1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:05,080 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio 2 00:00:05,800 --> 00:00:09,360 Speaker 1: Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, a 3 00:00:09,440 --> 00:00:13,440 Speaker 1: show that reveals a little bit more about history every day. 4 00:00:15,320 --> 00:00:19,040 Speaker 1: I'm Gabe Luesier, and today we're looking at the surprising, 5 00:00:19,160 --> 00:00:23,119 Speaker 1: true story and disturbing implications of one of the silliest 6 00:00:23,160 --> 00:00:34,519 Speaker 1: odes to swimwear ever written. The day was August eighth, 7 00:00:34,760 --> 00:00:39,839 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty. The novelty song Itsy Bitsy teeny Weeny yellow 8 00:00:39,880 --> 00:00:43,800 Speaker 1: Poka Dot Bikini hit number one on the US Singles Chart. 9 00:00:44,760 --> 00:00:48,640 Speaker 1: Performed by teenage heart throb Brian Hyland, the song was 10 00:00:48,680 --> 00:00:52,400 Speaker 1: one of the two summer anthems of nineteen sixty, alongside 11 00:00:52,440 --> 00:00:56,320 Speaker 1: Chubby Checkers The Twist. It sold more than a million 12 00:00:56,440 --> 00:00:59,720 Speaker 1: copies and spent fifteen weeks on the Billboard Hot one 13 00:00:59,760 --> 00:01:03,840 Speaker 1: Hunty chart, including one week in the top spot. The 14 00:01:03,960 --> 00:01:07,560 Speaker 1: song also reached number one in France and Germany, and 15 00:01:07,600 --> 00:01:10,360 Speaker 1: has since been covered by a wide range of artists, 16 00:01:10,560 --> 00:01:15,040 Speaker 1: including Connie Francis, Devo and Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy. 17 00:01:15,760 --> 00:01:17,640 Speaker 1: And while I'm tempted to play a clip from the 18 00:01:17,720 --> 00:01:21,280 Speaker 1: Muppet version, of course, for the sake of fidelity, here's 19 00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:29,520 Speaker 1: Brian Hyland's original she was besides she could be she 20 00:01:29,840 --> 00:01:34,840 Speaker 1: was afraid to come out. She was afraid. That's a 21 00:01:36,440 --> 00:01:40,639 Speaker 1: two three four. Tell the people what she wore. It 22 00:01:40,880 --> 00:01:49,920 Speaker 1: was Yllo that she wore. As you probably noticed, the 23 00:01:50,040 --> 00:01:53,680 Speaker 1: song has a rich, complex layered plot, so let me 24 00:01:53,720 --> 00:01:56,400 Speaker 1: break it down for you. A shy young woman takes 25 00:01:56,440 --> 00:01:58,640 Speaker 1: a trip to the beach, but after changing into her 26 00:01:58,680 --> 00:02:02,360 Speaker 1: stylish new swimsuit, she has second thoughts about wearing something 27 00:02:02,400 --> 00:02:05,960 Speaker 1: so revealing in public. At first, she's too embarrassed to 28 00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:09,120 Speaker 1: leave the locker room. Then she musters the courage to 29 00:02:09,120 --> 00:02:11,520 Speaker 1: go sit on the beach, but only while wrapped up 30 00:02:11,520 --> 00:02:14,760 Speaker 1: in a blanket. She finally takes off the blanket and 31 00:02:14,840 --> 00:02:18,240 Speaker 1: ventures into the water. Then she gets self conscious again 32 00:02:18,360 --> 00:02:21,680 Speaker 1: and decides to stay in the water until everyone else leaves. 33 00:02:22,400 --> 00:02:25,320 Speaker 1: She stays so long, in fact, that, as the song 34 00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:31,120 Speaker 1: puts it, quote, the poor little Girl's turning blue. That unresolved. 