Bobby Darin Remakes a Big Band Standard with 'Beyond the Sea'
- edgarstreetbooks
- Feb 27
- 2 min read
‘100 Greatest 50s Rock, Pop & Doo Wop Songs’ Book Excerpt
Frank Mastropolo
When Bobby Darin went into a New York studio in December 1958 to record his second album, That’s All, he was a teen idol with hits like “Splish Splash” and “Queen of the Hop.” But Darin, then 22, remade himself; Darin recorded songs in the Big Band style of decades before. The result: classics like “Mack the Knife” and “Beyond the Sea.”
“Beyond the Sea” began as the 1946 French hit “La Mer,” written by Charles Trenet. New York songwriter Jack Lawrence wrote on his website that Trenet asked him to write an English version of his song that year.
“I loved the unusual melody he had written but was not intrigued with his French lyric, which told about the different moods of the sea and how they affected him.
“Also, most of the recordings that had been made were somber and symphonic in feeling. I decided that my lyric would tell a different story — a romantic tale of a sea-faring lover and a land-locked lover waiting on a golden shore for his return.”
Lawrence explained on the Darin Land website the inspiration for “Beyond the Sea.”
“I began getting an image of someone on the shore and someone on the sea, two lovers separated. Then I remembered an ancient Greek myth about beautiful Penelope, who stood on golden sands days and nights, praying and waiting for the return from the sea of her lover, Odysseus.
“And I had the basis for my romantic story. Adding the one word ‘beyond’ gave the story scope and adventure.”
Many artists, including Benny Goodman and Harry James, recorded “Beyond the Sea.” But Lawrence noted that a chance meeting led to the most famous version of the song.
“One day at the publisher’s offices, I ran into a new young singer with a distinctive style. He was brash and a bit cocky but rather refreshing, and his name was Bobby Darin. He didn’t hesitate to tell everyone that someday he would be as popular as Sinatra.
“I gave him a copy of ‘Beyond the Sea’ and asked him what he thought of it. He said he liked some of the recordings he’d heard, but he felt the song lacked a definite beat. A few months later, he sent me his latest album and there was “Mack the Knife” and ‘Beyond the Sea’ done to a crisp with an infectious toe-tapping beat and Bobby’s inimitable delivery.”
Produced by Atlantic Records’ Ahmet Ertegun, Jerry Wexler, and Nesuhi Ertegun and engineered by Tom Dowd, the December 24, 1958 session featured a full orchestra under the direction of the song’s arranger, Richard Wess.
Released as a single in January 1960, “Beyond the Sea,” called Darin’s favorite, reached №6. In 2004, it became the title of Kevin Spacey’s 2004 film biography of Darin.
Frank Mastropolo is the author of 100 Greatest 50s Rock, Pop & Doo Wop Songs, part of the Greatest Performances series. For more on our latest projects, visit Edgar Street Books.
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