 |
Vic Dana | |
|---|---|
 Vic Dana in 1966 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Samuel Mendola |
| Born | August 26, 1942 Buffalo, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | Traditional pop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, dancer, actor |
| Labels | Dolton, Liberty, Sunset |
Samuel Mendola [1] (born August 26, 1942, Buffalo, New York, United States), [2] known professionally as Vic Dana, is an American singer, dancer and actor. [3]
Discovered by Sammy Davis Jr., Dana was an excellent male dancer, particularly in tap, and was encouraged by Davis to move to Los Angeles to further his career. [2] With the decline of dancing as a form of entertainment, Dana began a singing career. [2] He is best known for his 1965 Billboard Top Ten hit recording of the Sid Tepper and Roy C. Bennett song "Red Roses for a Blue Lady". [2] His album of the same title made it into the Top 20. [2] Preceding this success as a solo artist, Dana was the lead singer of The Fleetwoods (for live performances only), replacing original vocalist Gary Troxel when Troxel went into the U.S. Navy. [4]
Other hit recordings on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the 1960s: "Little Altar Boy", "I Will", "More", "Shangri-La", "I Love You Drops", and "If I Never Knew Your Name". [2] "I Love You Drops" was written and recorded by country singer Bill Anderson, and was popular enough to be recorded by others including Don Cherry and Teresa Brewer. He also scored a chart record in 1970 with Neil Diamond's "Red Red Wine", years before it was turned into a UK number one hit by UB40. His last nationally charted record was Larry Weiss' "Lay Me Down (Roll Me Out To Sea)" on the Casino label, which hit the top 20 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary survey. [4]
Six Dana songs reached the Music Vendor (later Record World ) chart without appearing in the Billboard chart.
Dana had a brief foray as an actor on three TV appearances, first in 1965 on the series Burke's Law in the episode "Who Killed Wimbledon Hastings?" as Forrest Shea, and then in 1966 on the WWII drama Combat! in the episode "Ask Me No Questions" as Pvt. James. He also appeared in the 1968 television movie Shadow Over Elveron as Tino.
Dana has three children, Steven, Jason and Justin. Dana retired from the entertainment industry and now resides in Paducah, Kentucky. Vic was married to Kelly Dana, formerly Kelly Riley. Kelly and Vic were married for 21 years before Kelly died suddenly in 2021. [5]
| Year | Single (A-side, B-side) Both sides from same album except where indicated | Chart positions | Album | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US BB | US CB | US AC | CA | CA AC | AU | ||||
| 1961 | "The Girl of My Dreams" b/w "Someone New" (from This Is Vic Dana) | - | - | - | - | - | - | Non-album tracks | |
| "Golden Boy" b/w "The Story Behind My Tears" | - | - | - | - | - | - | |||
| "Little Altar Boy" / | 45 | 42 | - | - | - | - | This Is Vic Dana | ||
| "Hello, Roommate" | - | - | - | - | - | 48 | Non-album track | ||
| 1962 | "I Will" b/w "Proud" (Non-album track) | 47 | 42 | 12 | - | - | 31 | More | |
| "(A Girl Needs) to Love and Be Loved" b/w "Time Can Change" | - | 102 | - | - | - | - | Non-album tracks | ||
| "A Very Good Year for Girls" b/w "Looking for Me" | - | - | - | - | - | 40 | |||
| 1963 | "Danger" b/w "Heart, Hand and Teardrop" | 96 | 76 | - | - | - | 39 | ||
