Broke First In Pittsburgh - Dennis Dorr & Don't Forget I Still Love You

   When Dennis Dorr first heard the recording of "I'll Never Stop Loving You," (a remake of the Doris day song) he was surprised to have found the voice of one of the finest vocalists, Bobbi Martin. He wrote her a fan letter, and to his surprise she replied, many times and they became fast friends. 

 Dennis was born outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where coal mines were the big thing. And as a kid, he was interested in radio. There was already a sound and a few record labels to come out of the area. One of the first 45's he ever bought was a cover of "Ivory Tower" by Gale Storm. His interest in radio increased as a teen and was how he discovered or fell upon Bobbi Martin in 1963. He was acquaintances with the local DJ and the next year Bobbi would be down to her 10th and last single on Coral records. Bobbi was in need of a hit, even though she received a fair amount of airplay on the east coast and Canada, she had not made a chart success, yet. 
  

 "Don't Forget I Still Love You" was the name of the song, produced by Henry Jerome and arranged by Owen Bradly. Brenda Lee supposedly turned down the song, so Bobbi Martin picked it up and sang like she had never sung a song before. Dennis says that "in a way she sounded like a totally different person." He requested to his local dj to play the song. "The guy didn't even know she had a new one out and had to dig the song out in the back where it was lying out in a bin." Nobody seemed to be interested in playing Bobbi after a slew of no sale singles. 

 It only took a few plays on that station in Pittsburgh (call letters) and people were calling in requesting that neat sound by a lady with a loud, clear voice. It was Coral's long haul for Bobbi they wrote out in an article in Billboard magazine, but she was getting ready to leave. A bank teller in New York, Bobbi was ready to keep her job, but now she was a singer in demand. Bobbi would have bookings and concerts waiting for her. Miriam Love (her manager) would be busy helping her with clothes and shows. One of her first stops would be to Dennis Dorr and Pittsburgh radio for an interview and a thanks to Dennis and the listeners for the success that she had earned after five years. 

 Bobbi could not believe she had finally a hit! Coral was going to keep her, and she would be put in the studio to record her own debut album. 







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