Prior Lake man honors father's legacy through art, Alzheimer's awareness

Prior Lake American

The song “Blue Moon Blues” contains the classic hallmarks of a blues song — the twang of a guitar, the slow beat and the crooning voice.

The voice belongs to Prior Lake resident Robby Velline, also known as Robby Vee, and he’s singing about his father, 1960s rockabilly star Bobby Vee, who died as a result of Alzheimer’s disease in 2016.

“Missing the one who no longer misses me,” Velline sings.

Velline has continued his father’s legacy with his own rockabilly music career as well as his efforts to raise awareness of Alzheimer’s.

Velline was scheduled to speak at an Alzheimer’s Foundation of America conference in Minneapolis on Thursday, but the conference was postponed. He will speak at a similar conference in Milwaukee on Nov. 1.

The foundation didn’t return requests for comment this week.

Bobby Vee and Robby Vee

On Feb. 3, 1959, musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson chartered a plane from Clear Lake, Iowa, to Moorhead, Minnesota — the next stop on the “Winter Dance Party” tour.

The plane crashed shortly after takeoff, killing everyone on board. It would later become known as “The Day Music Died.” Bobby, then 15, performed at the show in Moorhead in the place of Holly.

“It was the start of his career,” Velline said in an interview on Oct. 18.

The older musician would go on to have 38 chart-topping hits, including 10 that made it to the top 20. He even toured and performed with Bob Dylan.

“The most beautiful person I’ve ever been on the stage with was a man who is here tonight, who used to sing a song called ‘Suzie Baby,’” Dylan said at a concert in St. Paul in 2013. “Bobby Vee is actually here tonight.”

Bobby Vee had three sons and one daughter with his wife, Karen — Jeffrey, Thomas, Robby and Jennifer. Robby eventually began to perform with his father.

“I was the opening act on his show,” he said. “I’d come out and do a few songs and bring him on. That’s how I got my start in the business, and I’ve since traveled the world nine times over.”

In 2001, Velline went solo and signed a contract with a producer in Los Angeles.

“The producer was looking for songs, liked me and asked me to come to California and record with him,” Velline said.

Since then, he has put out six records and will release the seventh, “Vee-Hall” in November. The album is a collaboration with Andrew Hall, a poet from Las Vegas.

In 2015, Velline joined his father in the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.

“It’s the kind of thing where I grew up in the business, so I fell into it naturally — kind of an organic process,” he said.

Though the careers are similar, Velline said it was important to his father that he steered his own course “and not be a Bobby Vee Jr.”

“I don’t want to be a Bobby Vee tribute band,” he said. “I’m Robby Vee, his son who tips his hat to his father and his career, and I stay in my path, stay in my lane.”

Alzheimer’s disease awareness

The elder performer was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2011. The cause of Alzheimer’s is not known, but researchers believe protein buildup between nerve cells in the brain and twisted fibers of protein inside cells are a factor, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.

With Alzheimer’s, neurons in the brain began to break down and die. The destruction causes memory failure, personality changes and the inability to do daily activities, according to the association.

In the final stages, a person will have delusions, become unable to eat, walk and sit up and no longer recognize hunger or thirst, according to the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America.

“He was living with it for five or six years,” Velline said. “There were early signs probably before that, but he was still functional and doing shows. He retired when he felt like he couldn’t put on a good show anymore because he couldn’t remember the words.”

On Oct. 24, 2016, Bobby Vee died as a result of the Alzheimer’s.

“He never lost his core essence of himself, which was joy,” Velline said. “He never lost that.”

As the disease progressed, Velline continued to work on the art he had done throughout his life — the music, as well as painting, sketching and making stained glass — skills that he passed on to his son.

“We were able to connect right up to the end through art,” Velline said. “My observation was that life is only as great as you make it in the moment.”

Bobby might have also passed on the disease that took his life. The risk of developing Alzheimer’s increases if a parent or sibling has the disease, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.

“I have thought about that,” Velline said. “My feeling around that is probably what I learned from the disease from my dad — you have to live in the moment. Just enjoy every minute while you’re here, give it your best shot. You can’t control tomorrow.”

After his father was diagnosed, Robby became an advocate to raise awareness of Alzheimer’s disease. He joined the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America “Artists Raising Their Voice For Care.”

Robby’s latest album, “Blue Moon Blue,” tackled the issue. Proceeds from the single “Blue Moon Blues,” which was written about Bobby Vee, went to the foundation.

“It’s giving back where it was given — passing it forward,” Velline said. “I have been blessed with a platform as an artist to go out and have a little bit higher vision point to wave my arms in the air and say, ‘Hey, I can contribute here.’

“People are very passionate about helping,” Velline went on. “I would go out and do shows and it would not be uncommon for me to get a check for $500 for the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America. ... It’s pretty gratifying that people care that much.”