Bobby Vinton

A pop crooner of lush, sentimental ballads in the 1960s and early 1970s, Bobby Vinton scored multiple hits, including several chart-topping tracks, with "Roses Are Red (My Love)," "Blue Velvet," "Mr. Lonely" and "My Melody of Love." Vinton's emotional delivery and preference for strings over rock instruments seemed to many like throwbacks to the postwar era, but while many traditional pop singers faded in the wake of the British Invasion, Vinton continued to land major hits well into the early 1970s. His career rose even further with the 1973 release of "My Melody of Love," which featured lyrics in English and Polish, and led to a popular variety series and steady work in Las Vegas and nightclubs for the next two decades. Though his days as a hitmaker ended in the mid-1970s, his body of songs remained in the public consciousness for decades, as evidenced by their use in such popular films as "Blue Velvet" (1986) and newer tracks like Akon's "Lonely" in 2005. Though never a critical favorite, Bobby Vinton was among the most successful pop singers of the late 20th century.