After two years of service in the United States Army, where he served as a chaplain's assistant, Vinton was signed to Epic Records in 1960 as a bandleader: "A Young Man With a Big Band." The break for the Epic Records contract had come after Vinton and his band appeared on Guy Lombardo's "TV Talent Scouts" program. On March 20, 1961, his first Epic Records single was released. Titled "Little Lonely One" and credited to "Bobby Vinton," it was backed with "Corrine Corrina," credited to "Bobby Vinton And His Orchestra." Despite the big label backing, the single was not successful and two albums, "Bobby Vinton Dancing At The Hop" and "Bobby Vinton Plays for his Lil Darlin's" did not sell well. With Epic ready to drop him from its roster, Vinton found his first hit single literally sitting in a reject pile. The song was titled "Roses Are Red (My Love)." Vinton had to do his own promotion for the song; he bought one thousand copies and hired a young woman to deliver a copy of the record and a dozen red roses to every local DJ. It spent four weeks at number one on the "Billboard" Hot 100. The song was also a hit on the Country and R&B charts. The success of the song pushed Epic to renew Vinton's contract and change his status from bandleader to solo singer.