29 Facts About Bobby Vinton

Stanley Robert "Bobby" Vinton was born on April 16,1935 and is an American former singer and occasional actor, who hosted his own self-titled TV show in the late 1970s.

Bobby Vinton's parents encouraged their son's interest in music by giving him his daily 25-cent allowance after he had practiced the clarinet.

At 16, Bobby Vinton formed his first band, which played clubs around the Pittsburgh area.

When Bobby Vinton became an active musician, it was common for people to become confused with the bands of father and son, for both were named Stanley.

Bobby Vinton's father suggested his son use his middle name of Robert professionally to clear up the confusion.

Bobby Vinton formed his own record label, Bobby Records, in October 1958.

Bobby Vinton sang on the B-side of the 45 rpm release, making this his first commercially released vocal recording.

Bobby Vinton released two self-written singles for Alpine, the first being "You'll Never Forget" backed by "First Impression".

Bobby 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.

Also noteworthy is the fact that Bobby Vinton continued to have big hit records during the British Invasion, scoring 16 top-ten hits, while Connie Francis, Ricky Nelson, the Shirelles, and other major artists of the early 1960s struggled to reach even the Top 40.

Bobby Vinton wrote and composed "Mr Lonely" during his chaplain's assistant service in the US Army in the late 1950s.

In 1965, Bobby Vinton continued his "Lonely" success streak with the self-written "L-O-N-E-L-Y".

Bobby Vinton's self-written 1966 hit "Coming Home Soldier" hit No 11 on the Hot 100 and 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".

Bobby Vinton's 1968 hit "I Love How You Love Me" surged to number 9, sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold record by the RIAA.

Undeterred, Bobby Vinton spent $50,000 of his own money on "My Melody of Love", partially self-written and partially sung in Polish.

Bobby Vinton would go on to record an additional four albums for ABC Records, three of which hit the Billboard Hot 200 albums chart.

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, Bobby Vinton wrote his autobiography, titled The Polish Prince, which became a bestseller.

Bobby Vinton 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.

Bobby Vinton 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.

Bobby Vinton returned to Branson periodically for limited engagements at the theatre.

From 1962 to 1972, Bobby Vinton had had more Billboard number 1 hits than any other male vocalist, including Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra.

In recognition of his recording career, Bobby Vinton was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located at 6916 Hollywood Blvd.

In 2011, Grammy Award winner Jimmy Sturr and His Orchestra recorded the "Polish Prince" song, a tip of the hat to Bobby Vinton, and included it on their Grammy-nominated Not Just Another Polka CD.

Bobby Vinton appeared in seven acting roles during his singing career, commencing with the beach party movie Surf Party in 1964.

Bobby Vinton was cast as Jeff McCandles in the 1971 John Wayne film Big Jake and as Ben Young in another Wayne film, The Train Robbers.

In 2015, after contracting a serious case of shingles, Bobby Vinton retired from live performing and recording.

Bobby Vinton 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.

Bobby Vinton said that he was very happy living in Florida.