Attenuated respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and vaccine compositions thereof are produced by introducing specific mutations associated with attenuating phenotypes into wild-type or RSV which is incompletely attenuated by cold-passage or introduction of mutations which produce virus having a temperature sensitive (ts) or cold adapted (ca) phenotype. Alternatively, recombinant RSV and vaccine compositions thereof incorporate attenuating and other mutations specifying desired structural and or phenotypic characteristics in an infectious RSV. Recombinant RSV incorporate desired mutations specified by insertion, deletion, substitution or rearrangement of a selected nucleotide sequence, gene, or gene segment in an infectious RSV clone. The immune system of an individual is stimulated to induce protection against natural RSV infection, or multivalently against infection by RSV and another pathogen, such as PIV, by administration of attenuated, biologically derived or recombinant RSV.