'Splish Splash' wasn't the beginning for Bobby Darin, nor was it just a flirtation with Rock 'N' Roll. Raised in a Manhattan tenement, Walden Robert Cassotto found a way to escape: through his music. Forming a band in high school, he first played Pop hits of the early '50s and standards; then he moved to Calypso and Folk before becoming one of Rock 'N' Roll's pioneers, cutting records reminiscent of Elvis Presley, Fats Domino and Little Richard, and writing what became one of Buddy Holly's biggest hits: 'Early in the Morning'. This collection draws from sessions originally released on Decca, Atco, Brunswick and Capitol; and recorded in New York, Nashville and Los Angeles. In addition to hits like 'Splish Splash', 'Dream Lover' and 'Early in the Morning', the album includes 'She's Tantastic', originally issued as a tanning cream promotion, and 'Clementine', a swinging Big Band precursor to Sinatra's 'Old MacDonald'. If 'Mack the Knife' is the beginning and end of Bobby Darin to you, you're in for a big surprise. 36 tracks. Bear Family. 2008.