Bobby Darin

American singer Bobby Darin was a smooth-voiced pop idol in the late ’50s and ’60s with a string of Top 40 singles, including his chart-topping version of “Mack the Knife”. • Darin got his start writing jingles with the future music impresario Don Kirshner and later worked as a Brill Building songwriter. • His breakthrough came in 1958 with the novelty song “Splish-Splash”. Darin and Murray Kaufman co-wrote the song, which reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. • Seven of the 11 singles Darin released from 1959 to 1960 were US Top 40 hits, including “Dream Lover” (No. 2), “Mack the Knife” (No. 1) and “Beyond the Sea” (No. 6). Darin’s version of “Mack the Knife”, written by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht in 1928, won a Grammy for Record of the Year, while Darin won Best New Artist. • Darin leaned toward country music in the early ’60s, landing hits with 1962’s “Things” (No. 3), 1963’s torchy “You’re the Reason I’m Living” (No. 3) and “18 Yellow Roses” (No. 10). • In addition to singing, Darin landed roles in movies, including the 1961 romantic comedy Come September, for which he won a Golden Globe and also wrote “Theme from Come September.” He received an Oscar nomination for his role in the 1963 movie Captain Newman, M.D.. • His last Top 10 hit came in 1966 with a version of Tim Hardin’s “If I Were a Carpenter”, which reached No. 8. • A bout of rheumatic fever as a child had weakened Darin’s heart, and he died of heart failure in 1973 at age 37.