Pop music icon Bobby Vee dead at 73

Oke News-Pop music legend Bobby Vee — an icon for music fans around the world, and a champion for charitable causes around Central Minnesota — died early Monday morning of complications of Alzheimer's disease. He was 73.

Vee had been in hospice care at The Wellstead of Rogers & Diamondcrest, a memory care facility where the Avon resident lived for the final 13 months of his life.

"Among the sadness, there is relief," son Tommy Velline said. "I'm relieved that the struggle is over for him, and I'm sad as hell that he's gone."

"It was amazing to see his grace around this horrible situation," said Jeff Velline, the oldest of Bobby and Karen Velline's four children.

"It's kind of a blessing," added Dr. Rick Rysavy, Vee's primary care physician and close friend. "There was no reason for him to suffer any longer."

Bobby Vee

Born Robert Thomas Velline on April 30, 1943, in Fargo, North Dakota, Vee burst into national musical prominence at age 15 after the plane crash that claimed the lives of rock 'n' roll stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper. Vee and his band The Shadows filled in at the Winter Dance Party stop in Moorhead, launching his career.

That career subsequently included 38 singles that reached the Billboard Hot 100 between 1959-1970, including "Suzie Baby," "Devil Or Angel," "Rubber Ball," "Take Good Care of My Baby," "Run To Him" and "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes."

"Bobby's legacy transcends the music," said Bob Beverage, who wrote the play "Teen Idol: The Bobby Vee Story" in collaboration with Tommy and Jeff Velline. The play is in its final week at St. Paul's History Theater.

"The other legacy — man, if I heard it once, I heart it 60 times: Bobby was the greatest guy in the world," Beverage said. "It was part of who he was as a person — as a family man, as a performer, as a friend."

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