This is the reason why his brand of sound and entertainment has become as timeless as his former group’s (The Platters) greatest hits like Smoke Gets In Your Eyes and Only You, the ditty Sam Milby of Pinoy Big Brother gave a rock and contemporary twist to.
Bobby showed tell-tale signs of becoming a crooner at the age six. He sang nursery rhymes and children’s songs like a pro, so to speak. As he himself says, he learned to crawl with a microphone in hand.
He spent his growing years in North Carolina which is near a tobacco plantation. It’s a place where kids and adults, particularly the boys, are introduced to smoking early in their lives. Perhaps, that’s where the inspiration for Smoke Gets In Your Eyes came from. By the way, the song is really about smoking.
It was not that long when he went to Broadway to try his luck singing in the street corners.
At 15, Bobby became a member of The Platters in the ’50s. From there, he and the phenomenal group wove one single after another, one album after another – all in the name of good music.
Bobby is the only living and surviving member of the legendary all-male group that introduced us to classics like Unchained Melody, the theme of Ghost starring Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore in the ’90s.
Bobby has acted in a hundred films and shared the cameras with the likes of Whoopi Goldberg and Hugh Grant. The movie Women in Prison is his favorite. His roles range from policeman to detective and doctor.
Although he was swayed by the glitz and glamour of showbiz, singing and performing is one thing Bobby will not exchange for anything in the world. Before he went to the Philippines, he had a show in China.
Speaking of shows, Bobby will have a concert dubbed Music of The Platters and More on March 25 and April 1 at the Captain’s Bar of Mandarin Oriental Hotel. Kuh Ledesma will play the better half of Bobby in this "Valentine" show in March and April.
Kuh, a pioneer of concept concerts, performs with Bobby for the first time. They will render classic old songs and do nostalgia this time. They will sing hits Filipinos have been wanting and waiting to hear. Bobby has had shows here before.
Aside from songs from The Platters, Kuh and Bobby will do duets of Natalie and Nat King Cole. Kuh will sing Diana Ross and songs like A Long and Lasting Love and Beauty and the Beast.
If there’s one thing the show promises, it’s a night of unforgettable and nostalgic songs.
What keeps Bobby returning to the country year in, year out? The reply is his Filipina wife named Hermelinda who hails from Balisong, Batangas, with whom he has a 10-year-old daughter named Tamika. She sings well, Bobby proudly says.
When not in the country, the Souls are in their house in Canada and doing charity work for their community. This is what Bobby wishes to do here. He wants to help the street urchins making a living for their families at the very young age.
Having visited, lived and toured the world, Bobby sees himself retiring and settling in the Philippines.
After all, this is the place where his wife’s heart belongs.