Biography
Even long after his final chart appearance, Carl Dobkins Jr. remains one of rockabilly’s most persistent figures. A number-three single in 1959 titled “My Heart Is an Open Book” launched a career that kept him before audiences on both sides of the Atlantic for decades. Born into an Appalachian family that had relocated to Cincinnati seeking improved prospects, he grew up surrounded by music; his parents both sang, and his mother played guitar. At nine he received a ukulele from them, mastered it quickly, then progressed to guitar while absorbing the country and hillbilly repertoire favored at home. During high school he began composing original material and recorded a demo of two songs, which brought him to the attention of disc jockey Gil Sheppard. Sheppard agreed to manage the young singer, recognized the national surge of rock & roll, and positioned Dobkins as a potential star billed “the Teenage Rage.” Local dance parties and record hops became his early performing outlets. Every label sought the next Elvis Presley or Carl Perkins, so Dobkins was first placed with Cincinnati’s Fraternity Records, which issued “Take Hold of My Hand” backed with “That’s Why I’m Asking.” When the single failed to chart, Sheppard arranged a King Records session but ultimately sold the master to Decca. On Decca, “If You Don’t Want My Lovin’” registered as a regional success and prompted further investment. Dobkins recorded his initial Decca sessions in Nashville under Owen Bradley’s supervision. The standout result, “My Heart Is an Open Book,” became his enduring contribution to rockabilly. A strong crossover effort, it featured driving guitar, a pronounced beat, and vocal support from two members of the Anita Kerr Singers. The record required six months and two separate promotional campaigns before breaking nationally. Once it did, Dobkins appeared on national television, including Dick Clark’s American Bandstand the day after his high-school graduation. He also balanced national tours with six months of infantry service in the army reserves while the single climbed to number three in spring 1959, earned gold certification, and logged twenty-four weeks on the charts. Follow-up “Lucky Devil” reached number twenty-five during a seventeen-week run late that year; a national reissue of “If You Don’t Want My Lovin’” peaked at number sixty-seven; and “Exclusively Yours” attained number sixty-two the following spring. As public appetite for rock & roll softened in the early 1960s, Dobkins shifted toward more romantic, melodic material, including a 1961 recording of the movie theme “Pretty Little Girl in the Yellow Dress” from the western The Last Sunset, which starred Kirk Douglas and Rock Hudson. Across his tenure he completed eighteen singles and one LP, sustaining activity through tours alongside Bobby Freeman, Bobby Rydell, Bobby Vee, Buddy Knox, Frankie Avalon, Jan & Dean, Frankie Ford, Freddie Cannon, Jimmy Clanton, the Drifters, and the Crickets.