Stanley Robert Vinton (born April 16, 1935) is an American singer and actor, who hosted his own self-titled TV show in the late 1970s. As a teen idol, he became known as "The Polish Prince", as his music paid tribute to his Polish heritage. One of his most popular songs is "Blue Velvet" (a cover of the 1951 song recorded by Tony Bennett) which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1963, No. 1 in Canada (5 weeks), and number 2 in the UK in 1990.

Early life

Vinton was born in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, the only child of locally popular bandleader Stan Vinton and Dorothy Studzinski Vinton. He is of Polish and Lithuanian descent. The family surname was originally Vintula, and was changed by Vinton's father. Vinton's parents encouraged their son's interest in music by giving him his daily 25-cent allowance after he had practiced the clarinet.

While attending Canonsburg High School when he was age 15, Vinton 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 graduated with a degree in musical composition in 1956.

Vinton's birthplace of Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, is also the birthplace of Perry Como. Vinton's hometown named two streets, Bobby Vinton Boulevard and the shorter adjoining Bobby Vinton Drive, in his honor. These streets were built in the late 1970s; prior attempts to name a residential street after him failed. The residents had not cared for the singer always claiming Pittsburgh as his home town on TV interviews. Como always claimed Canonsburg as his hometown, so hundreds of people changed their address when the town renamed a street in the east end after Perry Como. The Canonsburg town fathers had plans to erect a statue in Vinton's honour, but Vinton himself vetoed the idea, noting that the $100,000 planned cost could go to far more important town needs.

Career

1950s

According to his autobiography, Bobby was inspired to record his music by the Elvis Presley movie Jailhouse Rock. He formed his own record label, Bobby Records, in October 1958. His first release was "Twilight Time", backed with "Hallelujah". Bobby sang on the B-side of the 45 rpm release, making this his first commercially released vocal recording. This record did not chart. In March 1959, Bobby recorded for the Melody label out of Philadelphia, listed as "Bobby Vinton and his Orchestra" for the first time. His release of "Harlem Nocturne", backed with "Always in My Heart" with a vocal by Bobby, attracted attention in Pennsylvania. His 'young man with a big band' style was established here, and "Always In My Heart" was a song he returned to. In August 1959, Bobby moved to another larger record company, Alpine Records. He released two self-written singles for Alpine, the first being "You'll Never Forget" backed by "First Impression". The second Alpine release was "A Freshman and a Sophomore", backed with the self-written "The Sheik"; this was released in February 1960. Both Alpine releases garnered Billboard magazine mentions.

1960s

thumb|[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard advertisement, September 14, 1963]]

After two years of service in the United States Army, in which he served as a chaplain's assistant, Vinton was signed to Epic Records in 1960 as a bandleader: "A Young Man With a Big Band". The break for the Epic Records contract had come after Vinton and his band appeared on Guy Lombardo's TV Talent Scouts program. Vinton had to do his own promotion for the song; he bought one thousand copies and hired a young woman to deliver a copy of the record and a dozen red roses to every local DJ. It spent four weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was also a hit on the Country and R&B charts. The success of the song pushed Epic to renew Vinton's contract and change his status from bandleader to solo singer.

1970s

thumb|Vinton in 1977

In the 1970s, Vinton continued to hit the Top 40, notably with "Ev'ry Day of My Life", a No. 2 Adult Contemporary hit also awarded the Jukebox single of the year award which was produced by Jimmy Bowen and CBS recording engineer Jim Reeves, which peaked at number 24 on April 29, 1972, and "Sealed With a Kiss" hitting number 19 on August 19–26, 1972. A gold album, Melodies of Love, followed as well as one final Top 40 pop hit (the traditional "Beer Barrel Polka", also sung partially in Polish, b/w "Dick And Jane" in 1975). Vinton went on to record an additional four albums for ABC Records, three of which hit the Billboard Hot 200 albums chart. Epic Records rediscovered Vinton in the wake of his newfound success, releasing two albums of previously recorded material, both of which hit the top album charts. In addition, in a throwback to his career start in the 1950s, his two albums on Ahed were released in Canada. Party Music (1976) went platinum and 100 Memories (1979) was successful. In 1975, Vinton exploded onto televisions across the United States and Canada with a successful half-hour variety show, The Bobby Vinton Show, which aired from 1975 to 1978 and of which "My Melody of Love" was the theme song; ABC Records subsequently released an album of songs performed on the show.

In 1978, Vinton wrote his autobiography, titled The Polish Prince, which became a bestseller. In the same year, CBS-TV aired Bobby Vinton's Rock N' Rollers, a one-hour special that achieved top ratings.

1980s–1990s

While appearing at Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium prior to Game 4 of the 1990 National League Championship Series between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds, Vinton delivered a mixed-up rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" that left out many of the words and was off-key. Controversy ensued after CBS broadcaster Jack Buck said on air, "Well, when you're Polish and live in Pittsburgh, you can do anything you want with the words!"

thumb|Vinton performing in 2004

Honors and achievements

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In the early 1990s, Vinton found himself booked as a guest star at the Roy Clark Theatre in Branson, Missouri. He was unsure of his ability to draw at what was then a country-western-themed resort, and was shocked at the massive turnout for his concerts there. He was so impressed with the Branson model that he invested millions in building the Bobby Vinton Blue Velvet Theatre and enjoyed ten successful years there. In 2002 the theatre was sold to David King, creator and producer of Spirit of the Dance. He spoke to his fans and friends in February 2018 on The Cousin Brucie Show on Sirius XM radio, and encouraged all to get a shingles vaccination.

Discography

Filmography

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|-

! Year

! Title

! Role

! Notes

|-

| 1964 || Surf Party || Len Marshall ||also theme song ("If I Were an Artist")

|-

| 1965 || The Patty Duke Show || George Reynolds || Episode: "Patty and the Newspaper Game"

|-

| 1965 || Harlow || Theme song ("Lonely Girl") singer || Voice only

|-

| 1971 || Big Jake || Jeff McCandles ||

|-

| 1973 || The Train Robbers || Ben Young ||

|-

| 1976 || The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox || Theme song ("Lemondrops, Lollipops and Sunbeams") singer || Voice only

|-

| 1980 || The Gossip Columnist || Marty Kaplan || Television film

|-

| 1983 || Boone || Bobby Gaines || Episode: "Chance of a Lifetime"

|-

| 1985 || Benson || Himself || season 6 episode 17 "Solid Gold"

|-

| 1997 || Coach || Himself || Episode: "Leaving Orlando: Part 1"

|}

Bibliography

References

  • Classic bands