EDMONTON, Alberta (CelebrityAccess) — Former Canadian teen idol and singer Bobby Curtola has died at the age of 73.
According to the Canadian Press, Curtola's death was announced by a statement from his children posted on their social media pages. The cause and circumstances of Curtola's passing were not disclosed.
"He loved each and every one of you more than you will know, and never took for granted the life you gave him. He would want you to do something kind for one another today and each day," the statement said. "He would also want you to know he loves you, and that you have another angel watching over you."
Curtola was an precocious pioneer of Canadian rock, scoring his first hit at the age of 16 with the 1960 single,"Hand In Hand With You" and followed up with an impressive string of successes on the Canadian charts before falling off in the late 1960s. His biggest hit was 1962's "Fortune Teller" which hit #5 on the Canadian charts and 41 on the Billboard Hot 100.
In the 1970s, he went on to the second phase of his career, becoming a successful performer at Las Vegas casino properties.
He was also well regarded for his charity work, and was named to the Order of Canada in 1997. Over the course of his career achieved 25 Canadian gold singles and 12 Canadian gold albums and won an RPM Gold Leaf Award when he was the first Canadian to have an album go gold.
He had been living in Edmonton since 2015, moving there after his partner Karyn Rochford died in a car crash in Nova Scotia in December 2015, the CBC said. – Staff Writers
