Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini

by

Brian Hyland

Album: Greatest Hits      Released: 1960

US Chart: 1     UK Chart: 8

Get the Ringtone  Get Song @ Amazon
Get the Sheet Music  

Send "Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" Ringtone to your Cell

View Lyrics

Songfacts:  You can leave comments about the song at the bottom of the page.

This song about a bashful girl in a tiny bikini was written by Paul Vance and Lee Pockriss. Vance was inspired after watching his 2-year-old daughter Paula at the beach in her new bikini. Brian Hyland was a 16-year-old High school sophomore at the time of this recording.

In 1000 UK #1 Hits by Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh, Brian Hyland says: "Paul Vance and Lee Pockriss had shown this song to a lot of singers but no one wanted to do it. Kapp (the owner of Brian's record label) thought it was right for me and got really excited about it. It was a number one in America which meant that I could stop riding on the subway and buy some Martin guitars."

In 1990 the UK children's entertainer Timmy Mallet recorded a cover version taking it to the top of the UK charts. His version was produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber and it was released under the name of Bombalurina (the name of one of the characters in Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Cats). (thanks, Edward Pearce - Ashford, Kent, England, for all above)

This was used in 2 ad campaigns: most recently by Yoplait in a series of commercials showing a woman trying to lose weight in order to fit into her "Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini," and back in the late-'80s/early-'90s by Van De Kamp's for their line of canned beenie-weenies, but with slightly altered lyrics sung by a group of kids. (thanks, Patrick - Tallapoosa, GA)

For most of his adult life, a man named Paul Van Valkenburgh claimed that he wrote this under the name Paul Vance, and that he sold the rights to it when he was young. Even his wife, who he was married to for 40 years, believed him. When Valkenburgh died in 2006, his obituary reported that he wrote the song, and relatives of the real Paul Vance received condolences, only to find out that Vance was very much alive and had the royalty checks to prove that he really did write the song. According to Vance, he has no ill feelings toward Valkenburgh, and claims that the song has made him several million dollars.

This was used in the movies Sister Act 2 and Revenge Of The Nerds 2.

Send "Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" Ringtone to your Cell

Comments:

Just a very cute sound from the early 60's and part of what I enjoyed about this era!..
- steve dotstar, los angeles, CA

This song was an utter sensation when it came out. Everyone did parodies of it, on every TV show, for months.
- Mark, Lancaster, OH

This song was actually written by Peter Udell -- and BTW, he also wrote [among others] Sealed With A Kiss.
- Sandy, Wellington, FL

Send "Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" Ringtone to your Cell