35 00:02:31,280 --> 00:02:35,480 Speaker 1: Note the suggestion of hypothermia or drowning is where the 36 00:02:35,520 --> 00:02:39,400 Speaker 1: song's story ends. Does the girl overcome her shyness and 37 00:02:39,480 --> 00:02:42,320 Speaker 1: make it back to shore or does she die rather 38 00:02:42,320 --> 00:02:47,320 Speaker 1: than appear immodest. Brian Hyland doesn't say directly but listen 39 00:02:47,360 --> 00:03:02,520 Speaker 1: to how the song ends. Shot, Yes, there isn't anymore. 40 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:07,519 Speaker 1: If you think I'm reading too much into this, well 41 00:03:07,880 --> 00:03:11,120 Speaker 1: maybe you're right. The song's story is hardly meant to 42 00:03:11,120 --> 00:03:14,080 Speaker 1: be the focus. After all, the catchy chorus is the 43 00:03:14,160 --> 00:03:18,240 Speaker 1: real star. It sits somewhere between a nursery rhyme, a 44 00:03:18,360 --> 00:03:22,480 Speaker 1: cat call, and a playground chant ploying and obnoxious, but 45 00:03:22,560 --> 00:03:25,200 Speaker 1: silly enough to make you laugh and rhythmic enough to 46 00:03:25,240 --> 00:03:30,000 Speaker 1: be fun to sing. Still, the story is there, and 47 00:03:30,040 --> 00:03:33,919 Speaker 1: whether intentional or not, it does end with some unanswered 48 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:37,880 Speaker 1: questions when taken at face value. But don't take my 49 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:40,680 Speaker 1: word for it. I'm hardly the first person to notice. 50 00:03:40,960 --> 00:03:43,480 Speaker 1: In fact, less than a month after the song hit 51 00:03:43,600 --> 00:03:47,000 Speaker 1: number one, a singer named jerry Lynn Fraser was so 52 00:03:47,280 --> 00:03:50,680 Speaker 1: bothered by the ambiguity that she wrote a sequel song 53 00:03:50,760 --> 00:03:53,320 Speaker 1: to fill in some of the blanks. Take a listen 54 00:03:53,600 --> 00:03:56,920 Speaker 1: two four six eight tell us please don't make us 55 00:03:56,960 --> 00:04:12,280 Speaker 1: waityada just because she mess it for godbegoniacaust story and 56 00:04:12,640 --> 00:04:18,800 Speaker 1: so cute. The cute ending she references is that Bogonia 57 00:04:18,920 --> 00:04:22,120 Speaker 1: is rescued by a lifeguard and winds up getting engaged 58 00:04:22,160 --> 00:04:25,400 Speaker 1: to him, apparently she had no reason to be modest. 59 00:04:25,440 --> 00:04:28,680 Speaker 1: After all. At the end of the day, there may 60 00:04:28,720 --> 00:04:31,960 Speaker 1: not be a deeper meaning to itsy bitsy teeny weeny 61 00:04:32,080 --> 00:04:35,680 Speaker 1: yellow Pocada bikini, but the song does say something about 62 00:04:35,720 --> 00:04:40,240 Speaker 1: the sexual mores of mid century America. The revealing two 63 00:04:40,279 --> 00:04:43,480 Speaker 1: piece bathing suit known as the bikini was introduced in 64 00:04:43,640 --> 00:04:47,000 Speaker 1: Paris in nineteen forty six and quickly became a common 65 00:04:47,040 --> 00:04:52,000 Speaker 1: sight on beaches all over post war Europe. In the US, however, 66 00:04:52,320 --> 00:04:56,600 Speaker 1: the bikini didn't catch on for almost two decades. Initially 67 00:04:56,680 --> 00:05:00,600 Speaker 1: dismissed as a risque trend, the bikini was gradually embraced 68 00:05:00,640 --> 00:05:04,400 Speaker 1: throughout the nineteen sixties as the sexual Revolution took hold 69 00:05:04,640 --> 00:05:09,680 Speaker 1: and fashion trends became a bit less prudish. That said, 70 00:05:09,839 --> 