Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini

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"Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini"
Single by Brian Hyland
Released	June 1960
Writer(s)	Paul Vance Lee Pockriss

"Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" is a novelty song telling the story of a shy girl in a very revealing bathing suit who stays immersed in the ocean water to hide from view. It was written by Paul Vance and Lee Pockriss and first released in June 1960 by Brian Hyland as "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini." Hyland's version hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on August 8, 1960^[1] and also made the top 10 in other countries, including #8 on the UK Singles Chart.^[2] The female voice reciting the phrases beginning with "One, two, three, four" was Trudy Packer.^[3]

Contents 1 Ownership controversy 2 In other media 3 Cover versions and parodies 4 Die Roten Rosen cover 4.1 Track listing 5 References

[edit] Ownership controversy

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In September 2006, the song's co-writer Paul Vance read his own mistaken obituary. Paul Van Valkenburgh, who had long claimed to have written the song, died and the false information was included in the newspaper. The impostor had explained his lack of royalty payments for the song by further claiming that he'd sold the rights to his alleged composition as a teenager. Vance, the song's true co-author, has earned several million dollars from the song since 1960, describing it as "a money machine."

[edit] In other media

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The song was featured in the 1961 Billy Wilder film comedy One, Two, Three — in a key scene, the character Otto (Horst Buchholz), suspected of being a spy, is being tortured by East German police playing the song to him repetitively, eventually with the record off-center to create a weird howling variation of pitch. The actual recording was re-released in 1962 to capitalize on the film's success, but it did not rechart.

A faster version of the song appears on North American commercials for Yoplait Light yogurt. The song is also used in a television commercial for the YWCA, and in films such as Sister Act 2 and Revenge of the Nerds II.

At the beginning of 2006 this song was also used in an advert for TV Easy magazine.

[edit] Cover versions and parodies

"Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini"
Single by Bombalurina with Timmy Mallett
from the album Huggin An'a Kissin'
Released	1990
Format	CD single, cassette single
Genre	Pop
Label	Polydor Records/Carpet Records
Producer	Timmy Mallet
Bombalurina with Timmy Mallett singles chronology
- "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" (1990) "Seven Little Girls" (1990)

There have been cover versions in many languages, for example, a French and Italian version by Dalida in 1960. It has also been sung in German with Club Honolulu (Caterina Valente & her brother Silvio Francesco) the same year. It was also remade in 1990 by Bombalurina which featured Timmy Mallett, star of then-popular United Kingdom children's television show, Wacaday. The song reached #1 in the UK Singles Chart on August 19, 1990, and stayed at the position for three weeks.^[4] The song was released around the world and topped the charts in over a dozen countries, selling more than a million copies. Another version was made by Devo on the CD Pioneers Who Got Scalped. The video featured Timmy Mallett along with two dancers, Dawn and Annie. Dawn later went onto marry Gary Barlow of Take That fame.

A Spanish version, titled "Bikini Amarillo," very faithful to the original, was an enormous hit for Mexican singer Manolo Muñoz in the 1960s.^{[citation needed]}

Another interesting cover version is El Cohete Americano, a Cuban propaganda song sung by Las D'Aida in Album de la Revolucion Cubana (2000).

In Serbian, it was sung by Ljiljana Petrovic. In Croatian, there is cover by trio Tividi.

A Brazilian version, a little faithful to the original, titled "Biquíni de Bolinha Amarelinha Tão Pequenininho," was a hit in 1965 when it was sung by Ronnie Cord ^[5], and had some re-recordings, as Blitz's 1983 version ^[6].

A parody of the song was used for a TV Easy magazine advert entitled 'I need an Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie TV Easy Magaziney'.

[edit] Die Roten Rosen cover

"Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Honolulu-Strand-Bikini"
Single by Die Roten Rosen
from the album Never Mind the Hosen, Here's Die Roten Rosen
Released	1987
Genre	Punk rock
Length	1:54
Label	Virgin Records
Writer(s)	Paul Vance Lee Pockriss Club Honolulu
Die Roten Rosen singles chronology
"Das Altbier Lied" (1986) "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Honolulu-Strand-Bikini" (1987) "Im Wagen vor mir" (1987)

German punk band Die Toten Hosen covered the Club Honolulu version (in German) on their 1987 cover album Never Mind the Hosen, Here's Die Roten Rosen. It was released as a promo single under the alias Die Roten Rosen. Also, on the 2007 re-release the English version was added as a bonus track.

[edit] Track listing

1. "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Honolulu-Strand-Bikini" − 1:54
2. "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow-Polkadot-Bikini" – 2:08

[edit] References

Preceded by "I'm Sorry" by Brenda Lee	Billboard Hot 100 number-one single (Brian Hyland version) August 2, 1960 – August 8, 1960 (1 week)	Succeeded by "It's Now or Never" by Elvis Presley
Preceded by "Turtle Power" by Partners in Kryme	UK number-one single (Bombalurina with Timmy Mallett version) August 19, 1990 – September 8, 1990	Succeeded by "The Joker" by The Steve Miller Band