Bobby Vinton

Biography

Stanley Robert Vinton (born April 16, 1935) is an American pop music singer. 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."

Most Known For

The Mike Douglas Show

as Self

The Merv Griffin Show

as Self

Coach

as Bobby Vinton

The Ed Sullivan Show

as Self

Dinah!

as Self

Benson

Kraft Music Hall

as Self

The Patty Duke Show

The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour

as Self

The Hollywood Palace

as Self

Shindig!

as Self - Singer

Hamburgers

as self

Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters

as Self

Big Jake

as Jeff McCandles

The David Susskind Show

as Self

The Train Robbers

as Ben Young

Pink Lady

as Bobby Vinton

The Bobby Vinton Show

Surf Party

as Len Marshal

The Gossip Columnist

as Marty Kaplan