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." His 1968 hit "I Love How You Love Me" sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold record by the R.I.A.A.
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.[2] 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.
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.
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