00:05:13,680 Speaker 1: American culture wasn't quite there yet in nineteen sixty, which 71 00:05:13,760 --> 00:05:17,159 Speaker 1: is why Brian Hyland's song has such a scandalized view 72 00:05:17,279 --> 00:05:20,719 Speaker 1: of wearing a bikini. When viewed in that light, the 73 00:05:20,800 --> 00:05:24,640 Speaker 1: song almost seems like a cautionary tale, one that warns 74 00:05:24,680 --> 00:05:27,840 Speaker 1: women not to wear bikinis lest they get self conscious 75 00:05:27,880 --> 00:05:31,000 Speaker 1: and have a bad day at the beach. Once again, 76 00:05:31,080 --> 00:05:34,400 Speaker 1: though I could be reading too much into things. According 77 00:05:34,440 --> 00:05:37,440 Speaker 1: to the songwriter, the song has a much simpler and 78 00:05:37,680 --> 00:05:42,080 Speaker 1: more innocent origin. Although it was Brian Hyland who performed 79 00:05:42,080 --> 00:05:44,760 Speaker 1: the song, the lyrics and music were actually the work 80 00:05:44,800 --> 00:05:48,719 Speaker 1: of Paul Vance and Lee Pocras, the same songwriting duo 81 00:05:48,839 --> 00:05:53,320 Speaker 1: behind Perry Como's signature hit Catch a Falling Star. The 82 00:05:53,400 --> 00:05:56,200 Speaker 1: idea for the bikini song was born of a real 83 00:05:56,320 --> 00:06:01,600 Speaker 1: life incident involving none other than Vance's two year old dog, Paula. 84 00:06:02,040 --> 00:06:04,320 Speaker 1: While on a family trip to the beach in nineteen 85 00:06:04,360 --> 00:06:07,360 Speaker 1: fifty nine. Little Paula had been reluctant to wear her 86 00:06:07,400 --> 00:06:10,760 Speaker 1: new two piece bathing suit because her two male cousins 87 00:06:10,880 --> 00:06:15,080 Speaker 1: had started teasing her from there. The day unfolded exactly 88 00:06:15,120 --> 00:06:17,520 Speaker 1: as in the song, with the girl first hiding in 89 00:06:17,560 --> 00:06:20,400 Speaker 1: the locker room, then bundling up in a blanket, and 90 00:06:20,480 --> 00:06:24,919 Speaker 1: ultimately wading into the water. Thankfully, Paula didn't turn blue 91 00:06:24,920 --> 00:06:28,119 Speaker 1: that day, though her bikini did come off and float away, 92 00:06:28,520 --> 00:06:33,560 Speaker 1: offering another lighter interpretation of the song's final verse. The 93 00:06:33,640 --> 00:06:36,360 Speaker 1: song's famous hook came to Vance on the drive home 94 00:06:36,360 --> 00:06:39,000 Speaker 1: from the beach and was based directly on what his 95 00:06:39,080 --> 00:06:42,560 Speaker 1: daughter had been wearing that day. She wore a yellow 96 00:06:42,560 --> 00:06:45,560 Speaker 1: PoCA dot bikini, and the reason it was itsy bitsy 97 00:06:45,640 --> 00:06:49,520 Speaker 1: teeny weenie is because she was a toddler. When Vance 98 00:06:49,560 --> 00:06:52,400 Speaker 1: got home, he called his partner to share his new song. 99 00:06:53,200 --> 00:06:55,840 Speaker 1: I sang the lyric on the phone, he later recounted, 100 00:06:56,080 --> 00:06:58,320 Speaker 1: and by the time Pocerus got to my office a 101 00:06:58,360 --> 00:07:00,800 Speaker 1: couple of hours later, he hadn't ninety percent of the 102 00:07:00,839 --> 00:07:04,680 Speaker 1: tune written. Paul Vance thought the song should be sung 103 00:07:04,720 --> 00:07:07,800 Speaker 1: by a female vocalist, so he hired a session singer 104 00:07:07,839 --> 00:07:11,240 Speaker 1: and two backup singers to record a demo version. Once 105 00:07:11,280 --> 00:07:13,680 Speaker 1: it was done, he took the track to CAP Records, 106 00:07:13,840 --> 00:07:17,000 