Bobby Vinton

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

[edit] Early life

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, Vintula formed his first band, which played clubs around the Pittsburgh area. With the money he earned, he 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.

Vinton's birthplace of Canonsburg, Pennsylvania is also the birth place of Perry Como. Vinton has been honored by his hometown with a major thoroughfare Bobby Vinton Boulevard. Canonsburg town fathers had plans to erect a statue in his honor, but Vinton vetoed the idea noting that the $100,000 planned cost could go to far more important town needs.

[edit] Career

[edit] 1960s

After a brief spell in the U.S. 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", originally a minor hit for Tony Bennett in 1951, that also went to No.1. Twenty-three years later, David Lynch named his movie Blue Velvet after the song. In 1990, "Blue Velvet" climbed to the top of the music charts in Great Britain, after being featured in a Nivea Skin Cream commercial. In 1964, Vinton had two #1 hits, "There! I've Said It Again" (a #1 hit in 1945 for Vaughn Monroe) and "Mr. Lonely". Harmony Korine named his 2007 film Mister Lonely after the latter, and it is now also the basis for Akon's hit "Lonely."

Vinton's version of "There! I've Said It Again" is noteworthy for being the final U.S. 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.

Vinton's 1967 hit "Coming Home Soldier" was a favorite on request shows on the American Forces Network during the Cold War and Vietnam Era, often called in by soldiers about to board the Freedom Bird that would take them back to the "Land of the Round Doorknobs."

[edit] 1970s

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 drop Vinton from his contract (despite the moderate success of these two hits), claiming that his days of selling records were over. 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 seven major labels, ABC Records bought Vinton's idea, and the result was a multi-million selling single that hit #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #1 on the AC charts in 1974.^[1] A gold album, Melodies of Love, followed as well as one more Top 40 pop hit ("Beer Barrel Polka" in 1975), a successful half-hour variety show The Bobby Vinton Show (which aired from 1975 to 1978), which used "My Melody of Love" as its theme song; ABC Records subsequently released an album of songs performed on the show. He also starred in two John Wayne movies: Big Jake and The Train Robbers.

[edit] Honors and achievements

In the course of his career, Vinton has sold over 75 million records (singles, albums, compilation inclusions, etc) and is still performing on tour. He owned and performed at the Bobby Vinton Blue Velvet Theatre in Branson, Missouri until 2002 when the theatre was sold to David King, creator and producer of Spirit of the Dance. Vinton returns to Branson annually for limited engagements at the theatre.

Billboard Magazine called Bobby Vinton "the all-time most successful love singer of the 'Rock-Era'". From 1962 through 1972, Vinton had more Billboard #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.

In 2002, the Norwegian electronica-duo Röyksopp released their debut album Melody A.M. including a delicate cover version of the Vinton-hit "Blue on Blue" called "So Easy" - which also was the group's first single and furthermore used in several ads.

[edit] Personal

Vinton and his wife Dolores "Dolly" Dobbins Vintula have been married since December 17, 1962, and they have five children: Robert, Kristin, Christopher, Jennifer (who later changed her name legally to Hannah after getting married) and Rebecca. His oldest son, Robbie Vinton, played Vinton in the movie Goodfellas (1990).

[edit] Discography

Main article: Bobby Vinton discography

[edit] References

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (January 2008)

1. ^ Hyatt, Wesley (1999). The Billboard Book of #1 Adult Contemporary Hits (Billboard Publications)

[edit] External links

• Official website
• Classic bands
• Another fan site