Bobby Vinton--Roses Are Red (My Love) (1962)

     Bobby Vinton feared the end of his singing career was done before it had even got started. After getting his college degree from Duquesne University in music composition, he did a two year stint in the military serving as a Chaplain's assistant. Upon his discharge, Vinton got a contract from Epic records as a band leader. However after a couple of albums and several flopped singles, the record company was ready to let him go. 

     "Roses Are Red (My Love)" was written by Al Byron and Paul Evans. It had been submitted to Epic records and rejected. Vinton found the song in the reject pile and liked what he heard. However the record company was not ready to support a rejected song or an artist they were ready to let go. Deciding to promote it himself, Bobby bought 1,000 copies of the single, and hired a young woman to hand deliver each single with a dozen roses. The gimmick gave the record the boost it needed and it soon reached No. 1 for four weeks in 1962 and began a successful career that had hits on the top 40 up until 1974. ....