Canadian rock'n'roll singer Robert Allen Curtola, known professionally as Bobby Curtola, was born on 17 April 1943 in Port Arthur (now Thunder Bay), Ontario. He began his music career at age 15 with a band called Bobby and the Bobcats, performing at high school assemblies. His breakthrough came with the release of "Hand in Hand With You" in 1960. His career spanned numerous album releases, including Mr. Personality (1962) and Truly Yours (1963). His biggest hit was "Fortuneteller" in 1962, which earned him a performance on Dick Clark's American Bandstand. Throughout the 1960s, he continued to release successful singles such as "Indian Giver" and "Aladdin". In 1964, he wrote and performed the song "Things go better with Coca-Cola" for an advertising campaign. He won an RPM Gold Leaf Award in 1966; he was the first Canadian artist to have an album go gold. He was later made a member of the Order of Canada in 1998 for his contributions to the music industry and humanitarian work. Bobby Curtola died on 4 June 2016, aged 73. In 2019, he was posthumously inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.
