'Polka Dot Bikini' songwriter dies at 68

[Petra]

Posted: 9/26/06 at 11:21pm

HARTFORD, Conn. - 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."

[Petra]

Posted: 9/26/06 at 11:22pm

She was afraid to come out of the locker
She was as nervous as she could be
She was afraid to come out of the locker
She was afraid that somebody would see
One, two, three, four, tell the people what she wore

It was an itsy, bitsy, teenie, weenie, yellow polka-dot bikini
That she wore for the first time today
An itsy, bitsy, teentie, weenie, yellow polka-dot bikini
So in the locker she wanted to stay
Two, three, four, stick around we'll tell you more

She was afraid to come out in the open
And so a blanket around she wore
She was afraid to come out in the open
And so she sat bundled up on the shore
Two, three, four, tell the people what she wore

It was an itsy, bitsy, teenie, weenie, yellow polka-dot bikini
That she wore for the first time today
An itsy, bitsy, teentie, weenie, yellow polka-dot bikini
So in the blanket she wanted to stay
Two, three, four, stick around we'll tell you more

Now she is afraid to come out of the water
And I wonder what she's gonna do
Now she is afraid to come out of the water
And the poor little girl's turning blue
Two, three, four, tell the people what she wore

It was an itsy, bitsy, teenie, weenie, yellow polka-dot bikini
That she wore for the first time today
An itsy, bitsy, teentie, weenie, yellow polka-dot bikini
So in the water she wanted to stay
(From the locker to the blanket)
(From the blanket to the shore)
(From the shore to the water)
Yes, there isn't any more

[Anakela]

Posted: 9/27/06 at 6:44pm

Have you seen this- apparently he's not dead yet?

although I don't get this quote from the widow:
Leroux said she wished the other Paul Vance had never spoken up.

"It's such a long time ago. To have it come out now, I'm kind of devastated," she said. "If this man is getting the royalties why wouldn't he be happy? The more you stir this up the more you'll smell. Paul can't hurt him now -- he's dead. And we're not going after him for the royalties."

Yes it's sad that your husband is dead, but apparently he was. not. the. songwriter, so why would anyone think you would be going after the royalties of something your husband did not write? I so didn't get that.
'Itsy Bitsy' writer victim of itsy-bitsy imposter

[Cruel_Sandwich]

Posted: 9/27/06 at 6:46pm

He's not dead yet! He feels happy! He feels happy!!!!!!

[zzannahk]

Posted: 9/27/06 at 6:51pm

apparently the guy that DID die got off on telling people he wrote the song. i feel sympathy that she lost her husband, but she is derranged!'

by the way this should be a punishable offense

""Do you know what it's like to have grandchildren calling you and say, 'Grandpa, you're still alive?' " he said in a telephone interview from Coral Springs, Florida. "This is not a game. I am who I am and I'm proud of who I am. But these phones don't stop with people calling thinking I'm dead.""

Updated On: 9/27/06 at 06:51 PM