| "More" b/w "That's Why I'm Sorry" | 42 | 18 | 10 | - | - | - | More | ||
| "The Prisoner's Song" b/w "A Voice in the Wind" | - | 143 | - | - | - | - | Non-album tracks | ||
| "Close Your Eyes" b/w "So Wide the Wind" | - | - | - | - | - | - | |||
| 1964 | "Shangri-La" b/w "Warm and Tender" (Non-album track) | 27 | 9 | 8 | - | - | 18 | Shangri-La | |
| "Love Is All We Need" b/w "I Need You Now" (Non-album track) | 53 | 63 | 7 | - | - | - | Golden Greats | ||
| "Garden in the Rain" b/w "Stairway to the Stars" (from Shangri-La) | 97 | 90 | 13 | - | - | - | |||
| "Frenchy" b/w "It Was Night (Foi A Noite)" | - | 129 | - | - | - | - | Vic Dana Now! | ||
| 1965 | "Red Roses for a Blue Lady" b/w "Blue Ribbons (For Her Curls)" (Non-album track) | 10 | 11 | 2 | - | - | 8 | Red Roses for a Blue Lady | |
| "Bring a Little Sunshine (To My Heart)" b/w "That's All" (from Warm & Wonderful) | 66 | 64 | 20 | - | - | 91 | Golden Greats | ||
| "Moonlight and Roses (Bring Memories of You)" b/w "What'll I Do" | 51 | 54 | 5 | - | - | - | Moonlight and Roses | ||
| "Crystal Chandelier" b/w "What Now My Love (Et Maintenant)" (from Viva) | 51 | 53 | 14 | 19 | 14 | 34 | Crystal Chandelier | ||
| 1966 | "Lovey Kravezit" b/w "Hello Roommate" (from On the Country Side) | - | - | - | - | - | - | Non-album tracks | |
| "I Love You Drops" b/w "Sunny Skies" | 30 | 42 | 20 | 28 | - | 40 | Town & Country | ||
| "A Million and One" b/w "My Baby Wouldn't Leave Me" (from Town & Country) | 71 | 69 | 24 | - | - | 88 | Non-album tracks | ||
| "Distant Drums" b/w "Love Me with All Your Heart" (from Viva) | 114 | 92 | 33 | - | - | - | On the Country Side | ||
| "Grown Up Games" b/w "So What's New?" | - | 127 | - | - | - | - | Non-album tracks | ||
| 1967 | "A Lifetime Lovin' You" b/w "Guess Who, You" | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| "Fraulein" b/w "A Little Bit Later on Down the Line" | - | 138 | - | - | - | - | On the Country Side | ||
| 1968 | "Little Arrows" b/w "Roses Are Red" | Non-album tracks | |||||||
| 1969 | "You Are My Destiny" b/w "Where Has All the Love Gone" | - | 133 | - | - | - | - | Non-album tracks | |
| "Look of Leavin'" b/w "Loneliness (Is Messin' Up My Mind)" | - | - | - | - | - | - | |||
| "I Tried To Love You Today" b/w "Aren't We The Lucky Ones" | - | - | - | - | - | - | |||
| 1970 | "If I Never Knew Your Name" b/w "Sad Day Song" | 47 | 39 | 14 | 43 | 5 | - | If I Never Knew Your Name | |
| "Red Red Wine" b/w "Another Dream Shot Down" | 72 | 94 | 30 | - | - | - | |||
| "You Gave Me a Reason (To Believe)" b/w "It Won't Hurt to Try It" | - | - | - | - | - | - | Non-album tracks | ||
| 1971 | "Angel She Was Love" b/w "If You Think I Love You Now (I've Just Started)" | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| "The Love in Your Eyes" b/w "Child of Mine" | - | - | - | - | - | - | |||
| 1975 | "Memories Can't Make Love to Me" b/w "Best I Ever Had" | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1976 | "Lay Me Down (Roll Me Out to Sea)" b/w "You Never Really Know" | - | - | 14 | - | - | - | ||
Bertrand Russell Berns, also known as Bert Russell and (occasionally) Russell Byrd, was an American songwriter and record producer of the 1960s. His songwriting credits include "Twist and Shout", "Piece of My Heart", "Here Comes the Night", "Hang on Sloopy", "Cry to Me" and "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love", and his productions include "Baby, Please Don't Go", "Brown Eyed Girl" and "Under the Boardwalk".
