In 1969, Bobby became “Bob Darin,” in an effort to break away from his previous showbiz persona. He recorded and released his second album for the Direction label, Commitment, in which he protests against police brutality, has a few thoughts about God, and sings about getting stoned. He was spending much of his time in Big Sur, California, away from the spotlight for the most part, and yet Darin in 1969 was something of an enigma. He was seemingly intent in breaking away from traditional showbiz, and using his music to give a social commentary on the world around him – and yet, as the following newspaper cuttings show, he couldn’t quite make that decisive break with the old Bobby. In one moment he is protesting about the use of violence at the People’s Park protest (“Sausalito”), and at others he is singing a medley of Al Jolson songs with Dean Martin on prime time TV, and appearing at the Illinois state fair on the same bill as Liberace. And, as one of the following articles show all too clearly, at the same time, Bobby/Bob’s health continued to cause him problems.
This is Bobby Darin 