Robert Cabot Sherman Jr. (born July 22, 1943) is an American singer, actor
and occasional songwriter, who became a popular teen idol in the late 1960s
and early 1970s. He had a series of successful singles, notably the
million-seller "Little Woman" (1969). Sherman mostly retired from music in the
1970s for a career as a paramedic and later police officer, though he still
performs and records occasionally.
Sherman graduated in 1961 from Birmingham High School in Van Nuys, California. He attended Pierce College in Woodland Hills, California. His interest in music began at age 11 when he learned to play the trumpet.
He eventually progressed to playing 16 musical instruments. At Birmingham High School Bobby played football, joined a dance band, and discovered his love for singing.
In 1962, Sal Mineo took Sherman under his wing and wrote two songs for him as well as arranging for Sherman to record the songs, then in 1964 when Sherman was asked by Mineo to sing with his old band at a Hollywood party (where many actors and agents were in attendance) Sherman made such an impression at that party he was signed with an agent and eventually a part on the ABC television show Shindig! as a regular cast member/house singer. Shindig! ran for two years keeping Sherman busy from 1964-66.
During that time Bobby made several records with Decca and another smaller label, and landed in all the teen magazines, but it did not seem to catapult his career. Sherman's luck changed drastically early in 1968 when, out of hundreds of actors, he was selected for the role of the bashful, stammering logger, Jeremy Bolt, in the television series Here Come the Brides (1968-1970 ABC).
Sherman appeared on an episode of Honey West (1964) entitled "The Princess and the Paupers" as a kidnapped band member and an episode of The Monkees entitled "Monkees at the Movies", playing a pompous surfer/singer named Frankie Catalina in the vein of Frankie Avalon, performing the song "The New Girl in School" (the flip of Jan & Dean's "Dead Man's Curve", co-written by The Beach Boys' Brian Wilson, Jan Berry of Jan and Dean, songwriter Roger Christian and Bob Norberg, who was a roommate of Wilson at the time).
Sherman released 107 songs, 23 singles and 10 albums between 1962-76. In his recording career he earned seven gold singles, one platinum single, and five gold albums. He had a career total of seven top 40 hits. In 1969, he signed with Metromedia Records, the new recording arm of Metromedia. In May 1969 they released the single "Little Woman", which peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart (#2 in Canada) and spent nine weeks in the Top 20. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. in October 1969.[1]
His other hits were "Julie, Do Ya Love Me" (US #5/AC #2) (Canada #3) (Australia #3) (written by Tom Bahler), "Easy Come, Easy Go" (US #9/AC #2) (Canada #6), "Jennifer" (US #60/AC #9) (Canada #32), "La La La (If I Had You)" (US #9/AC #14) (Canada #7), and "The Drum" (US #29/AC #2) (Canada #7) (written by Alan O'Day). Some of these songs were produced by Jackie Mills, a Hollywood record producer, who also produced the Brady Bunch Kids. In Canada "Hey, Mister Sun" reached #19, "Cried Like a Baby" reached #10, and "Waiting At The Bus Stop" reached #31. "La, La, La," "Easy Come, Easy Go," and "Julie, Do Ya Love Me" all sold in excess of a million copies and garnered further gold discs for Sherman.[1] "Julie, Do Ya Love Me" was Sherman's sole excursion in the UK Singles Chart, where it peaked at #28 in November 1970.[2] The song competed there for chart space with White Plains' cover version, which eventually placed higher at #8.[3]
Sherman toured extensively through the United States and the world in support of his many records and albums. He gave many concerts to sellout crowds of mostly screaming young women from the late 1960s to the mid 1970s. The screaming by the young women was so loud that Sherman to this day has experienced hearing loss.
Sherman was a frequent guest on American Bandstand and Where the Action Is. He made local and regional TV performances. A March 1971 episode of The Partridge Family featured Sherman, serving as a back-door pilot for the ABC TV series Getting Together, which aired starting in September 1971. The show competed with All in the Family on Saturday nights and was canceled after 14 episodes.
Sherman was a guest star on television series such as The Mod Squad, Ellery Queen, Murder She Wrote and Frasier. He has also been a guest on The Ed Sullivan Show, American Bandstand, The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, KTLA Morning News, Visiting with Huell Howser on PBS, Good Day LA, The Rosie O'Donnell Show, Good Morning America, and The Tonight Show with both Johnny Carson and later with Jay Leno. He was featured on 20/20, VH1, Entertainment Tonight, and Extra, among other television shows.
Sherman was a regular cast member on the television show Sanchez of Bel Air in 1986. He was also cast as Jeremy Bolt in the series "Here Come the Brides" from September 25, 1968 to April 3, 1970.
In 1998, after a 25-year absence, eager fans flocked to see him in concert as part of "The Teen Idol Tour" with Peter Noone, and Davy Jones. Fellow Monkees member Micky Dolenz replaced Davy Jones on the tour in 1999. He did his last concert as a solo performer in Lincoln, Rhode Island on August 25, 2001. Bobby has retired from public life; however, he still does corporate events occasionally as well as his ongoing charities. He was ranked #8 in TV Guide's list of "TV's 25 Greatest Teen Idols" (January 23, 2005 issue).
When Sherman guest-starred on an episode of the Jack Webb television series Emergency! ("Fools", season 3, episode 17, aired January 19, 1974), he found a new calling that focused more on his personal life, and he eventually left the public spotlight and became an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). He volunteered with the Los Angeles Police Department, working with paramedics, and giving CPR and first aid classes. He officially became a technical Reserve Police Officer with the Los Angeles Police Department in the 1990s, a position he still holds today. He was later promoted to Captain status in the Los Angeles Police Department. For more than a decade he served as a medical training officer at the Los Angeles Police Academy, instructing thousands of police officers in first aid and CPR. He was named LAPD's Reserve Officer of the Year in 1999.
Sherman also became a Reserve Deputy Sheriff in 1999 with the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, continuing his CPR/emergency training of new deputy hires. Sherman retired from the Sheriff's Department in 2010, but continues with the LAPD. According to Sherman, "I've been bestowed a mountain of blessings. I felt a need to start giving back."
He subsequently received several awards for his humanitarian efforts. Sherman founded the Bobby Sherman Volunteer EMT Foundation. His organization coordinates medical services at many community and charity events in southern California.
Sherman and his wife co-founded the Brigitte & Bobby Sherman Children's (BBSC) Foundation.[5] The foundation's mission is to provide motivated students in Ghana with a high quality education and music program, thus giving them the tools they need to pursue higher education and become successful, contributing adults.[6]
Sherman built a one-fifth scale model of Disneyland's Main Street, made entirely by hand in his yard at his home.[7]
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