Meeting Bobby Sherman: A Life Changing Experience, Part 2

The very night that I returned home from my first Teen Idols Tour concert, featuring my teen heartthrob, Bobby Sherman, I turned on my computer and searched for another concert in New England that I could go to. As I mentioned in part 1, all the way home, I had this idea to thank Bobby for all the wonderful memories I had of being a fan during my childhood. So, the first step was to see if the Teen Idols Tour, again featuring Bobby Sherman, Davy Jones and Peter No one would be close to where I lived.

I was ecstatic to see that it was coming to the Warwick Musical Theater in Warwick, Rhode Island. This was even closer than the concert I had just gone to, and I was just as excited to find yet another concert I could go to. I immediately purchased a ticket online and set about thinking of the perfect gift to give to him. I knew it wouldn't be flowers because that seemed like such a waste of money. I was quite sure that he would not be able to bring armloads full of flowers with him on a plane back to California. And they would probably die in transit anyway. I went to bed that night trying to decide what would have meaning for him.

Bobby Sherman Now

In the course of the next few weeks, I started to do some research on what Bobby Sherman had been doing in the last few decades. Although he had been a guest star on, " The Love Boat," "Fantasy Island," and "Murder She Wrote," he had also played a character on a short-lived 1980s sitcom called,"Sanchez of Bel Air." But the most important thing he had been doing, which I learned was near and dear to his heart, was working with the Los Angeles Police Department. He works as a reserve officer and wears a police uniform, but as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), not an actual police officer. Part of his job is to train new EMTs. Also, he started The Bobby Sherman Volunteer EMT Foundation. Because there is a shortage of EMT's assigned to cover all the many events that happen in Los Angeles, this Foundation maintains a roster of qualified EMTs who are willing to donate their time and services. When a non-profit Los Angeles event requests them, foundation staff searches individual EMT availability and dispatches EMTs with emergency equipment and gear. The Bobby Sherman EMT Foundation provides free services to the public at these events and also gives EMTs a chance to stay active and well trained. Because it was a non-profit organization, funding comes from Bobby Sherman himself, fund raisers and public donations to purchase needed medical equipment and supplies. So, in reading about this non-profit foundation Bobby Sherman had started, I found my answer to the gift he would probably most appreciate.

The Second Concert Experience

But I digress...back to my meeting Bobby Sherman. I headed to the concert early and had ninety minutes to kill before the concert started. When I arrived in the parking lot, I saw a group of people clustered around the gate to the dressing room area. I decided to go over there and see what was up. I am not usually a "groupie, 3" but since I had already seen the concert once, I was a bit more relaxed this time and thought I would try to see Bobby a bit closer up.

I headed to the gate where I saw six women standing. Some of them had old Bobby Sherman album covers they wanted him to sign. One woman even had a Bobby Sherman lunchbox. As a little girl, I had always wanted one of these lunchboxes. I see now that they are going for approximately $200 on eBay! It was a trip down memory lane to see the lunchbox and the album covers the women had brought. Another woman had just gotten a "Bobby" tattoo with a heart under his name that she was showing off to everyone. She had bought tickets to go to eight of the Teen Idol Tour concerts that summer. She and a friend had on black t-shirts with the names, "Herman, Sherman and Jones" imprinted on them, the three stars of the Teen Idols Tour. I thought that was very creative. It was quite fun talking with everyone before the concert because we were all about the same age, and had fun reminiscing about our childhood crushes on Bobby Sherman. After about one hour of hanging around and talking, I began to feel a little silly and definitely like a groupie, except that: Peter No one drove up in his own rental car. I was quite impressed that he just drove up on his own like that. Everyone around me was rushing the car and trying to get his autograph. Not me because I was definitely a Bobby Sherman fan at heart.

He stopped for a minute to say hello to everyone but couldn't stay long because he was onstage first. I was getting nervous that the show was starting and I wanted to find my seat, so I turned in my ticket and went into the tent to sit down. But as soon as I sat down, I couldn't sit still knowing Bobby had not shown up yet.

I went back outside in the summer air and saw a different group of women standing near a fenced off area. I joined them, and just after I arrived, a man left in a car to "go get Bobby at the hotel where he was staying." When he said this, everyone around me started squealing!

