#24: Makin’ Love by Bobby Curtola

City: Calgary, AB
Radio Station: CFAC
Peak Month: August 1965
Peak Position in Calgary ~ #4
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Makin’ Love”
Lyrics: “Makin’ Love”

Bobby Curtola was born in Port Arthur, Ontario, in 1943. (The town would become amalgamated into the city of Thunder Bay in 1970). His cousin Susan Andrusco remembers “Bobby would always be singing at our family gatherings. The family loved him. And he loved being the centre of attention. He would sing Oh My Papa, and my grandpa would cry.” Oh My Papa was a number-one hit for Eddie Fisher in January 1954, when Bobby Curtola was still ten-years-old. In the fall of 1959, sixteen-year-old high school student Bobby Curtola went from pumping gas at his father’s garage in Thunder Bay, Ontario, to the life of a teen idol. Within a year he went from playing in his basement band, Bobby and the Bobcats, to recording his first hit single in 1960, “Hand In Hand With You”, which charted in June ’60 in Ontario, but not in Vancouver.

After performing on the Bob Hope Show in 1960, the charismatic teenager, with his handsome boy-next-door looks was quickly finding himself within a whirlwind called “Curtolamania.”

Bobby set out on his first Western Canadian Tour in the fall of 1960. From there Curtola went on to become a trailblazer. He toured the first coast to coast tour circuit in Canada. In 1961 he went to Nashville to record with Bill Porter for RCA Studios. That relationship continued for decades. “Don’t You Sweetheart Me” was his first Top Ten hit in Canada. The song climbed to #1 in Winnipeg, #4 in Vancouver, #5 in Toronto and #7 in Edmonton, and #3 in Fargo, North Dakota. In September 1961 Curtola was back on the pop charts in Winnipeg, Toronto and Vancouver with “I’ll Never Be Alone Again”. He had another hit on his hands four months later with “Hitchhiker“.

Between 1960 and 1968 Curtola had continual single and album releases on the Tartan label in Canada. The managers and main songwriters were brothers Dyer and Basil Hurdon. The Del-Fi label released some of those singles in the US. His biggest hit, “Fortune Teller”, was released in 1962. In addition to Top Ten chart action across many Canadian radio markets, “Fortune Teller” peaked in the USA at #1 in Boston, #2 in Seattle, #3 in Worcester (MA), #4 in Denver, Toledo (OH), and Springfield (MA), #5 in Cleveland, San Bernardino (CA), and Indianapolis (IN), #6 in Fresno (CA) and Chicago, #7 in Buffalo and El Cajon (CA), #8 in San Francisco, #10 in Syracuse (NY), and #12 in Fargo (ND).

Bobby Curtola was invited in 1962 to tour with Dick Clark and his Cavalcade of Stars. Curtola also enjoyed other Top 20 hits in ’62 in Halifax, Toronto and Vancouver with “You Must Belong To Me“. His next release, “I Cry And Cry“, was a hit in Vancouver, Winnipeg, Montreal and Toronto. The single was also picked up at various radio markets in California, Hawaii, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, North Dakota, and Arizona. After these, Curtola was back in the Top Ten in Lethbridge (AB), Vancouver (BC), Toronto (ON), Palmdale (CA) and Fargo (ND) with “Aladdin”.

In early 1963 Bobby Curtola had his second number-one hit in Vancouver titled “Destination Love”. It also charted in Portland (ME) and San Bernardino (CA). Other singles from Truly Yours were “Indian Giver” and “Gypsy Heart”. “Indian Giver” was a #1 hit in Toronto, and a Top Ten hit in Vancouver, and later charted in Richmond (VA). “Gypsy Heart” was a Top Ten hit in Vancouver and #11 in Grande Prairie (AB). “Move Over” peaked at #2 in Edmonton and the Top Ten in Hamilton (ON) and Vancouver (BC).

After “Destination Love” began to chart on CFUN in mid-January ’63, Curtola was in Vancouver and had a live interview with Red Robinson. Curtola performed in concert in Vancouver in 1963 when he was at the height of his popularity. Red Robinson said in an interview after Curtola died “Bobby broke out in the early Sixties and when he appeared in Vancouver at Park Royal mall over 3,000 kids showed up. I met him when I was program director at C-FUN/Vancouver and he  (later) performed for C-FUN Day at Kits Showboat. Almost 10,000 showed up for this annual event, big numbers for the Sixties!”