Speaker 1: but producer David Capp thought it was too raunchy to 107 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:19,840 Speaker 1: be a hit single. In what must have been an 108 00:07:19,880 --> 00:07:23,920 Speaker 1: awkward conversation, Vance explained the true story behind the song 109 00:07:24,160 --> 00:07:28,400 Speaker 1: and how it was really about shyness, not sexuality. Cap 110 00:07:28,440 --> 00:07:31,480 Speaker 1: eventually came around and agreed to release the song, but 111 00:07:31,600 --> 00:07:34,680 Speaker 1: he insisted they re record it with a male singer. 112 00:07:35,760 --> 00:07:39,200 Speaker 1: The job ultimately went to Brian Hyland, a sixteen year 113 00:07:39,280 --> 00:07:42,480 Speaker 1: old high school sophomore and former choir boy from Queen's 114 00:07:42,720 --> 00:07:46,960 Speaker 1: who had recently signed the label. Female vocalist Trudy Packer 115 00:07:47,040 --> 00:07:50,320 Speaker 1: would provide the spoken voice part of the song. As 116 00:07:50,400 --> 00:07:54,120 Speaker 1: Hyland later recounted in an interview with Bruce Nash, quote, 117 00:07:54,240 --> 00:07:57,720 Speaker 1: Paul Vance and Lee Pocras had shown itsy bitsy teeny 118 00:07:57,720 --> 00:08:01,800 Speaker 1: weeny yellow Pokadapakini to a lot of singers, but no 119 00:08:01,840 --> 00:08:04,720 Speaker 1: one wanted to do it. Then Cap thought it was 120 00:08:04,800 --> 00:08:07,840 Speaker 1: right for me and got really excited about it. They 121 00:08:07,880 --> 00:08:10,120 Speaker 1: gave me the demo on a Friday, and I had 122 00:08:10,120 --> 00:08:12,960 Speaker 1: to learn it over the weekend. We cut it on Monday, 123 00:08:13,280 --> 00:08:15,360 Speaker 1: and when we recorded it there seemed to be a 124 00:08:15,400 --> 00:08:18,280 Speaker 1: real buzz in the air about the song. Then it 125 00:08:18,320 --> 00:08:21,000 Speaker 1: became a number one hit in America, which meant that 126 00:08:21,040 --> 00:08:24,640 Speaker 1: I could stop riding the subway and buy some Martin guitars. 127 00:08:25,960 --> 00:08:29,559 Speaker 1: Bikini turned out to be Hyland's only number one song, 128 00:08:29,920 --> 00:08:32,520 Speaker 1: but he did score several other hits in the nineteen 129 00:08:32,600 --> 00:08:36,520 Speaker 1: sixties and seventies with more serious tunes like Ginny Come 130 00:08:36,600 --> 00:08:40,360 Speaker 1: Lately and Sealed with a Kiss. He also recorded a 131 00:08:40,520 --> 00:08:45,280 Speaker 1: sound alike follow up to his biggest hit called Lopsided Overloaded, 132 00:08:45,760 --> 00:08:53,719 Speaker 1: But the less said about that one, the better. I'm gay, 133 00:08:53,800 --> 00:08:56,960 Speaker 1: blues gay, and hopefully you now know a little more 134 00:08:57,000 --> 00:09:01,000 Speaker 1: about history today than you did yesterday. If you'd like 135 00:09:01,040 --> 00:09:03,040 Speaker 1: to keep up with the show, you can follow us 136 00:09:03,080 --> 00:09:08,160 Speaker 1: on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at TDI HC Show, and 137 00:09:08,200 --> 00:09:10,960 Speaker 1: if you have any comments or suggestions, feel free to 138 00:09:11,000 --> 00:09:13,800 Speaker 1: send them my way by writing to This Day at 139 00:09:13,840 --> 00:09:18,760 Speaker 1: iHeartMedia dot com. Thanks to Casby Bias for producing the show, 140 00:09:18,960 --> 00:09:21,400 Speaker 1: and thanks to you for listening. I'll see you back 141 00:09:21,400 --> 00:09:24,959 Speaker 1: here again tomorrow for another day in History class.