Posted on 09/26/2006 1:59:58 PM PDT by lunarbicep
Songwriter Paul Vance, who earned pop culture immortality with the 1960 smash about a bashful bather, "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini," has died. He was 68.
The New Milford-raised Vance, whose real name was Paul Van Valkenburgh, died Sept. 6 at his home in Ormond Beach, Fla., said his wife of 32 years, Rose Leroux. He had been battling lung cancer for two years.
Vance and songwriting partner Lee Pockriss also co-wrote "Catch a Falling Star," a No. 1 hit for Perry Como in 1958.
But they had their biggest success with the song about the girl with a brand new bikini who "was afraid to come out of the locker, she was a nervous as she could be. ... Now she's afraid to come out of the water, and the poor little girl's turning blue."
Recorded by 16-year-old teen idol Brian Hyland and a group of girlish backup singers, "Itsy Bitsy ...' surged to No. 1 on the Billboard charts in August 1960.
In an Associated Press interview that same month, Vance said the idea came while he and Pockriss were working on a demonstration record ("Petticoat Fly," which went nowhere.) He told Pockriss that his wife was thinking of getting a bikini but didn't have the nerve to wear it. The resulting song was written in 25 minutes and recorded within a week, he said.
The song has been used in such films as "Sister Act 2" and "Revenge of the Nerds II" and was more recently revived in a yogurt commercial.
"When he was young, he sold all the rights to the songs because he was young and foolish and now, 'Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini' is becoming popular again," his widow said.
His songs were as lighthearted as his personality, she said.
"He was a fun person," Leroux said. "He always joked, teased a lot. He was a good man."
In addition to his musical compositions, Leroux said, her husband was a Navy veteran in the Korean War and later in life spent time as a painting contractor.
In the 1960 interview, Vance said his then-wife hadn't bought a bikini, even after the song became a hit. "She still doesn't have the nerve, so she compromised by making a bikini for our 2-year-old daughter, Paula. It's itsy, bitsy, teenie weenie and has, believe it or not, yellow polka dots."
Granted, it was the guy's only claim to fame, but we'll let him RIP today.
great pics
Thanks for posting. I guess he could go to his reward with a smile on his face, with Itsy Bitsy playing 24/7 on TV.
It drives me crazy that the commercial only repeats the first line over and over, instead of going on to the 2nd verse. Maybe that's all they got permission for. They just keep saying "that she wore for the first time today," instead of saying "but in the locker she wanted to stay" after the 2nd repetition of Itsy Bitsy.
I didn't know he also wrote "Catch a Falling Star" - good song. *Never let it fade away ...*
*... for when your troubles start to multiplyin' ... and they just might ...
It's easy to forget them without tryin' ...
With just a ... pocketful of starlight ...
Pocketful of starlight ...
Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket ...*
*Save it for a rainy, rainy day.*
Loved Perry Como - he made everything he did seem so *easy.*
As far as the Korean Conflict, I don't know exactly Vance's background or true age, but I know the Pacific Fleet was still in Korea up until probably 1957-1958, when what would be considered the Vietnam Conflict ostensibly began over there.
If you were in the Navy while it was engaged, even in reserves, that is the conflict you were considered to be assigned to, even if you never saw active duty.
I want to say something about Booker T and the MGs and "Green Onions" at this point, but I won't.
Just thinking of jukebox plays from a certain time period that mingle together in the back of my mind.
I had the biggest crush on Brian Hyland back then - well, actually, later than that, when he did "Sealed with a Kiss."
OMG, I could *emote* over that song, singing it with such wailing and gnashing of teeth and teen angst.
*Though we've got to say good-bye ...
For the summer ...
Darling, I promise you this ...
I'll send you all my love, every day in a le-e-tter ...
Sealed with a kiss ...
Yes, it's gonna be a cold, lonely summer ...
But I'll feel (fill sounded like feel) the emptiness ...
I'll send you all my dreams ...
Every day in a le-e-tter ...
And seal it with a kiss ...
I'll see you in the sunlight ...
I'll hear your voice everywhere ...
I'll run to tenderly hold you ...
But, darling, you won't be there ...
I don't wanna say goodbye for the su-u-mmer,
Knowing the love we'll miss ...
So, let us make a pledge to meet in Septe-e-mber ...
And seal it ... with a kiss ...
Sealed with a kiss ... sealed with a kiss ...*
*swoon* *thud*
Brian's "Gypsy Woman" was another terrific tune and I still listen to it on the computer.
Those were the days.
I hate to bring this up as I love the songs mentioned, but dying at 68 now puts him at 12 in 1950 thus a little young to be a Navy vet in Korea.
It's one of those stories, this happens periodically. You caught only one of several suspicious bits of "information" in the obit. The real Paul Vance, much older, is still alive. AP has issued a retraction.
Itsy-Bitsy Bikini, Big Mistake: Paul Vance Is Alive and Well
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