It’s a hot summer Sunday here in the states, which means lots of folks on the coasts are heading to the beach. With that in mind, today’s perfect summer-themed classic song of the day is “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini,” by Brian Hyland. Released in June of 1960, this novelty single went all the way to #1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100.
Back in 1960, bikinis were new and rare and sometime scandalous, unlike today, where it seems that women’s swimsuits have gotten just about as skimpy as is humanly possible. “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini” tells the story of a young lass with such a swimsuit and her reluctance to show herself in public. She starts out in the locker, too shy to head out in public. Then she’s on the beach but sits wrapped in a blanket. Finally, she ventures out into the water but is too embarrassed to come back to shore.
“Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini” was penned by songwriters Paul Vance and Lee Pockriss. They were fairly prolific tunesmiths, both together and apart; their best-known tunes include “Catch a Falling Star” for Perry Como, “What Will Mary Say” for Johnny Mathis, “Tracy” for the Cufflinks, “Playground in My Mind” for Clint Holmes, “Run Joey Run” for David Geddes, “Jennifer Tomkins” for the Street People, and another novelty song, “Leader of the Laundromat” for a fake band called the Detergents (with the ubiquitous Ron Dante on lead vocals).
For today’s daily bonus video of the day, here’s sixteen-year-old Brian Hyland lip-synching “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini” on the June 16, 1960, episode of American Bandstand. Dick Clark does the introduction, as one might expect.
