A Velvet Reunion: Gianni and Bobby Vinton's Timeless Tales
The Hollywood Godfather Podcast
GRI Entertainment
4.6 • 817 Ratings
🗓️ 18 March 2026
⏱️ 43 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Gianni opens the show with co-host Jeanie Raymond and interviews his longtime friend Bobby Vinton by audio only at Vinton’s request. They discuss Vinton’s major hits “Blue Velvet” (1963) and “Mr. Lonely,” his ongoing nerve issues from shingles and his regret about not getting the shingles shot, and memories of Russo’s spaghetti dinners for Vinton’s family in Las Vegas. Vinton recounts awkwardly telling Dean Martin he topped Billboard airplay (with Sinatra present) and describes how his Polish hit “My Melody of Love” led to a syndicated variety show, though none of his children pursued performing beyond son Rob helping manage. Russo plugs upcoming appearances and books, mentions a planned $50 million film, and Vinton shares a story about an impostor “John Wayne Jr.” that ultimately helped him befriend John Wayne. The show closes with “Mr. Lonely.”
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Von Sinatra swing to Brando stage. |
| 0:03.0 | Maryland's grace to J.F.K's age. |
| 0:08.0 | It's Johnny Russo, Hollywood's own. |
| 0:13.0 | The Jeannie Raymond's secrets are shown. |
| 0:17.0 | Hollywood Godfather. |
| 0:25.6 | Welcome everybody. It's time for another Hollywood Godfather podcast. |
| 0:29.6 | Now, tonight's show means an awful lot to me for many, many reasons. |
| 0:33.6 | He's been my friend for over 60 years. His name is Bobby Vinton, and we had a wonderful |
| 0:43.5 | conversation earlier because he didn't want to be on camera, unfortunately, for you all, |
| 0:50.3 | but we'll have music playing. We're going to play one of the two hits tunes, I mean, |
| 0:56.7 | Blue Velvet, made in 1963, sold 70 million copies. And in 1964, his, Mr. Lonely did the same thing. |
| 1:13.1 | He's been a monster hit. |
| 1:14.5 | We're going to hear some of his funny stories. |
| 1:17.5 | He's a hilarious guy, and I didn't want him to feel uncomfortable. |
| 1:22.6 | He just asked if he didn't have to do it on camera. |
| 1:26.4 | So, let me introduce Jeannie Raymond, my co-host, fortunately. |
| 1:32.3 | And Gene- Hello. Hello, my darling. How's everything all right? Oh, everything's great. |
| 1:37.4 | I love this interview. It's fantastic. I'm so happy you get to share this. Oh, my God. Yeah. |
| 1:43.4 | I mean, the guy is, he's a legend. |
| 1:46.1 | I mean, he's really a legend. |
| 1:47.6 | And part of our legend collection that we're doing with these type of stars. |
| 1:52.4 | So without further to do, why don't we bring on Bobby Vinton? |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from GRI Entertainment, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of GRI Entertainment and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.