Robert A. Korum

Robert “Bob” Korum, the drummer for Bobby Vee and The Shadows, and the last surviving member of the original Shadows, died July 16, 2026 at age 86 in Fargo, ND. According to his nephew, Dan J. Vick, MD, of Englewood, FL, Korum had been in a Fargo nursing home since January of this year.

Korum was 18 years old when he formed a band in Fargo in January 1959 with his friend Bill Velline, a rhythm guitarist, and Jim Stillman, who played bass guitar. Bill’s younger brother, Bobby, also played rhythm guitar but was brought into the group because he could sing and knew the lyrics to the popular songs of the day. A Winter Dance Party concert was scheduled at the nearby Moorhead, MN Armory on the night of February 3rd that year. However, tragedy struck earlier that morning when headliners Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson were killed in a plane crash while traveling to Fargo from a performance the previous night in Clear Lake, IA. This tragic event is often referred to as “The Day the Music Died”. A Fargo-Moorhead radio station announcer broadcast news of the crash and issued a plea for local music groups to fill the concert bill that evening. Korum and his group volunteered and were given the job. When asked for the name of their band by the emcee that evening, they quickly came up with “The Shadows”.

Their performance was very favorably received and they were soon touring as Bobby Vee and The Shadows. They recorded “Suzie Baby” for Soma Records and the song became a regional hit, reaching No. 1 across the Upper Midwest that summer. This caught the attention of major recording companies, and the group was signed to a recording contract with Liberty Records soon after. When the contract was renewed in January 1961, Liberty chose not to include The Shadows, opting to sign Bobby Vee as a solo singer. Korum left the group for other pursuits. However, he remained lifelong friends with Bobby Vee and his former bandmates and occasionally joined Vee for reunion concerts.

Bob Korum was born on March 18, 1940 in Fargo, the youngest of four children, to George and Marvel Korum. His sister, Patricia, helped him buy his first set of drums while he was in high school and he began playing in local clubs prior to forming The Shadows. After leaving the group, Korum worked in Fargo for a few years. He moved to Denver in the late 1960s and was a general sales manager for radio stations KHOW and KLAK and played drums in local bands in the area. He relocated to Billings, MT in the late 1970s and became the station manager for NBC affiliate KULR-TV. He retired to Fargo in the early 2000s and enjoyed morning coffee with old friends, spending summers at Detroit Lakes, MN, and occasionally playing music with former bandmates.

Four marriages ended in divorce. His only child and daughter, Kimberly “Kim” Colvin, from his first marriage, died in 2021. He was also preceded in death by his sister, Patricia Vick, and brothers Bill Korum and George “Mickey” Korum. Besides Dr. Vick, survivors include his son-in-law, Jerome Colvin, and granddaughter, Lynda Colvin, of Fargo, his grandson, Joseph (Heather) Colvin, of Devils Lake, ND, two cousins, and several other nephews and nieces.

According to Dr. Vick: “Uncle Bob inspired me to study and learn to play drums and other percussion – something I’ve continued to do as an avocation most of my life. In our many conversations over the years, Bob was always pretty low key about his time with The Shadows. However, he would share with me some of the memorable experiences from that period of his life, including the brief participation in The Shadows of a young Elston Gunn (soon to become Bob Dylan) during the summer of 1959 and a later summer tour known as the Caravan of Stars with Dick Clark. On the 60th anniversary of The Day the Music Died, I asked Bob if he ever stopped to think about the fact that Bobby Vee and The Shadows might not have gotten their shot at fame if it hadn’t been for the tragic plane crash. His reply: ‘Every day.’”

Funeral arrangements are pending at this time.