Toeing the line between jazz singer, Las Vegas Strip crooner and early rock and roll front man, Bobby Darin was a popular performer known best for "Beyond the Sea," his spin on a Charles Trenet song. Born in New York City in 1936, he suffered a series of illnesses throughout his childhood, prompting doctors to claim he'd be lucky to live past his teenage years. This impending sense of looming death was the fuel Darin needed to spark a meteoric rise to fame. Intent on making a name for himself before he might ultimately succumb to the fragile state of his health (a fact unknown to his adoring audience), he became a charismatic vocalist and performer who could dabble in a number of different styles, tying them all together with his silky smooth voice. Darin enjoyed his greatest success in the late-1950s, turning to acting and a more folk-influenced sound in the following decade. He died in 1973 at the age of 37 from heart complications, but has left behind a legendary body of work.
