The R&B/pop singer Bobby Day originally recorded this song in 1958. His version also peaked at #2 in the US. Major irony: Bobby Day's real name is Robert Byrd. Bobby Day had a soulful Pop sound that suited a young Michael Jackson, who recorded this as just his second single as a solo artist, scoring a huge hit with the song. With the Jackson Five, Michael also scored with another Bobby Day song in 1972: "Little Bitty Pretty One," which went to #1 in the US.
This song was inspired by a mockingbird, not a robin, that pestered composer Leon René with its incessant singing. René, who wrote the lyrics, is credited as Jimmy Thomas, which is his songwriting pseudonym. Rene owned the label Excelsior Records.
The Indiana group The Rivieras, famous for their 1964 hit "California Sun," nicked the charts with their version of "Rockin' Robin" that same year when it hit #96.
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