While on tour in England in 1963, Bobby met The Beatles and appeared on the famous British TV variety show Thank Your Lucky Stars. The episode on June 15, 1963, also featured performances by John Leyton, Jackie Trent, Kenny Ball, and the Bachelors.

In late summer 1963, Bobby Curtola had another Top Ten hit titled  “Three Rows Over“. It peaked at #2 in Toronto, #3 in Belleville (ON), #4 in Calgary (AB), Ottawa (ON), and Kingston (ON), #9 in Bakersfield (CA), and #11 in Montreal.

In 1963, Winnipeg’s Chad Allan & the Reflections (later the Guess Who) were introduced to Curtola. “We backed him on some Winnipeg dates and across Western Canada, all the way to Edmonton for Klondike Days and Calgary for the Stampede,” says guitarist Randy Bachman. “It was an opportunity for us to travel and promote our records. We had Shy Guy out at the time. At the Stampede we played the Teen Tent with him, sponsored by Coca-Cola. That was our first encounter with screaming girls who came to see Bobby every night. It was our taste of the rock ’n’ roll limelight. Bobby Curtola was a decent singer and performer and a nice enough guy who came along when Canadian teenagers were looking for their very own Elvis or Cliff Richard, and he filled that void. And he was very successful.”

On August 18, 1962, “I Cry And Cry” began to chart. From then on, Curtola kept on charting one (or more) of his singles on the C-FUNTASTIC FIFTY on consecutive weeks until January 11, 1964. He managed to have one of his songs on the pop chart for 70 of 71 weeks in a row. (Curtola had earlier charted for 20 consecutive weeks on the C-FUNTASTIC FIFTY from February 2 to June 16, 1962).

With the British Invasion in early 1964, Bobby Curtola struggled to get into the Top 20. Of his five single releases that year, “Little Girl Blue” peaks at #10 in Calgary and #12 in Edmonton. “You’re Not A Goody Goody” reached #3 in Halifax (NS) and #8 in Edmonton. His next release was “As Long As I’m Sure Of You”.

Bobby Curtola’s next hit single in Edmonton was in the fall of 64 titled “Alone And Lonely”. It was also a Top Ten hit in Hamilton (ON). A minor hit for Bobby Curtola in early 1965 in Edmonton was “It’s About Time”, which made the Top Ten in Hamilton. He continued to chart that year with “Mean Woman Blues”, leaping to #7 in Regina (SK) and #8 in Calgary (AB). Later in 1965, “Walking With My Angel” was a #3 hit for Bobby Curtola in Calgary, #4 in Hamilton (ON) and #6 in Halifax (NS).

Next up, Bobby Curtola released “Makin’ Love”.

The writer of “Makin’ Love” was Floyd Robinson. Floyd Eugene Robinson  was born in Nashville in 1932. At the age of 18, in 1959, Robinson played rhythm guitar on the novelty country single “Walk Chicken, Walk” for Little Jimmy Dickens. He released his first single in 1954 with “G-I-R-L, Girl”. In 1957, Floyd Robinson wrote the country tune “Yours For A Lifetime” for Don & Floyd, of which he was one half of the duo. He wrote a second single for his duo the same year. In 1958, Floyd Robinson wrote “The Little Moon Men” for Lee George. In 1959, Robinson wrote and recorded his song “Makin’ Love”. In the USA, “Makin’ Love” was controversial because of its suggestive sexual content, and many radio stations pulled it from the airwaves after only a few weeks. Though it only charted in about half the sates in America, climbed to #20 on the Billboard Hot 100. In Europe, it reached #7 in Norway and #9 in the UK. In Canada, Robinson’s single reached #1 in Red Deer (AB), #3 in Toronto, #7 in Montreal, #8 in Vancouver, and #9 in Edmonton (AB). Later in 1959, Robinson recorded a cover of the 1956 Patience and Prudence hit “Tonight You Belong To Me”. It made the Top Ten in Melbourne, Australia, in the spring of 1960. In 1961, Robinson had a Top 20 hit in Vancouver titled “Out Of Gas”. He recorded one last pop single in 1962 titled “Showboat”. But, Robinson was never able to score another Top 40 hit and is considered a ‘one-hit wonder.’

In the mid-70s Robinson recorded and released religious-themed children’s albums, as characters Charlie the Hamster, Ricky the Cricket, and Woody Woodchuck. In the 1990s Robinson self-published two books, the instruction manual Guitar Playing Made Easy (1992), and the novel The Guitar(1994). He owned a used car dealership alongside keeping his hand in the music industry. Floyd Robinson died in 2016 at the age of 83.

