#brian hyland

[ilikeit-art]

Tho we gotta say goodbye for the summer

Darling I promise you this

I'll send you all my love every day in a letter

Sealed with a kiss

Yes it's gonna be a cold lonely summer

But I'll fill the emptiness

I'll send you all my dreams every day in a letter

Sealed with a kiss

[kisaxiii]

This song just popped in my head and I’m curious.

Basically, do you see the polka dots as being the yellow part of the bikini, or is yellow the base color the polka dots are on?

I always imagined it was red with yellow polka dots for some reason, and there was a commercial that used the song that had the bikini as yellow with black polka dots.

Also I have typed out “polka dots” so much it is no longer a word to me.

[helloparkerrose]

[myimaginaryradio]

Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini - Brian Hyland

[peter-griffin-mpreg-the-second]

I love supporting independent artists

[pepperbag76]

Brian Hyland "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini"

[allthemusic]

Week ending: 10th August

We're busy this week, with a fun solo rocker, a return to form for one Elvis Presley, and a piece of novelty fun that's had a surprising amount of staying-power, and that sent me down a research rabbit hole into the history of swimwear. So without further ado...

Because They're Young - Duane Eddy (peaked at Number 2)

Well, it's an instrumental rock track, which generally bodes well. I don't know why instrumental rock stopped charting, beacause it's great fun - I genuinely wish we had more of it in the charts here in 2024! That said, it does suffer a bit from being just so ubiquitous in 1960, with every other week seemingly throwing an instrumental rock hit at us. A lot of them do sound pretty similar to each other - this one, in particular, sounds like literally any solo Shadows hit, with lots of jangling guitar and solid drumming, plus some strings to bring it all together. It's good, but it's pretty standard instrumental fare. So yeah, I'm not surprised that the pendulum swung back towards lyrics, as the 1960s wore on.

This track's a good one, that said, and clearly popular, here in 1960. Duane seems to have gone the "sell it as a "youth thing" and people will buy it" route, at least with the title, and it seems to have worked, with the song shooting up to Number 2 on the UK charts, as well as charting in the US. It's since been adapted as the theme for multiple radio "oldies" shows, and I feel like I also know it from somewhere else, though I can't pin down exactly where. It's memorable, for sure, with a contrast, in particular, between the major-toned backing strings, and the bluesier guitar melody that helps the song to feel distinctive, and stick in the brain. Plus it's pretty short, which can only help when choosing a radio theme, I suspect.

It was also used in a film, also called Because They're Young, which we've already mentioned, since Duane Eddy also wrote another hit for it, Shazam! For whatever reason, Shazam charted first in the UK, despite both presumably being on the film soundtrack. Because They're Young was the bigger hit overall, though - which is fair enough, both songs are decent.

A Mess of Blues - Elvis Presley (2)

And Elvis is back! Well, he's been back for a bit, but it's nice to see him scoring regular hits again after his stint in the army. His managers apparently agreed, and after the successful release of Stuck on You, they set him to work recording a new album, the unimagintively-titled Elvis Is Back! The whole album's full of massive, iconic hits, but the first song from it to really make it big in the UK was this one, a Doc Pomus / Mort Shuman number that ch was only released as a B-side in the US, alongside the considerably more famous Its Now Or Never. Not so in the UK, where it was released as a whole independent A-side, and clearly did pretty well for itself.

I can't be too sad about this, because I really do like this one. It's bluesy - as you'd expect from the title - and pretty cool, full of finger-clicks and a chugging bassline, doubled up on a boogie-woogie-style piano, and all of it a performance from Elvis that's desperate and yearing, singing about how he's got a letter from his baby telling him they can't come home, and detailing the state it's left him in: I swear I'm goin' crazy / Sittin' here all alone / Since you gone I got a mess of the blues. And it gets worse, he hasn't slept, he can't eat, Ever day's just blue Monday / Since you been away. Simple lyrics, but they capture that feeling of waiting around and feeling useless, and of not really knowing what to do with yourself.

And crucially, Elvis isn't just whining - he decides, as the song wears on, that he's going to get himself out of his funk, and makes a plan. I gotta get myself together, he sings, before I lose my mind / I'm gonna catch the next train goin' / And leave my blues behind. He's still a mess of the blues, by the end of the song, but I appreciate that he's trying to shake them. It's sound advice, you know? Sometimes you just need to get out the house, even if you're still feeling rubbish. A change of scenery can do the soul good, and sometimes you just need to jump on a train somewhere. As an enjoyer of both trains and random adventures, I approve wholeheartedly.

Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini - Brian Hyland (8)

Well, this is a song that's stuck around. If anything, I'd compare it to something like Witch Doctor from last year, as an example of a novelty song that's stuck in the popular imagination, enough to have attracted a few popular covers. It even featured in a Doctor Who episode, recently - or that's where I last came across it, anyway. So yeah. A success, especially as novelty songs go. You almost certainly know this song. It's the one about a girl wearing an itsy-bitsy, teenie-weenie yellow polka-dot bikini, her first time wearing one. Self-conscious, she refuses to come out of the changing-room for a while, then sits on the beach bundled in a blanket, and finally, when tempted to go into the water, she's afraid to come out, with the song ending on Brian's wry observation that the poor little girls' turning blue.