I didn't want to miss Peter Noon's performance because he is a great entertainer, so I went back and forth between where he was performing and the dressing room. Then all of a sudden the car pulled up, and Bobby Sherman got out and waved to everyone. 'The crowd went wild as they say" and women around me were all screaming his name.

The group I was talking to originally was still at the other gate because their friend had not shown up with tickets yet. Bobby apparently knew them from some of the other concerts, so he went over there to talk to them. I saw the woman with the tattoo showing it off to him. The women around me saw him getting his picture taken with the fans on the other side of the gate, and they started yelling at him, saying, "Bobby, over here. Come see us." Now I was quite embarrassed standing there in this group of women who had obviously reverted back to the days when Bobby was their teen heartthrob. There was a very nice woman next to me who felt the same way and said, 'Oh brother, can't they just wait their turn?" and I agreed with her.

I thought of leaving that area because I didn't want to be with a group of women who seemed so greedy. After all, I was there to give him a gift to thank him, and I didn't want anything from him. But because at that moment, he started heading over in our direction, I stayed where I was. And I must admit, I noticed my heart did start pounding a bit!

A Perfect Experience

In my hand, I had a small wrapped package which included a book of EMT stories for him to read on the plane, a small check as a donation to his EMT Foundation, a card with a note of thanks for all the great memories he had given me as a child through his music, and 2 pictures, which my three-year-old twins had colored for him! ( My girls had been listening to his music in the car on the CD player ever since I went to the first concert and wanted to give him something too! To hear my 3-year-old Michaela singing along to the songs "Julie Do You Love Me" and "Marching to the Music" totally off key, and loud made me happy every time I heard it! )

As he got nearer to us, the shouts of, "Bobby, Bobby" got louder. He started at one end of the gated off area. As he went down the line, women were sticking things out for him to sign. These items included album covers, programs, pictures, souvenirs from the Teen Idols Tour concert, etc. It grew quite quiet once he was actually with our group. I think his presence stunned everyone into silence. Now, remember, I hadn't brought anything for him because I wanted to give back to him, not take anything more from him. When he got to me, I held out the small package and just said, 'This is for you." He looked at me, took the package, and my hand and said, 'Oh, bless you" ...and kissed me on the cheek!

Silence was all around me, and then all of a sudden at least 20 screams could be heard piercing the night air. What a sweetheart this guy turned out to be. I had waited all my life, well okay, at that point it had been 29 years of my life, to meet him, and he made that meeting perfect! After he kissed me, he continued down the line. I was really stunned that he had done that and looked at the nice woman next to me and asked if that just happened and she assured me it had. I was floating on air, not just because of the kiss, but because it was such a sweet gesture when I was just trying to do something nice for him. I went back to my seat to watch him and the rest of the concert.

Fulfilling A Dream

Okay, so by now you may be thinking that I had totally flipped my lid for getting this excited about the concert and meeting Bobby Sherman as a grown woman. After all, at that point, he was not even famous anymore, except for his loyal fans from the late sixties/early seventies.

But it was more than just seeing him in concert, or getting a kiss from him. Part of it was about fulfilling personal, lifelong dreams. Meeting Bobby Sherman was a dream I had had since childhood, but never thought would really happen. I strongly feel that life is too short to have regrets, and if I had let the first concert go by without attending, or the second one, that I went to "give something back," I would always have regretted it. And once I went, I had no regrets and realized by going and fulfilling the dream of meeting Bobby Sherman; I had the power to make my dreams come true. That's a powerful realization!

That night it was even okay that I probably would never see him again. The important thing was that I saw him, cried a little ( okay, I admit it, I cried at both concerts because that little girl inside me was just so finally happy to see him!) and I was able to thank him for all the joy he had given me through his music and acting over all the years, and in the present day as well. I felt so happy about it that over the next few months I lost 20 pounds and looked and felt happy and at peace with myself.

I wish for everyone who is reading this the same...the courage to follow your dreams, and then to enjoy them to the fullest!

Here's the first part of my Bobby Sherman experience

• Meeting Bobby Sherman: A Life Changing Experience, Part 1
  This is part 1 of my experience meeting Bobby Sherman as an adult during the Teen Idols Tour in 1998. Also included is a You Tube video of Bobby Sherman singing "Julie Do Ya Love Me"

Bobby Sherman Teen Idol Tour Performance of "Easy Come, Easy Go"

© 2012 Karen Hellier