Robert Dobyne: pronunciation

[radionixon]

How does one pronounce "Dobyne"? Does it rhyme with "robin", or is it like "doe bine" or "doe bin" or "duh-bine", or what...?

I want to play All I Need Is A Chance on my show this weekend but I realise I've never heard his name said out loud. Help!

[smark21]

Who's Robert Dobyne?

[radionixon]

This is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTCtw3A1ulM

His story is like an alternate history of 60s soul, a guy who had several shots at the big time but never quite made it; usually well worth checking out.

So... Anyone?

[carole cucumber]

I don't know if it's still in operation, but there's a phone number here for Robert [[in the 12th post)

http://faac.us/adf/messages/2/205919.html

[radionixon]

Ha! Thanks Carole, but I don't really want to call him up... apart from the time difference and him being in at least his seventies, some of his public pronouncements as "SirDobyne" have been a bit, um...


“I am Robert Dobyne. I live in Chicago,Illinois. I am on the BLACK LIST, been on the black list before the president OBAMA was born. So anything that I say is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I am nothing but old school and I am a slave to master Berry Gordy and Ralph Salsa, Charlie Koppleman, Don Ruben, Arti Ripp, Henry Allen, Don Kursner, Larry Butler, Jerry Butler, Fredrick Knight,William “Smokie” Robinson, Eugene Records [[decested), Curtis Mayfield[[decested), Flip Wilson [[decested), Lou Rolse[[decested),Jackie Wilson[[decested),Robert Stunton[[unknown where about), and Robert Walker[[ unknown where about). All of these people and MORE that i have not thought of at this time have participated in keeping me from telling the world my story. You can hear my story and my music weekly, monthly,yearly, and to infinity. It may not be on YOUTUBE or MYSPACE but you will be able to hear my story by keeping in touch. I like to begin by saying I was a motown recording artist in the year 1964 until 65′ and during that time my incounter with Berry Gordy. I was in his office at motown and he threatend to kill me if I tried to take his company. All of this was a setup and words passed out to Mr, Gordy that I was going to take his company. He told me that Robert Stunton and Robert Walker told him that I was going to take his company. I pleeded with Mr. Gordy thatI did not know any thing about what he was saying. He put a gun to my head and told me I better tell him the truth then he said, “wait open your mouth”. Then he put the barrel of the gun in my mouth and told me he could kill me and won’t nothing be said because I sneaked in to see him and had no appointment to see him. Let me explain how I sneaked in. After Stunton and Walker told me that they pulled the hit pack which was a group signed to soul records, I Robert Dobyne lead singer of the group the record never say no to your baby wanted to know why he took it off the air. So they told me that I had to ask Mr. Gordy not telling me they had spreaded the word that I was going to take his company. So i sat outside the house were his office used to be for now they have torn it down but back then I sat on the stoot to the front door which had a buzz in door to get inside. I sat out there for a couple of hours or so until i got the nerve to put my feet at the door to keep it from closing when someone came out. Once that happend I eased upstairs. Once up to the top and into the receptionist desk, the woman asked,” How did you get up here Dobyne…i didn’t buzz you in.” After I was explaining to her that I wanted to see Mr. Gordy he walked to the door and asked me what are you doing here. I told him that I had to talk to him concerning our record. He said to me to give him a minute and he would see me.Now this is why he said he can kill me and no one would do a thing about it. So I went on and pleeded with him that I did not know anything about taking his company. After Mr. Gordy knocked me around with his fist 3 to 4 times in the face he went on to tell me that I was his SLAVE and I would never be free from him and he was going to get to the bottom of this. He then told me that other companies was jealous of what he was doing with his company and they were sending all kinds of con artist and scammers to take hitsville. They tried with Mary Wells. He said to me that since she left me she has not had one hit record and thats because I know how to kill without using my hand. Mary Wells was my slave he went on to say that Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Marve Johnson, Jimmy Ruffin, Shorty Long, The 4 tops, The Miricales, The Spinners, The Marvelettes, The Vandellas, The Supremes, and everybody that he had was his slaves and that I was going to do whatever he wanted me to do. He was going to give me one more chance to prove myself that I am not there to take his company. Then, he told me he would give me a position with the contours singing the hit song DO YOU LOVE ME because Robert [[not me) the lead singer was drugging himself out and he needed to be replaced so I would be the one to replace him. That is all I have for you at this particular moment but like I said form the top everyday, every week, every month, and every year you will hear the truth the whold truth and nothing but the truth”

So, um, yes.

[carole cucumber]

I definitely understand why you would not want to contact him.

[carole cucumber]

http://wfmu.org/flashplayer.php?version=2&show=40943&archive=70247

Here the name is pronounced Doe-bine, if that helps

[radionixon]

http://wfmu.org/flashplayer.php?version=2&show=40943&archive=70247

Here the name is pronounced Doe-bine, if that helps

It helps indeed! That's perfect, thanks so much for finding it!

[RossHolloway]

So did he ever sing with the Contours?

[lester]

Also watch this

http://youtu.be/fuRefrbew2g

[radionixon]

Also watch this

http://youtu.be/fuRefrbew2g

Yup, that's the song I wanted to play - I just needed to avoid an embarrassing faux pas. "And that was 'All I Need Is A Chance' by Robert Dob... Do... Du... bin-byne. Robert Dobiné. Something like that."

RossHolloway: no, as far as I'm aware Robert left Motown in 1965 for pastures new [[despite his promises, he didn't continue his story to tell us the "whold truth"). He wrote quite a few songs at Motown, but his only released Motown vocal performances that we know of are this song and the Hit Pack's "Never Say No To Your Baby". It's a shame, he had a good voice, even if that statement above makes him sound frankly bonkers.