1960 Song Hit No. 1 When Brian Hyland Was Only 16—and He Never Returned to High School

“Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini” was a 1960 song by Brian Hyland, a teen idol at the time. The song was a worldwide hit that reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Over the years, the song was included in multiple films and television shows, including Doctor Who, Contact, Sister Act 2, and Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise.

In an interview with Gary James, Hyland spoke about how the song was originally created. “After recording some demos for Sammy Kaye’s publishing company, I was signed to Kapp Records to record my first record, ‘Rosemary,’ which sold about 20,000,” he said. “While preparing to record a second session, the writers, Paul Vance and Lee Pockriss, brought in the Bikini song, which I learned over the weekend and then recorded. It was released within weeks.”

He went on to reveal he was still in high school when the song hit No. 1. “As it turned out, the ‘Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini’ record came out and up the charts to number one in the Summer of 1960, and I was on the road in the Fall and never returned to high school. I finished at a school for professionals in New York City with actors like Patty Duke.”

Although he achieved fame when he was only a teenager, he started performing at a young age. He created his first band, The Delfis, when he was only 12. When speaking about his first band, he said, “Well, my group The Delfis was actually a Doo Wop vocal group for fun, and I played guitar. We made a demo tape and took the subway to make the rounds of record companies. We were young and basically dismissed, but I was persistent and ambitious, that’s all.”

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Hyland had other hits over the years, including “Sealed with a Kiss,” which reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. He also recorded “Ginny Come Lately” and “The Joker Went Wild.”

Hyland is now 82. He still occasionally performs live. His son, Bodi, commonly performs with him.