Bobby Vinton Biography

This page uses content from the Bobby Vinton biography page on the English version of Wikipedia and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. This list of authors can be seen in the page history. Rotten Tomatoes disclaims any and all warranties as to the accuracy or reliability of the content.

For the R&B singer, see Bobby Valentino. For another 1960s singer, see Bobby Vee.

Bobby Vinton (born April 16, 1935) is an American pop music singer.

Born Stanley Robert Vintula, Jr. in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania (near Pittsburgh), he was the only child of a locally popular bandleader, Stan Vinton (Stanley Vintula, Sr.).

At 16, Vinton formed his first band, which played clubs around the Pittsburgh area. With the money he earned, Vinton helped finance his college education at Duquesne University, where he studied music and graduated with a degree in musical composition. While at Duquesne, he became proficient on all of the instruments in the band: piano, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, drums and oboe.

After a brief spell in the US Army, Vinton was signed to Epic Records in 1960 as a bandleader: "A Young Man With a Big Band." Two albums and several singles were not successful however, and with Epic ready to pull the plug, Vinton found his first hit single literally sitting in a reject pile. The song was titled "Roses Are Red (My Love)." It spent four weeks at No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Arguably, his most famous song is 1963's "Blue Velvet" that also went to No.1. 23 years later, David Lynch named his movie Blue Velvet after the song. In 1964, Vinton had two #1 hits, "There! I've Said It Again" and "Mr. Lonely", the latter now being the basis for Akon's hit "Lonely."

In the 1970s, the "Polish Prince" continued to hit the Top 40, notably with "Ev'ry Day of My Life" and "Sealed With a Kiss" in 1972. That same year, Epic Records decided to end its relationship with Vinton and ended his recording contract. Undeterred, Vinton spent $50,000 of his own money on a self-written song sung partially in Polish: "My Melody of Love." After Vinton was turned down by 7 major labels, ABC Records bought Vinton's idea, and the result was a multi-million selling single that hit #1 on the AC charts in 1974. A gold album, Melodies of Love, followed as well as a successful half-hour variety show "The Bobby Vinton Show" (which aired from 1975 to 1978). He also starred in two John Wayne movies: Big Jake and The Train Robbers.

In the course of his career, Vinton has sold over 75 million records (singles, albums, compilation inclusions, etc) and is still performing on tour and at the Bobby Vinton Blue Velvet Theatre in Branson, Missouri.

Billboard Magazine called Bobby Vinton "the all-time most successful love singer of the 'Rock-Era'". During the first ten years of rock and roll's existence, Vinton had more #1 hits than any other male vocalist, including Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra.

In recognition of his recording career, Bobby Vinton has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6916 Hollywood Blvd.

Vinton has been married since December 17, 1962 to his wife, Dolly, and they have five children--three daughters and two sons. His son, Robbie Vinton, played Vinton in the movie Goodfellas (1990).

There were some rumors in the 1960s that he had some Mafia connections (much like Frank Sinatra), though there was never any solid proof of this.

Trivia

Vinton's birthplace of Canonsburg, Pennsylvania is also the birth place of Perry Como. Vinton always claimed to be from Pittsburgh, while Como stayed loyal to his hometown by saying he was from Canonsburg.

Vinton's version of "There! I've Said It Again" is noteworthy for being the final US Billboard number one single of the pre-Beatles era; it was deposed from the top of the Hot 100 by "I Want to Hold Your Hand." Also noteworthy is the fact that Vinton continued to have big hit records during the British Invasion, while Connie Francis, Ricky Nelson, the Shirelles and other major artists of the early 1960s struggled to reach even the top 30.

Discography

Studio albums

• 1961: Dancing at the Hop
  
• 1961: Bobby Vinton Plays for His Li'l Darlin's
  
• 1962: Roses Are Red (US #5)
  
• 1962: Bobby Vinton Sings the Big Ones (US #137)
  
• 1963: The Greatest Hits of the Golden Groups
  
• 1963: Blue on Blue (reissued as Blue Velvet after the success of the hit of the same name) (US #10)
  
• 1964: There! I've Said It Again (US #8)
  
• 1964: Tell Me Why (US #31)
  
• 1964: A Very Merry Christmas (US #13)
  
• 1965: Mr. Lonely (US #18)
  
• 1965: Bobby Vinton Sings for Lonely Nights (US #116)
  
• 1965: Drive-In Movie Time
  
• 1966: Bobby Vinton Sings Satin Pillows and Careless (US #110)
  
• 1966: Country Boy
  
• 1967: Bobby Vinton Sings the Newest Hits
  
• 1967: Please Love Me Forever (US #41)
  
• 1968: Take Good Care of My Baby (US #164)
  
• 1968: I Love How You Love Me (US #21)
  
• 1969: Vinton (US #69)
  
• 1970: My Elusive Dreams (US #90)
  
• 1970: Sounds of Love (on sax)
  
• 1972: Ev'ry Day of My Life (US #72)
  
• 1972: Sealed With a Kiss (US #77)
  
• 1974: Melodies of Love (US #16)
  
• 1974: With Love (US #109)
  
• 1975: Heart of Hearts (US #108)
  
• 1975: The Bobby Vinton Show (US #161)
  
• 1976: Serenades of Love
  
• 1976: Party Music - 20 Hits
  
• 1977: The Name Is Love (US #183)
  
• 1978: Bobby Vinton
  
• 1979: 100 Memories
  
• 1980: Encore
  
• 1981: Polka Album
  
• 1987: Santa Must Be Polish
  
• 1989: Timeless
  

Live albums

• 1966: Live at the Copa
  

Compilations

• 1964: Bobby Vinton's Greatest Hits (US #12)
  
• 1966: More of Bobby's Greatest Hits
  
• 1969: Bobby Vinton's Greatest Hits of Love (US #138)
  
• 1970: Vinton Sings Vinton
  
• 1971: Love Album
  
• 1971: To Each His Own
  
• 1972: Bobby Vinton's All-Time Greatest Hits (US #119)
  
• 1973: Bobby Vinton Treasury
  
• 1974: The Many Moods of Bobby Vinton
  
• 1974: The Many Moods of Bobby Vinton in Love
  
• 1975: Bobby Vinton Sings the Golden Decade of Love (US #154)
  
• 1976: K-Tel Presents Bobby Vinton - 20 Greatest Hits
  
• 1978: Autumn Memories
  
• 1979: Spring Sensations
  
• 1979: Summer Serenades
  
• 1979: Million Selling Records of Bobby Vinton
  
• 1980: My Song
  
• 1981: Bobby Vinton's Greatest Hits
  
• 1983: His Heart-Touching Magic
  
• 1985: The Best of Bobby Vinton
  
• 1985: Ballads of Love
  
• 1988: Bobby Vinton
  
• 1991: 16 Most Requested Songs (US #199; charted in 1996)
  

Singles

External links

• Official website
  
• A Bobby Vinton fan site
  
• Classic bands
  
• Another fan site
  

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