Musical artists are always looking for ways to revamp their look, whether it's David Bowie, Elton John, Olivia Newton-John or Stevie Wonder. They are always looking for a way to be recognized.
Some acts turn out to be like Garth Brooks when he tried his "rock" persona Chris Gaines and failed miserably. Or some tried to turn from pop to country like the band Exile or Dan Seals of England Dan & John Ford Coley fame did and succeeded.
There's stories of those acts each and every day.
But in the case of Bobby Vinton, his transformation was more of a "heritage" thing.
Most music fans remember Bobby Vinton the Pop Star, where form 1962-72, he scored 28 Top 40 hits, including four No. 1 hits in almost 2 1/2 years -- "Roses Are Red (My Love)," "Blue Velvet," "There! I Said It Again!" and "Mr. Lonely." And even as the Beatles were becoming superstars and the British Invasion was wiping out the pre-Beatles artists off the charts, Vinton was one of the very few who stayed on. A lot of that was because he was doing standards from the days leading up to the 1964 British Invasion that the anti-rock 'n roll establishment fell in love with, hits like "I Love How You Love Me," "Sealed With A Kiss" and "Take Good Care Of My Baby."
Vinton was also a winner on the nightclub set and was still bringing them in, long after his "hit potential" had died down.
But to be relevant, Vinton needed to do something that was going to catch the music lover's attention. Those remakes were great, but a new song with a good-time feel for that audience could also be a benefit to bring in a younger crowd. In 1974, Vinton was 39 years old and had not had a Top 40 hit in two years. Father Time has a way of tapping a star on the shoulder and telling him or her, "It's time."
It was during a stint in his nightclub act in Las Vegas that Vinton found the song that might shake his career up a little. It was written in German by Henry Meyer. The title was, "Herzen haben keine Fenster," translated to "Hearts have no windows." Vinton got a listen to the song and found the hit potential in it done by Austrian singer Elfi Graf. An English translation by the British duo of Peters and Lee made it to No. 3 in their native country as "Don't Stay Away Too Long."
Vinton liked both versions, but he felt it needed his own stamp of approval. So with Meyer's permission, he got to rewrite the lyrics, but this time, he was doing it in a language music lovers didn't see coming.
Coming from Polish heritage in his hometown of Canonsburg, Pa., the same Canonsburg that the legendary Perry Como came from, Vinton's message of love was to be heard in both English and in Polish. So when it came to the chorus, he did it by switching up in two languages.
"Moja droga, ja cię kocham,
Means that I love you so.
Moja droga, ja cię kocham,
More than you'll ever know.
Kocham ciebie całym sercem,
Love you with all my heart.
Return to me, and always be, my melody of love."
With Al Capps doing the arranging and Bob Morgan on production, Vinton surrounded himself with an "oompah" band that gave this record a feel of Oktoberfest every day.
"My Melody Of Love" was set as the kickoff single for Vinton's newest album "Melodies Of Love." It debuted on the Hot 100 chart the week of September 21, 1974 at No. 88 and moved up modestly the next two weeks to No. 77 and then No. 65.
But like it was set off on a rocket launcher, "My Melody Of Love" made a huge splash the week of October 12, 1974, when it debuted within the Top 40 at No. 33, leaping 32 notches as the biggest mover in the Hot 100. And it kept on rising from there. It leaped to No. 27, then No. 21, then No. 17 and on the week of November 9, 1974, "My Melody Of Love" pounded the Top 40 pavement 11 more notches to land at No. 6, Vinton's first Top 10 hit since "I Love How You Love Me" in late 1968. The next week, it jumped up three places to land at No. 3, making it Vinton's biggest hit since "Mr. Lonely" became his fourth and last No. 1 hit in December 1964.
That was it, though. "My Melody Of Love" stalled at No. 3 for two straight weeks and started its plunge back down the Top 40. It would be Vinton's ninth Top 10 hit. However, it would also be his last Top 10 hit. Still, Vinton's career was resurrected. And in the spring of 1975, the man who was now being dubbed The Polish Prince due to "My Melody Of Love" and his last Top 40 hit, "Beer Barrel Polka," was rewarded nicely.
Vinton was given the chance to host a television variety show for Canadian-based CTV, which he did in 1975. He would host the show shown in this country and Canada from 1975 through 1978 and he had a couple of famous people behind the show. It was packaged by none other than Chuck Barris, the man behind the success of such game shows as The Newlywed Game, The Dating Game and his own The Gong Show. And one of the young producers of the show was a Canadian actor named Alan Thicke.
Later in 1975, ABC Records released a soundtrack for The Bobby Vinton Show and over the years, acts as wide in variety from Anne Murray to Ethel Merman to Tanya Tucker to Donna Summer appeared on the show.
At 80 years old, Vinton now lives in southwestern Florida with his wife of 53 years, Dolly. In 2016, Vinton will be on a limited tour, performing in The Villages, Fla., the Golden Nugget in Atlantic City, N.J. and in Verona, N.Y., at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino.
And yes, he's still The Polish Prince to his fans and still does "My Melody Of Love," which gave him another audience and "look" in his career.
It also provided him a comeback single when most people didn't expect one -- no matter the language it was performed in.
No comments:
Post a Comment