The Dixie Cups are an American pop music girl group established in the 1960s. They are best known for a string of hits including their singles "Chapel of Love", "People Say", and "Iko Iko".
Al Martino was an American traditional pop and jazz singer. He had his greatest success as a singer between the early 1950s and mid-1970s, being described as "one of the great Italian American pop crooners", and became known as an actor, particularly for his role as singer Johnny Fontane in The Godfather.
Cheryl Lau Sang, known professionally as Samantha Sang, is an Australian singer. She had an earlier career as a teenage singer under the stage name Cheryl Gray, before adopting the stage name she is more widely known as in 1969. She first received nationwide recognition in Australia in 1967, after releasing the top ten single "You Made Me What I Am".
Terrence Ross Jacks is a Canadian singer, songwriter, guitarist and record producer known for his 1974 hit song "Seasons in the Sun", an English adaptation of a song written by Belgian composer and singer Jacques Brel in 1961. Jacks is also an environmental activist, focused on pulp mill emissions in Howe Sound.
The Fleetwoods were an American vocal group from Olympia, Washington, whose members were Gary Troxel, Gretchen Christopher, and Barbara Ellis.
Carl Sigman was an American songwriter.
"Red Red Wine" is a song originally written, performed and recorded by American singer Neil Diamond in 1967 that appears on his second studio album, Just for You. The lyrics are written from the perspective of a person who finds that drinking red wine is the only way to forget his woes.
"I Really Don't Want to Know" is a popular song written by Don Robertson (music) Howard Barnes (lyrics). The song was published in 1953.
Charles David Houston was an American country music singer. His peak in popularity came between the mid-1960s and the early 1970s.
Robert Stanley Crewe was an American songwriter, dancer, singer, manager, and record producer. Crewe co-wrote and produced a string of Top 10 singles with Bob Gaudio for the Four Seasons.
"Red Roses for a Blue Lady" is a 1948 popular song by Sid Tepper and Roy C. Bennett. It has been recorded by a number of performers. Actor-singer John Laurenz (1909–1958) was the first to record the song for Mercury Records. It rose to #2 on the weekly “Your Hit Parade” radio survey in the spring of 1949. The original 78rpm single was issued on Mercury 5201 - Red Roses For A Blue Lady by John Laurenz.
Bardeux is an American dance duo from the 1980s. The group was formed in 1986 and originally consisted of Stacy "Acacia" Smith and Tairrie B.
"Born Free" is a popular song with music by John Barry and lyrics by Don Black. It was written for the 1966 film of the same name and won an Academy Award for Best Original Song.
Ernest Bert Ashworth was an American country music singer, broadcaster, and longtime Grand Ole Opry star. Signed to the Hickory label, he recorded two studio albums in his career and charted several singles on Billboard Hot Country Songs, including the number one "Talk Back Trembling Lips" and seven other top ten hits.
"King of the Road" is a song written by country singer Roger Miller, who first recorded it in November 1964. The lyrics tell of the day-to-day life of a traveling hobo who, despite having little money, revels in his freedom, describing himself humorously and cynically as the "king of the road". It was Miller's fifth single for Smash Records. The song won Miller 5 Grammy Awards in 1966.
"I Will" is a song written by Dick Glasser.
"She Cried" is a song written by Ted Daryll and Greg Richards, and it was initially recorded by Ted Daryll in July 1961, but was a big hit when covered by Jay and the Americans for their 1962 album, She Cried. In 1962 the song reached number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 1 on WLS. The song was the group's first major hit.
Blue Northern was a country rock band active between 1977 and 1982. They released four Top 40 singles in Canada; in their final year they were nominated for a Canadian Country Music Award.
"I Love You Drops" is a song written and first recorded by American country singer-songwriter Bill Anderson. It was released as a single in 1965 via Decca Records and became a major hit.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
