Longtime friend, collaborator remembers the life of Bobby Curtola

Even from a young age, Bobby Curtola knew he was going to be a famous musician.

Curtola, a Canadian music pioneer born in what is now Thunder Bay who reached stardom in the early 1960s, died on Saturday at the age of 73.

His longtime friend and former collaborator Tommy Horricks remembers a conversation the two had in Grade 6, walking home from St. James Public School on a bright blue, sunny afternoon.

The memory is still crystal clear for Horricks, asking the young Curtola what he wanted to be when he grew up. Just 12 years old, Curtola knew he wanted to be a singer.

“I thought, ‘what a wonderful idea.’ Who would ever think when you’re trying to choose a profession and you’re a young person you don’t generally think of being an entertainer, especially in those days,” Horricks said.

“There we are, two little kids sitting on that step and he tells me his ambition and what’s going to happen. I think that’s why I became a saxophone player. I think he planted that seed.”

Within the next 10 years, Curtola become a Canadian teen idol with hits such as Don’t You Sweetheart Me, Hitchhiker and Fortune Teller, which were all top-10 hits on the Canadian charts in the early 1960s.

According to his website, he had 25 Canadian Gold singles and 12 Canadian Gold albums.

While most of his success was enjoyed in his home country, Curtola was one of the first Canadian musicians to gain a following south of the border.

He appeared and performed on television shows hosted by Bob Hope and Ed Sullivan, as well as the popular American Bandstand and Wolf Man Jack shows.

In 1972 Curtola inked a five-year, multimillion dollar residency contract in Las Vegas, a first for a Canadian musician. He spent much of the following 20 years performing in Sin City.

No matter where he was performing, Curtola had a passion for being on stage.

“He loved show business. He loved what he did. When you sing for people and entertain them and they get memories from it and it makes their life better, how can you not love what you do,” Horricks said.

Sons Chris and Michael Curtola released a statement confirming their father’s death.

“He was an amazing man who did so much for the people in this world, but even more as a father, uncle, godfather and Nono. His entire family requests privacy at this time while they grieve their loss,” the statement reads.

“To his fans...he loved each and every one of you more than you will know, and never took for granted the life you gave him. He would want you to do something kind for one another today and each day. He would also want you to know he loves you, and that you have another angel watching over you.”

In 2003 the city of Thunder Bay named a street within Prince Arthur’s Landing Bobby Curtola Drive.

Curtola was predeceased by his wife, Karyn Rochford, who was killed in a car crash in Nova Scotia last December.