Blue Monday - A New Beginning

Hello, Dear Ones! My heart is still heavy after learning our sweet Sally from Smiling Sally passed away recently. She had been our host for Blue Monday for many years and a long time blogging friend. She had asked Jeanne from Backyard Neighbor , another long time blogging friend, to continue it for her and she agreed. Thank you Jeanne for continuing Blue Monday. If you'd like to join in just post about something blue!

I thought I would re-post one of my old Blue Mondays from November, 2008, I've been blogging a looooooooooooooong time! :)

I would like to feature today the Blueness of Bobby Vinton. He had three number one hits that were Blue - Roses are Red (Violets are Blue), Blue Velvet and Blue on Blue. This young man had the sweetest clearest voice. I could listen to his old songs all day!!

Bobby Vinton was a pop singer through the 1950's, 60's and 70's.

Although seldom thought of as a rock and roll singer, Bobby Vinton is sometimes identified with a rock audience because his music was bought mostly by young listeners during his heyday, and because he still catches some airplay on oldies stations. Billboard Magazine called Bobby Vinton "the all-time most successful love singer of the 'Rock-Era'". During the first ten years of rock and roll's existence, Vinton had more #1 hits than any other male vocalist, including Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra. This info and the following is from: http://www.classicbandscom/

Bobby was born in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania (a suburb of Pittsburgh), the son of a locally popular band leader, Stan Vinton. As a young boy, his parents encouraged him to study music, and at the age of sixteen, Bobby formed his first band. The group 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 oboe.


After a short stint in the army, (which served

as the inspiration for one of his biggest hits,

"Mr. Lonely"), Bobby and his band recorded

some demo records which Bobby started

taking to as many radio stations as he could.

At one such station, a DJ flipped one of the

demos over and heard Bobby singing. He was

impressed enough to take the disc to CBS.

Label executives signed Vinton and released

Bobby's first single, "Roses Are Red", which

launched his career as a vocalist. The record

climbed to the #1 spot on the U.S. charts and

eventually sold over four million copies.

The syrupy arrangement set the mold for his plaintive, occasional mournful hits throughout the early '60s. 1963 was his banner year, as he hit number three with "Blue on Blue" and then topped the charts with "Blue Velvet" and "There! I've Said It Again". "There! I've Said It Again" was knocked out of the number one spot by the Beatles' "I Want to Hold Your Hand", but the British Invasion, surprisingly, didn't spell the commercial end for Vinton, as it did for so many other balladeers and teen idols. Indeed, he had one of his biggest hits (and his final number one), the sobbing "Mr. Lonely" in late 1964.

Although he didn't maintain quite the same superstar ranking, he was consistently popular throughout the next decade. Between 1962 and 1972, in fact, he had an astonishing 28 Top 40 entries. Often, he updated quaint 1960-era pop tunes such as "Halfway To Paradise", "Take Good Care Of My Baby" and "Sealed With A Kiss". A couple of these, "Please Love Me Forever" and "I Love How You Love Me" made the Top Ten, which was quite an amazing feat in 1967 and 1968, the age of flower power rock.

Vinton launched a major comeback in 1974 with "Melody of Love," which made number three, and enjoyed the distinction of being the only major American hit single sung partially in Polish. He also hosted a highly rated network variety show for CBS Television and starred in two John Wayne movies: "Big Jake" and "The Train Robbers".

In the 1980's, after performing to packed houses in Branson, Missouri, Bobby built the 'Bobby Vinton Blue Velvet Theatre', a 1600 seat European style theatre , complete with ceiling murals, Italian tile and of course, blue velvet accents. He kept the theater for ten years before going back to touring the country.

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 honour upon Vinton -- a bronze star on the world famous Hollywood Walk of Fame on Hollywood Boulevard.

Wasn't he just the cutest thing?

I was in elementary school when he had his hit "Roses Are Red, Violets Are Blue" ~ 1962. Along with my little girlfriends, we just cried at the lyrics. We were sillies, I know!!

"Roses are red, my love. Violets are Blue. Sugar is sweet, my love, but not as sweet as you."

Once Bobby decided to record an album with Blue songs ~ Blue Moon, Blue Hawaii, Am I Blue, Lavender Blue. I'm telling you, Bluest Ones, this man was very very Blue!

Bobby's Blue songs ~ Roses Are Red (Violets Are Blue), Blue Velvet and Blue on Blue were all bitter sweet songs. So sad about love lost! Boo Hoo! Sniff Sniff.

But that sweet clear voice continues to sing to me over the oldies radio stations.

Now if you're too young to know about this dear Blue Bobby, you can go to YouTube and here him sing. But I will warn you...get some tissues out for his Blue Sad Songs..

Be Blue sweeties,

I'm joining Jeanne at Backyard Neighbor for Blue Monday 

I'll leave you with a little Blue Note Song ~

Blue Velvet

She wore blue velvet

Bluer than velvet was the night

Softer than satin was the light

From the stars

She wore blue velvet

Bluer than velvet were her eyes

Warmer than May her tender sighs

Love was ours

Ours a love I held tightly

Feeling the rapture grow

Like a flame burning brightly

But when she left, gone was the glow of

Blue velvet

But in my heart there'll always be

Precious and warm, a memory

Through the years

And I still can see blue velvet

Through my tears

~ sung by the Blue Bobby Vinton ~ sniff sniff :'(