Things - Bobby Darin

I like this song partly because I can remember my dad singing it. It came out in 1962 when I was three going on four but it probably got sung for several months after its chart success (No 2 in the UK). My dad had a pleasant voice and could sing this song well. Bobby Darin himself, the American writer, singer and instrumentalist who wrote and sang the song, is a brilliant laid back singer. The instrumentation and the echoing female chorus enhance the whole. The subject - a failed romance that the singer is seeking to revive - is only incidental. The upbeat tempo contrasts with the melancholy lyric in a very attractive way, as so often in pop music. The key change half way through and the choke in the voice at one point also add to the whole effect. By 1962, Darin had begun to write and sing country music like this. "Things" was the final Darin single released on Atco Records, a division of Atlantic, before he began recording for Capitol. He later returned to Atlantic. The next hits after this one were "You're the Reason I'm Living" and "18 Yellow Roses". Before this he had become famous with Splish Splash, Dream Lover, Mack the Knife and Beyond the Sea.