“Makin’ Love” is a song about – well – ‘makin’ love’. The singer asks “What would people say? What would people do? What would people do if people knew I was with you makin’ love, makin’ love?” The lyrics imply that if the couple was caught “makin’ love” it would cause a scandal.

“Makin’ Love” climbed to #4 in Calgary, and charted into the Top 40 in Edmonton, AB, Hamilton, ON, and Winnipeg, MB.

In June of 1964, Bobby Curtola got to sing what would become an ear-worm for radio listeners across all radio and TV stations in the mid-sixties. He became the first pop singer to record a jingle that sounded like a Top 40 Hit Single. The jingle was “Things Go Better with Coke.” He signed an exclusive contract with Coca-Cola to be their #1 Spokesman. Bobby, also co-wrote “The Real Thing” which was used for the commercial “Coke’s The Real Thing.” After turning twenty-one, Bobby was interviewed by John Pozer on his TV show in Ottawa, Saturday Date, which ended with the pair toasting to his success with coke bottles. In the interview Curtola reveals that the jingle was made in Nashville and that Elvis’ former backup group, The Jordanaires, backed Curtola in recording the commercial. In 1966, “The Real Thing” jingle was a Top 40 hit on CJCA in Edmonton.

Bobby Curtola went on in 1965 to host The After Four Show in Toronto. On a comment thread on his obituary, Dee Gionet wrote that Curtola performed at a sock hop at Vincent Massey High School in 1965. At another performance somewhere in Vancouver in July ’65, a member of the audience recalled “…when Bobby took to the stage, the place went wild, the girls all screamed and the hits started rolling. He could really work the crowd, and what a singer – he danced and moved around that stage and sang right to you. He wore flashy stage clothes and beetle boots; we all thought he was the coolest dude.”

In 1966 he won a RPM Gold Leaf Award for becoming the first Canadian to have an album go gold. In 1973 Curtola became the CTV host of Shake, Rock and Roll. For many years he also hosted the Miss Canada and Teen Canada beauty pageants. And from 1972 into the mid-90’s Bobby Curtola had a career performing in Las Vegas, often as the opening act of Bob Hope. Over the years Bobby Curtola has toured Asia, Europe, South America and across North America. On August 10, 1986, Bobby Curtola appeared in concert at the Expo Theatre during Vancouver’s Expo ’86 celebrations.

Besides his musical work, Curtola is also a business entrepreneur, marketing a successful brand of Caesar Cocktail. From 1990 to 1998 Curtola was on yearly Princess Cruises Love Boat as a performer.

In 1996, Toronto City Council made April 26 Bobby Curtola Day. Curtola  also has been given the keys to the city of Edmonton, Brandon, Calgary, and Hamilton. In 1997 Bobby Curtola flew to Las Vegas to become an inductee of the Coca Cola Hall of Fame.

In 1998 Bobby received the Order of Canada for his humanitarian work. His website states that in March 1998 he launched his “Stand By Me Tour” in Vancouver. However, the venue where he performed is not listed.

In 1999 Curtola traveled to Malaysia to tour in that country. And in 2001, Bobby embarked on a European tour and visited France, Italy, Switzerland, and England. Later that year he continued his relationship with Princess Cruises by performing on Caribbean and Mediterranean cruises.

In 2011 he received a star on Toronto’s Italian Walk of Fame. Curtola died in 2016 at the age of 73.

January 13, 2024
Ray McGinnis

References:
John Einarson, “Sharing the Stage with a Music Sensation: Multiple Manitoba Bands Backed up Crooner Curtola, Canada’s First Teen Idol, in his Heyday,” Winnipeg Free Press, June 18, 2016.
Bobby Curtola biography, Bobby Curtola.com
Janet French, “Canadian Singer Bobby Curtola Dies During Edmonton Visit,” Edmonton Journal, Edmonton, Alberta, June 6, 2016.
Bobby Curtola, Canadian Bands.com.
Red Robinson, “Remembering Bobby Curtola,” redrobinson.com, June 6, 2016.
John Pozer, “Bobby Curtola Coca Cola Interview,” Saturday Date, Ottawa 1964.
“Floyd Robinson,” Wikipedia.org.

CFAC 960-AM, Calgary, AB Top Ten | August 30, 1965