians from Fargo (which includes his brother) and they performed that night.  This was the jumpstart of his career.

A couple years later, Bobby recorded a tribute album to Buddy. In the liner notes, he recalled Holly’s influence on him and the events surrounding Holly’s death, describing how he had looked forward to attending the concert, how the local radio station put out a call for local talent to fill in after the disaster, and how Vee’s recently organized group, modeled on Holly’s style, had to make up a name (the Shadows) on the spot.

In 1963 Bobby was signed by American Bandstand to headline a tour called Dick Clark’s Caravan of Stars national U.S. tour, scheduled to perform its 15th show on the night of November 22, 1963, at the Memorial Auditorium in Dallas, Texas. The event, however, was cancelled after U.S. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated that afternoon while riding in his motorcade through downtown Dallas.

In 2012, Bobby announced publicly that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and sadly would have to withdraw from the music business.  Four years later, on October 24, 2016, Vee died from complications of the disease at the age of 73.

He had hits with Devil or Angel, Run to Him, Rubber Ball, and hit #1 with Take Good Care of My Baby. My favorite Bobby Vee song is The Night Has a Thousand Eyes.  The song came out in December of 1962 and went to #3 on the charts.  

I have always liked this song melodically and for all of the little musical things that are happening in the background. Those little string licks that play off his vocal, the drummer’s cymbal rhythm during the chorus, and the syncopated lines at the end of the chorus always sound so good to me! 

The Night Has a Thousand Eyes

They say that you’re a runaround lover
Though you say it isn’t so
But if you put me down for another
I’ll know, believe me, I’ll know

Cause the night has a thousand eyes
And a thousand eyes can’t help but see if you are true to me
So remember when you tell those little white lies
That the night has a thousand eyes

You say that you’re at home when you phone me
And how much you really care
Though you keep telling me that you’re lonely
I’ll know if someone is there

Cause the night has a thousand eyes
And a thousand eyes can’t help but see if you are true to me
So remember when you tell those little white lies
That the night has a thousand eyes

One of these days you’re gonna be sorry
Cause your game I’m gonna play
And you’ll find out without really tryin’
Each time that my kisses stray

Cause the night has a thousand eyes
And a thousand eyes will see me too
And no matter what I do
I could never disguise all my little white lies
Cause the night has a thousand eyes

So remember when you tell those little white lies
That the night has a thousand eyes