Bobby Vinton turns 90 today, having made his mark on the Billboard charts over the years. The singer, who gained the nickname “The Polish Prince,” had four No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and three top 10 albums on the Billboard 200.
Vinton holds a special footnote in pop culture history: He had the last No. 1 of the pre-Beatles era. His revival of the old song “There! I’ve Said It Again” was knocked out of the top spot in February 1964 by the Fab Four’s electrifying smash “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” But the Beatles’ arrival didn’t end Vinton’s career — five of his nine top 10 hits were released after the Fab Four invaded our charts.
In December 1964, when he topped the Hot 100 for the fourth time, Vinton became just the fourth artist to amass four No. 1 hits, following Elvis Presley, who had accumulated seven Hot 100 leaders at that point; The Beatles, who had had five; and The Four Seasons, who had also had four. (Presley also had No. 1 hits pre-dating the inception of the Hot 100 in August 1958.)
Vinton was born in Canonsburg, Pa., the same town that gave us Perry Como, who was a popular recording artist from the 1940s into the 1970s, and The Four Coins, which had a hit in 1957 with the rapturous “Shangri-La.”
Vinton had three consecutive hits in 1963-64 – “Blue Velvet,” “There! I’ve Said It Again” and “My Heart Belongs to Only You” – that were remakes of oldies from the 1940s and 1950s. Vinton’s biggest hits also include songs written by legendary songwriters Barry Mann and Burt Bacharach & Hal David, as well as a few that he co-wrote himself.
Here’s an annotated list of Bobby Vinton’s biggest Billboard Hot 100 hits.
Based on actual performance on the weekly Billboard Hot 100. Songs are ranked based on an inverse point system, with weeks at No. 1 earning the greatest value and weeks at lower ranks earning less. Due to changes in chart methodology over the years, eras are weighted to account for different chart turnover rates over various periods.
