Dick Clark picked him up as band director for acts like Fabian, Brenda Lee, and Chubby Checker. He credited the Dukes with giving him the foundation in arrangements that helped him reach success. He would later be awarded an honorary doctorate by the school, too. Vinton studied music on the Bluff, learned to play a half dozen instruments, and graduated with a degree in musical composition. ![]() He paid his way through Duquesne University with the money he earned from the band. They also got to back some national acts passing through town. "I played West View Park, Kennywood and just about every prom in the area," Vinton told John Hayes of the Post Gazette. But it did take root.Īt 15, the Canonsburg native formed his first group (the Hilites, with Mike Lazo and Gene Schacter, later of the Tempos) and played the local dances. It took him a while to get used to it, though - his mom had to bribe him with quarters to take his music lessons as a kid. Vinton was surrounded by music early, watching and listening to his dad's band practice on the first floor of their Smith Street house through the floor vents to his second floor bedroom. ![]() The Polish Prince, Bobby Vinton, had arrived. entered the world on April 16th, 1935, the only child of local bandleader Stan Vinton.
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