Kudos to Bobby
By Chen Chekki - The Chronicle-Journal
September 28, 2003
A pop legend who has a chunk of the Canadian Music Industry Hall of
Fame now has a chunk of Thunder Bay pavement.

"I tell you, this is a choker," Thunder Bay original Bobby
Curtola
said yesterday at Marina Park.

Thunder Bay gave the 59-year-old's name to a road north of the
Camelot Street entrance to the park.

Set to Curtola's tunes Fortune Teller and Move Over, the street-
naming ceremony began with the arrival of a procession of vintage
cars.

Travelling with Mayor Ken Boshcoff in a flashy red 1950 Mercury
Custom Coupe that led the series of cars, Curtola was greeted by
throngs of fans and curious onlookers.

The crowd gathered around the Mercury as the procession stopped
beside the playground portion of the park.

After a brief introduction by Boshcoff, who called Curtola one of
the city's finest ambassadors, the street naming forged ahead in
dramatic style.

As dozens took pictures, Curtola pulled a blue drape cloth to unveil
the new street sign for Bobby Curtola Drive.

"I've never forgotten where I've come from," Curtola
told the crowd
of more than 100 who braved the cool wind. "I'm sort of shook
up
about today."

Flanked by local band The Sensational Hot Rods, as well as his
brother, business manager and dozens of other friends and family, he
talked about never growing up and learning all about camaraderie and
respect in Thunder Bay.

"When you make a friend in Thunder Bay, you make a friend for
life,"
he said to the cheering crowd.

Asked about whether he will visit the road during future visits to
the city, he replied: "Are you kidding? You're damn
right."

Italian by heritage, Curtola also received a plaque from the Thunder
Bay Italian community that recognizes his career in the music
industry and his charity work around the world.

Now living in Edmonton, he quietly slips into the Lakehead about
twice a year to visit relatives and friends.

Curtola played in a basement band, Bobby and the Bobcats, in the
late 1950s. His first hit single Hand in Hand With You was released
in January 1960.

He started his first tour in the fall of 1960. By the next year, he
started recording in Nashville.

His hit song, Fortune Teller, went Gold in Canada soon after being
released in Canada. It became a 2.5-million seller around the world.

He later recorded the song, Things Go Better with Coke, which led to
The Real Thing, a song that was modified to be used for Coke
commercials.

His success in the sixties included 25 Canadian Gold singles and 12
Canadian Gold albums.

Several more decades of success led to a European tour in 2001.

But that's not all.

Charities all over the world have benefited by Curtola's work,
including the Bobby Curtola Foundation for Children in Ecuador.

His efforts and success culminated in being inducted into the Order
of Canada in 1998.

Curtola said yesterday's street-naming is now one of the biggest
highlights of his life.

"Thank you for this incredible moment in my life," he told
the crowd.