1960s

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 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 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.