Bobby Vinton Greatest Hits
This is a review of Bobby Vinton greatest hits from his fabulo
us singing career. He sang from 1962 though 1981, having 49 singles to chart on Billboard Hot 100. He is known at “The Polish Prince” in pop music circles. He is the most successful love singer of all-time in the Rock Era as quoted by Billboard Magazine. Here is the rest of his story…
Early Life
He was born Bobby Vinton on April 16, 1935, in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. This is the same birthplace of singer Perry Come. Bobby is the only child of bandleader, Stan Vinton and Dorothy Studzinski Vinton. His parents encouraged Bobby’s interest in music by giving him a daily allowance of 25 cents after he practiced the clarinet. At 16, Vinton formed his first band, which played clubs around the Pittsburgh area. The money he earned from this helped finance his college education. He graduated Duquesne University with a degree in musical composition. While there, he became proficient on all the instruments in the band: piano, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, drums, and the oboe.
Music Career
After Bobby served his two years in the Army, he was signed to Epic Records in 1960 as a bandleader. His big break came when his band appeared on Guy Lombardo’s TV Talent Scouts program. He recorded two albums and several singles and all were not successful and Epic was ready to pull the plug on Bobby. Bobby found his first single sitting in a reject pile. The song was titled “Roses Are Red (My Love)”. Bobby had to do his own promotion for the song and it spent four weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart in 1962. This song was his first single on the popular charts.
His next number one hit “Blue Velvet” was his most popular song. It was a remake of the same song done by Tony Bennett #16 in 1951. Bobby’s version stayed at the top of the charts for 3 weeks in 1963. This song also inspired a movie of the same name in 1990 by David Lynch.
In 1964, Bobby Vinton had two more #1 hits, “There! I’ve Said It Again” (a #1 hit for six weeks in 1945 for Vaughn Monroe) and “Mr. Lonely”. Bobby Vinton’s version of “There! I’ve Said It Again” stayed at the top of the charts for 4 weeks and was the last U.S. Billboard number one single of the pre-Beatles era. Bobby wrote “Mr. Lonely” while he served as a chaplain’s assistance in the U.S. Army in the late 1950’s. “Mr. Lonely” was Bobby’s last number one single and stayed at number one for 1 week. Buddy Greco released this same song on the Epic Records label and it only reached #64 in 1962.
His Later Career
Bobby continued to have top ten hits during the late sixties. However, in 1971, Epic Records dropped Bobby Vinton from his contract. Undeterred, Vinton spent $50,000 of his own money on “My Melody of Love“, partially self-written and partially sung in Polish. The suggestion for the song came from Vinton’s mother. After Vinton was turned down by six major labels, ABC Records bought Vinton’s idea, and the result was a multi-million selling single that hit #3 on the Hot 100, #2 on the Cashbox Top 100 chart, and #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart in 1974. This song was Bobby Vinton’s last top ten hit. His last Hot 100 single was “Make Believe Its Your First Time” #78 in 1980.
All told, Bobby Vinton had 4 #1’s, 9 top ten, 15 top 20, and 30 top 40 hits. He also had 3 top ten albums. Billboard ranks Bobby Vinton as the #11 artist from 1960-1969 and the #48 artist of all-time from 1955-2010.
Bobby married Dolores Dobbins in 1962, and has five children. They live on the Gulf Coast in Englewood, Florida.
His Top Ten Hits
Below is a complete list of Bobby Vinton’s top ten hits on the Hot 100 and on the Adult Contemporary charts. Each song is listed in chronological order and his number one songs will be in bold. The number of weeks song held the #1, #2, and #3 position is in ().
Hot 100 Chart
1. Roses Are Red (My Love) – July 14, 1962 #1 (4)
2. Blue On Blue – May 18, 1963 #3 (1)
3. Blue Velvet – September 21, 1963 #1 (3)
4. There! I’ve Said It Again – January 4, 1964 #1 (4)
5. My Heart Belongs To Only You – February 29, 1964 #9
6. Mr. Lonely – December 12, 1964 #1 (1)
7. Please Love Me Forever – September 30, 1967 #6
8. I Love How You Love Me – November 2, 1968 #9
9. My Melody of Love – September 21, 1974 #3 (2)
Adult Contemporary Chart
1. Roses Are Red (My Love) – July 28, 1962 (4)
2. Rain Rain Go Away – September 1, 1962 #4
3. Trouble Is My Middle Name – December 15, 1962 #7
4. Let’s Kiss And Make Up – December 15, 1962 #10
5. Over The Mountain (Across The Sea) – March 16, 1963 #8
6. Blue On Blue – May 25, 1963 #2 (3)
7. Blue Velvet – September 7, 1963 (8)
8. There! I’ve Said It Again – January 4, 1964 (5)
9. My Heart Belongs To Only You – March 14, 1964 #2 (2)
10. Tell Me Why – May 23, 1964 #3 (1)
11. Clinging Vine – August 15, 1964 #2
12. Mr. Lonely – November 21, 1964 #3 (1)
13. Long Lonely Nights – March 13, 1965 #5
14. L-O-N-E-L-Y – May 8, 1965 #7
15. Just As Much As Ever – January 20, 1968 #10
16. Halfway To Paradise – July 20, 1968 #8
17. I Love How You Love Me – November 2, 1968 #2 (6)
18. To Know You Is To Love You – April 12, 1969 #8
19. My Elusive Dreams – February 14, 1970 #7
20. No Arms Can Ever Hold You – July 11, 1970 #8
21. Every Day Of My Life – January 22, 1972 #2 (4)
22. Sealed With A Kiss – June 3, 1972 #2 (1)
23. My Melody Of Love – November 9, 1974 #1 (1)
24. Beer Barrel Polka – March 15, 1975 #5
Blue Velvet Original Recording
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