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.

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

With the money he earned, he helped finance his college education at Duquesne University, where he graduated with a degree in musical composition.

[4] When 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.

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.

With Epic ready to drop him from its roster, Vinton found the material for his first hit single literally sitting in a reject pile.

The success of the song pushed Epic to renew Vinton's contract and change his status from bandleader to solo singer.

[10] Arguably, Vinton's most famous song is 1963's "Blue Velvet", originally a minor hit for Tony Bennett in 1951, that also spent three weeks at the number one positions in Billboard, Cash Box, and Record World magazines.

The song continued to spin gold for Vinton, its author-composer, in the 50+ years to date since reaching number 1; Harmony Korine named his 2007 film Mister Lonely after the latter and features the song in the film's opening, and it was also the basis for Akon's 2005 hit, "Lonely".

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".

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.

[2][13] 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).

In the same year, CBS-TV aired Bobby Vinton's Rock N' Rollers, a one-hour special that achieved top ratings.

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!

"[15][16] In the early 1990s, Vinton found himself booked as a guest star at the Roy Clark Theatre in Branson, Missouri.

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.

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

His last role as a character was as Bobby Gaines in the 1983 episode "Chance of a Lifetime" of the NBC family drama television series Boone, starring Tom Byrd, while his last scripted role as himself was in 1997, appearing in part one of the three part series finale of Coach.

[17] 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.