Paul Vance, the songwriter behind “Itsy Bisty Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini” and hundreds of other songs, died May 30 at the age of 92. His cause of death was not disclosed.
The following day, his daughter Paula confirmed Vance’s death in a post on her Facebook page, writing that her father died while they listened to “Playground in My Mind,” a Vance song that features his son Philip on vocals.
Bruce R. Bennett/The Palm Beach Post/ZUMA Wire Songwriter Paul Vance
“Only you, Dad,” the post reads. “It’s as if he wrote the way he would take his last breath on Earth.”
Born Joseph Paul Florio on Nov. 4, 1929, Vance also wrote “Catch a Falling Star” and “Tracy,” among scores of other songs. His music was performed by artists including Frank Sinatra, Shirley Bassey, and Robert Goulet.
Brian Hyland’s version of “Itsy Bisty Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini” became a global hit in 1960, spending 13 weeks on the Billboard top 40, including one week in the No. 1 spot.
Vance was inspired to write his best-known song after Paula nervously donned her first two-piece swimsuit. In her Facebook post, Paula wrote that she was actually 2 years old when she emerged from the dressing room wrapped in a towel — not 9, as was often reported.
“My dad the storyteller,” she wrote, “making me 7 years older with that story!”
Vance and his co-writer Lee Pockriss churned out tunes from the famed Brill Building in New York City. By 1966, their songs had sold more than 50 million copies, according to Billboard magazine. Pockriss died in 2011.
The pair also wrote the novelty tune “Leader of the Laundromat,” which parodied the Shangri-Las track “Leader of the Pack.” Vance’s last major hit, “Run Joey Run,” was a 1975 success for singer David Geddes.
Before Vance entered the music business, he served in the Army, boxed professionally, and ran an auto salvage company, The Washington Post reports. After he left the songwriting industry, he became a horse owner and breeder.
In 2006, Vance was startled to see his own death reported on television. A Connecticut man named Paul Van Valkenburgh claimed to have written “Itsy Bisty Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini” under the name Paul Vance, and when he died, his family included the information in his obituary. The story was picked up by the Associated Press and other major outlets, after which Vance receiving panicky calls from his family and friends, The New York Times reported. Vance’s music publisher stepped in to confirm that Vance, not Van Valkenburgh, was the true author of the hit.
Vance is survived by his daughters Paula Vance and Connie Vance Cohen and his son Joseph Vance. His wife, Margaret Curte Vance, and his son Philip Vance preceded him in death.
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