Bobby Vinton: "Roses Are Red (My Love)"

June 25, 1962 (3 weeks)

That boyish smile, those honey-drenched melodies, being nicknamed the 'Polish Prince': Bobby Vinton seemed to be the ultimate teen idol. (Indeed, going by the name 'Bobby' rather than 'Bob' or 'Robert' or even 'Rob') Yet, he was twenty-seven by the time "Roses Are Red (My Love)" reached number one in Canada and the US. This is obviously no great age in the scheme of things but by a pop star standards of the time, he was getting up there. He was the same age as Elvis Presley who was still being strongarmed into putting out teenage love songs and other fluff but he also seemed to be looking for a way out. What excuse did Vinton have?

Oh wait, I know! He had the smile and the voice but not much else to speak of! Of course he was going to be doing nothing but songs of teen heartbreak when his talents were so relatively modest!

That's not to say that there's anything wrong with "Roses Are Red (My Love)", only that it's just nothing special. Well, scratch that: it's kind of engaging in its own way. The tune is surprisingly solid and Tom Breihan even makes the worthwhile point that a "country singer could have made something out of it". Too bad Vinton is far too bland to make this recording of much interest. That said, the guitar picking is pretty nifty. (Perhaps this is why Breihan got the idea that it could've been an effective country number)

In the fourth season of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, cousins Will and Carlton begin university and they start sharing an apartment. Rich kid Carlton manages to get a date and he asks her to dance. The music being played is "Mr Lonely" by Bobby Vinton, which bemuses the statuesque Jackie. Carlton had already expressed a fondness for the likes of Tom Jones and Barry Manilow which is supposed to make everyone laugh that an African American would be so fond of such painfully white music. But being into the 'Polish Prince' makes him seem like even more of a square with tastes that are even more old-fashioned. (Significantly, it was during this same season that Will and Carlton pledged to a frat house only for the latter to memorably be rejected for "not being enough of a brother to be a brother")

Why did I bring this anecdote up? Mainly to pad what is an admittedly slight review but also to bring up the fact that teens fell for Vinton's shtick, even though he had been out of high school for the better part of a decade. Somehow or other, they kept buying it even as another ten years would pass by — as we'll be discussing further in the very next entry on here.

Score: 4

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Can Con

A Canadian single on the CHUM charts?!? And in the Top 10 no less??? It feels like it's been a while. And we've got a future titan! "Gord" Lightfoot - yes, this is actually how he was credited on the single, minus the inverted commas - isn't much remembered for his work in the pre-singer/songwriter era but he was big enough in his homeland to manage to crack the Top 40 on multiple occasions. That said, this is a far cry from "If You Could Read My Mind", "Sundown" and "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald". That distinctive, warm voice is present but his talents as a songsmith aren't apparent. If I'm being extremely charitable then I'd say that "(Remember Me) I'm the One" shows promise but, in truth, I'm only bringing this up because I know what he would one day become. A welcome reminder to never give up!