Representative Albums: "Best of Bobby Freeman," "C'mon and S-W-I-M with Bobby Freeman," "Do You Wanna Dance?"
Representative Songs: "C'mon and Swim," "Betty Lou Got a New Pair of S," "Need Your Love"
Biography
Bobby Freeman's energetic vocals punctuated two R&B dance hits in the late '50s and mid-'60s. The San Francisco performer started the Romancers as a 14 year old and later formed the West Coast Vocaleers, whose sound was much more pop-oriented than the Harlem group of the same name. Freeman's single "Do You Want to Dance" just missed topping the R&B charts in 1958, staying at number two for two weeks (number five pop). It was one of three hits he enjoyed that year on Josie, although "Betty Lou Got a New Pair of Shoes" and "Need Your Love" only reached numbers 20 and 29, respectively. "C'Mon and Swim" parlayed the 1964 dance craze into his second Top Ten R&B hit, reaching number five. But the follow-up went to the water once too often, as "S-W-I-M" fizzled at number 56. Both were for Autumn. It was also Freeman's final visit to the R&B charts. ~ Ron Wynn, All Music Guide
Freeman began his recording career at age 14 with the Romancers who recorded briefly on the Dootone label. At 17, he scored a hit with "Do You Want To Dance?" and appeared on the pop charts with various follow-ups through 1961. In 1964, he was back in the Top Ten with the dance-craze hit "C'mon and Swim", which reached #5. The craze had cooled by the time he released his follow-up "S-W-I-M", but he continued to tour widely over the next few years. Mainly supporting himself as a singer in strip clubs by the late 1960s, he released another single in 1974 on Touch Records, but it met with little commercial success. He has performed at the Bay Area Music ("Bammy") Awards in recent years.
