Too Risqué? ‘Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini’ by Brian Hyland
- edgarstreetbooks
- Jul 12
- 2 min read
‘100 Greatest 60s Pop Songs’ Book Excerpt
Frank Mastropolo
“Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini” was an unlikely smash hit in 1960. Brian Hyland was a 16-year-old high school student when he recorded the novelty tune. Lyricist Paul Vance wrote the song with composer Lee Pockriss after he took his two-year-old daughter, Paula, to Jones Beach on Long Island, where she wore her new polka dot bikini.
“After recording some demos for Sammy Kaye’s publishing company, I was signed to Kapp Records to record my first record, ‘Rosemary,’ which sold about 20,000,” Hyland told Classic Bands.
“While preparing to record a second session, the writers, Paul Vance and Lee Pockriss, brought in the ‘Bikini’ song, which I learned over the weekend and then recorded.”
“I was pretty relaxed during the recording session,” Hyland recalled to Bruce Nash. “Even though it wasn’t really the kind of song that I usually liked, I had a feeling that it was special.
“When we recorded it, there seemed to be a real buzz in the air about the song. It was a number one hit in America which meant that I could stop riding on the subway and buy some Martin guitars.”
Hyland was not the writers’ first choice to record “Bikini.” Vance hired a woman to sing on the demo that he brought to David Kapp at Kapp Records. Kapp thought the song may be too risqué for the public.
“We had cut ‘Don’t Dilly Dally, Sally’ but Kapp wanted something stronger for the A-side,” Hyland explained to Jon Kutner. “Paul Vance and Lee Pockriss had shown ‘Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polkadot Bikini’ to a lot of singers but no one wanted to do it. Kapp thought it was right for me and got really excited about it.”
Trudy Packer sang the sexy “two, three, four, stick around we’ll tell you more” line.
“As it turned out, the ‘Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini’ record came out and went up the charts in the summer of 1960,” said Hyland. “I was on the road in the fall and never returned to high school. I finished at a school for professionals in New York City with actors like Patty Duke.”
Frank Mastropolo is the author of 100 Greatest 60s Pop Songs, part of the Greatest Performances series. For more on our latest projects, visit Edgar Street Books.
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