The next most forgotten artist is Bobby Rydell, a teen pop idol who landed 17 hits in the Top 40 between 1959 and 1964 before fading into obscurity.
Rydell was born Robert Louis Ridarelli in Philadelphia, and found fame there after winning a talent contest on a nationally televised show. He joined a band at 14 and signed a recording contract before his 18th birthday. Then came a string of hits, including ‘Wild One,’ which peaked at #2, and a cover of ‘Volare,’ which reached #4.
In the early 60s, the British Invasion dominated popular radio and pushed Rydell out of the spotlight. The Beatles did mention one of his songs as an inspiration for ‘She Loves You,’ but that likely wasn’t much of a consolation.
Rydell continued to tour for the rest of his life, performing internationally into his 70s. He died of pneumonia in 2022 at 79.
Oh, wild one!
I’m-a gonna tame you down
Tame you down
Ah! Wild one
I’ll get you yet (yeah! Yeah!) You bet (yeah! Yeah!)
[Chorus]
You little doll, all you do is play
You got a new baby every day
But, someday, it’s gonna be me, me, and only me!
[Verse 2]
Oh, wild one!
I’ll make you settle down
Settle down
Ah! Wild one
I’ll clippa your wings (yeah! Yeah!) And them things (yeah! Yeah!)
[Chorus]
You got the lips that I’m mad about
I got the lips that’ll knock you out
Come on, wild one, be wild about me!
Whoa! Yeah! Baby!
[Bridge]
Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!
Yeah! Yeah!
Wah! Wah! Wah! Wah!
[Chorus]
You little doll all you do is play
You got a new baby every day
But, someday, it’s gonna be me, me, and only me!
[Verse 3]
Oh, wild one!
I’ll make you settle down
Settle down
Ah! Wild one
I’ll clippa your wings (yeah! Yeah!) And things (yeah! Yeah!)
[Chorus]
You got the lips that I’m mad about
I got the lips that’ll knock you out
Come on, wild one, be wild about me!
Whoa! Yeah!
Wah! Wah! Wah! Wah!
[Outro]
Come on, wild one, be wild about me!
One more once
Wah! Wah! Wah! Wah!
Ah! Come on, wild one, be wild about me
Be wild about me!
Meet Me In Montauk 
Unlike Ronnie Dove, I’ve heard of Bobby Rydell.🙃
I really remember him. He was very popular when I was a young teen.