It's genuinely quite funny, unlike a lot of novelty songs. I think partly that's because it's a relatable gag, still. I've certainly been there, picking something a bit bolder than my usual fashion choice, and then regretting it, and spending an evening or a day trying not to draw attention to it. Heck, I think I've even done it with swimwear, so you know. Not too farfetched. Even less so in the 1960s, when bikinis were still relatively new, as a phenomenon - invented by the Frenchman Louis Réard in 1946, and named for the Bikini Atoll, where the first public nuclear bomb test had happened only four days previously, they didn't really get popular for a decade or so, and were still banned in various places. So yeah, bikinis would have shocked people, for sure. And an itsy-bitsy teenie-weenie yellow polka-dot bikini? A definite bold choice.

Incidentally, the song itself's credited with helping make bikinis a more mainstream phenomenon. Sure, they'd been pioneered by glamorous European celebrities, including none other than Brigitte Bardot in 1957, who wore one in the film And God Created Woman, but it was this song, combined with the burgeoning surf culture, that's credited with a sudden boom in the acceptability and popularity of bikinis in the US, where they'd previously been a bit more taboo. Four years later, you get the first bikini on the cover of Sports Illustrated - a sign of how far things had come!

So yes, bikinis themselves are part of why the song works, for me. But also, it's just a good, well-made song. It's got catchy lyrics, some strummy guitar, a silly hook with the one-two-three-four, tell the people what she wore vocals, a chorus that repeats over and over, and of course, the inherent fun of the "itsy-bitsy, teenie-weenie yellow polka-dot bikini" line, which leans hard into reduplication, and the contrast between different vowels, all of which make it an eminently satisfying line to sing along with. You can hardly help but want to join in, particularly when it's repeated so frequently throughout - all of which goes some way to explain the staying-power of a song that could otherwise be a bit of throwaway fluff. I'm not arguing for this song as an underappreciated classic, or anything. But as novelty songs go, it's a good one.

I'm in an interesting position, here, because I think Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini was the most interesting song to think and talk about, here. It sent me on a really fun deep-dive into the history of the bikini, and it made me think about what makes novelty songs good. On the other hand, the title I give at the end is for my favourite song. And IBTWYPDB did begin to wear on the nerves, a bit. So while I enjoyed it, the prize has to go to the King, back in true, triumphant fashion.

Favourite song of the bunch: A Mess of Blues

[filosofablogger]

♫ Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini ♫

Having spent most of the day burying myself in news and politics, I am just in the mood for something fun and silly tonight.  You just don’t get much sillier than a song about an itsy-bitsy-teeny-weeny-yellow-polka-dot-bikini!!! According to SongFacts … 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…

[howardhawkshollywoodmusic]

23. Gypsy Woman by Brian Hyland debuted Sep 70 and peaked at number three, scoring 1355 points.

Brian was born in Queens and had 22 chart entries 1960-71. Eight made the top 40. This was his third of three top ten hits. His first entry was his only number one, and Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini was the number 32 hit of 1960. Sealed with a Kiss peaked at number three and was the number 57 hit of 1962.

The original version, written by Curtis Mayfield, by The Impressions peaked at number 20 and was the number 98 hit of 1961.

[guitarlessonsbobbycrispy]

Sealed With A Kiss - Guitar Lesson - 1960's Classic Song!

[misquotedmosquito]

[jumptheboogie]

brian hyland

[asidesandbsides]

Starts With H, Part 2

Herman's Hermits - Dandy / My Reservation's Been Confirmed

Another older record that came with my uncle's name on the label, and I think he just didn't take as good care of his records. Or played them too much? "Dandy" is in very fuzzy shape, but I like the Kinks' version better anyway. I actually think "Reservation" sounds pretty cool, it's much more rocking than I'd expect from the Hermits.

The Hollies - He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother / Cos You Like to Love Me

Now, this one is in relatively good shape, and can still soar appropriately. The B-Side is in even better condition, and is pretty fun, even if it can't hope to measure up to one of those songs, the kind that are larger than life.

The Hollies - Long Cool Woman (In A Black Dress) / Look What We've Got

Sounds pretty much as good as such an incredibly cool song should. "Look What We've Got" is a worthy match for it, actually. It should be better known among Hollies songs, if you ask me. Or maybe I just need to get to know more Hollies songs.

Jake Holmes - So Close / Django and Friend

To the extent that Holmes is known, he is probably best known for writing "Dazed and Confused" and having it stolen out from under him by Jimmy Page. Led Zeppelin, this guy is not, but "So Close" is a powerful ballad, unfortunately marred by some loud popping in spots. "Django" is more restrained, but also a beautiful tribute to Django Reinhardt, as one surmises the "man with gypsy eyes" to be, naturally. I enjoy the various Reinhardt-esque instrumental touches here. Nicely done.

The Hombres - Let It Out (Let It All Hang Out) / Go Girl, Go

After cleaning off a truly impressive impressive layer of dust, I found this record sounding pretty damn good, actually. Put some weird poetry over a garage beat, and I'm sold. B-Side is pretty good too, but not nearly as weird, alas.

The Honey Cone - Want Ads / We Belong Together

"Want Ads" was apparently a massive hit, and it sounds vaguely familiar, but it's not clicking for me. Still, we have some cool sounds and they are coming through pretty clearly. I think "We Belong Together" is about as good a song, but that's just my opinion.

Brian Hyland - Gypsy Woman / You and Me (#2)

I did a little bit of homework on this guy and honestly wasn't sure what to expect with a cover of a Curtis Mayfield song, but I have to say I really liked the arrangement. The B-Side is also really cool, and they both sound clean. A good record, whatever I was expecting.

[danielelvenmark-blog]

Brian Hyland - Sealed With A Kiss (1962) 4K

[myimaginaryradio]

Sealed With A Kiss - Brian Hyland - 1962

[helloparkerrose]