Bobby Vinton Songs From My Heart Live : By : Patrick Ranasinghe
Bobby Vinton has been called “the most successful love singer of the ‘Rock-Era'” . (BILLBOARD MAGAZINE) Starting with his first hit release ” Roses Are Red” in 1962 through 1972 (10 years) he had more #1 records than any other solo male artist. (BILLBOARD MAGAZINE)
Vinton’s name has been synonymous with superstardom, a true survivor and today he continues to enjoy success as a top-rated performer. Today, Bobby is one of the few stars who is capable of headlining in Atlantic City and Las Vegas in addition to playing dates around the world. He has established himself as one of America’s top concert performers and versatile entertainers. The hit songs Bobby has given us over the years have become classics. His impressive list of hits includes renowned love songs such as: ROSES ARE RED, BLUE VELVET, MR. LONELY and many more. His songs are recognized as standards throughout the world and his music has retained its vitality and relevance through our changing times. Bobby’s hit-making capability was again evidenced with the release of MY MELODY OF LOVE, when it became the #1 song in the nation and was embraced by Polish Americans around the country as their new national anthem. Not long after, his best selling autobiography THE POLISH PRINCE was published. The phenomenal success Bobby experienced in the recording industry carried over to other areas of the entertainment world.
For three years, The Bobby Vinton Varity Show was syndicated and aired in over 140 cities throughout the United States and Canada. He also hosted a highly rated network variety special for CBS Television (it triumphed over Monday Night Football!!) and starred in two John Wayne movies: “Big Jake” and “The Train Robbers”. Bobby, never satisfied resting on the laurels of his accomplishment, received the idea to create his own theater while he was performing in Branson, Missouri. The culmination of Bobby’s idea and efforts was the BOBBY VINTON BLUE VELVET THEATRE. A 1600 seat European style theatre complete with ceiling murals, Italian tile and blue velvet accents. His vision also included arranging his hits to blend with that of the Big Band sound.
A multi-talented musician as well as a singer and actor, Bobby was born in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania (a suburb of Pittsburgh), the son of a locally popular band leader, Stan Vinton. When he was a young boy, his parents encouraged him to study music, and at the age of sixteen formed his first band. The band played clubs around the Pittsburgh area and with the money he earned, Bobby helped finance his college education at Duquesne University. There 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 the oboe) — a talent which he displays in his shows today. He recently received an honorary doctoral degree in music from his alma mater.
After a short stint in the army, (which served as the inspiration for one of his biggest hits, MR. LONELY), Bobby and his band appeared on “TV Talent Scouts”. A subsequent four-week contract on that show landed him a contract with Epic Records, the label that released Bobby’s first single, ROSES ARE RED, which began his extraordinary career as a vocalist. The record climbed to the #1 spot on the charts and eventually sold over four million copies. It included such songs as ROSES ARE RED, THERE I’VE SAID IT AGAIN, PLEASE LOVE ME FOREVER, I LOVE HOW YOU LOVE ME, and of course MY MELODY OF LOVE. As a result of these and many more hits, Bobby was awarded over a dozen gold records and albums during his career and has sold over 75 million records. Over the past several years, Bobby has been honored by over one hundred national organizations and more than a dozen mayors across the United States for his unique contributions to the ethnic communities. He was invited to Poland as a guest of the government. As a tribute to his talents and community services the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce bestowed the ultimate honor upon Vinton–a bronze star on the world famous Hollywood Walk of Fame on Hollywood Boulevard.
