Roses Are Red (My Love)

by

Bobby Vinton

Album: Roses Are Red      Released: 1962

US Chart: 1     UK Chart: 15

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Paul Evans, who had novelty hits as a singer with "Seven Little Girls" and "Happy-Go-Lucky Me," wrote the music for this song. Says Evans, "Sometimes you write a song, and you write it for months, until you say to yourself, 'I've got the world's first perfect song.' And nobody likes it. I was at a recording session doing some of my own material, doing some demonstration records for some new songs, and Al Byron, the lyricist in this case, came into the session and said he'd like to show me a lyric. So as a total joke, I said to the musicians, 'Okay, guys, take a 5, I'm going to write a hit song now, ha ha ha ha ha.' And Al handed me the lyric and I put it on the piano, and it was the lyric as you hear it on the Bobby Vinton record, word for word. I started to write the melody, I wrote it in 3 minutes, I wrote the melody just as you hear it, I turned around laughing, I thought this was funny to write a song in 3 minutes. Al looked at me and said, 'That's very good. It's exactly what I had in mind.' I tried for weeks after that to make changes, because I didn't believe it. I mean, you can't write a hit song in 3 minutes, but that's what happened: my biggest song - 3 minutes. The music business is a strange business, because nobody knows. I think the people who do the best just have a feel for the music. Donnie Kirshner was a guy, no musical sound, I don't think he was a talented music guy at all, but he knew a hit record when he heard it, and he treated his writers terrifically. He was always there for them." (Thanks to Paul for speaking with us about this song. Read his full interview in the Songfacts interviews section. His website is paulevans.com.)

Vinton was signed by CBS (Epic) Records in 1960 as a bandleader. Two years and two failed LPs later, he was called to a meeting with label executives who wanted to drop him from Epic Records. In the meeting, Vinton pointed out that his contract called for him to record and release two more songs. The executives quickly exited the meeting room to confer with the label's lawyers - who were attending - and consider the situation. While everybody but the bandleader was out of the room, Vinton listened to rejected demo records and found a recording that stopped him cold: "Roses Are Red (My Love)." After the executives returned to the meeting, Vinton persuaded them to allow him to sing on the next, and in their eyes final, single - the song that he found literally on the trash heap.

Vinton also recorded "Mr. Lonely," a song he co-wrote, in the same session. "Mr. Lonely" was mothballed by Epic Records for 2 years until Vinton engineered its release - then it went to #1 at the height of Beatlemania.

When he first recorded this, Vinton didn't like the results because it was the wrong tempo, so he tried again. The second version was released and hit #1 in the US - successful enough to earn him a new recording contract, this time as a solo recording act.

This was used in the movie Goodfellas in a scene where Ray Liotta's character brings a date to see Vinton perform, and Vinton sends them a bottle of wine - out of respect. Vinton's son Robbie portrayed the singer.

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Comments:

Wonder who played that great rhythm guitar part? Sounds like an unamplified archback. Another great uncredited backup player?
- marshall, whittier, CA

I own a restaurant where Al Byron the lyricist of "Roses Are Red" always comes in to eat. When he told me about this song I was honored to meet such a person. He is such a very nice man!! Always has a smile on his face.
- Sara, New York, NY

Was also covered by country artist Jim Reeves.
- Wayne, Fort Atkinson, WI

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