Bobby Vinton, born of Polish descent in Pennsylvania in 1935, was an unusual artist, in that he was talented multi-instrumentalist who led his own orchestra from the age of 16.

Inspired to make records after hearing Elvis Presley’s Heartbreak Hotel, he formed his own label in order to fulfil his ambition. In the end, he scored his first hit by doing his own promotion of a record that Epic had rejected, Roses Are Red, which became a No.1.

This 52-track set includes the A- and B-sides of his singles on the Bobby, Melody, Alpine, Epic and Diamond labels from these years, plus selected titles from his albums Dancing At The Hop, Bobby Vinton Plays for His Li'l Darlin’s, Roses Are Red, and Bobby Vinton Sings The Big Ones.

Included is his US No.1 and UK Top 20 hit Roses Are Red and his other hits from this era like Rain Rain Go Away, Let's Kiss And Make Up, Trouble Is My Middle Name and I Love You The Way You Are.

He went on to have further success in later years, but this collection presents his work during the formative years which underlined the breadth of his talent, not only as a teen-idol, but as a highly and enterprising professional bandleader.