История про жёлтый бикини в горошек

Original song written and composed by Paul Vance and Lee Pockriss

"Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" is a novelty song telling the story of a shy girl wearing a revealing polka dot bikini at the beach. It was written by Paul Vance and Lee Pockriss and first released in June 1960 by Brian Hyland, with an orchestra conducted by John Dixon. The Hyland version reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, selling a million copies in the US, and was a worldwide hit. The song has been adapted into French as "Itsy bitsy petit bikini" and into German as "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Honolulu Strand Bikini", reaching number one on national charts in both languages. Several versions of the song have proved successful in various European countries. In 1990 a version by British pop band Bombalurina, titled "Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini", reached number one on the UK Singles Chart and in Ireland.

The story told through the three verses of the song is as follows: (1) the young lady is too afraid to leave the locker where she has changed into her bikini; (2) she has made it to the beach but sits on the sand wrapped in a blanket; (3) she has finally gone into the ocean, but is too afraid to come out, and stays immersed in the water – despite the fact she's "turning blue" – to hide herself from view. Trudy Packer recited the phrases " two, three, four / Tell the people what she wore", heard at the end of each verse before the chorus; and "Stick around, we'll tell you more", heard after the first chorus and before the start of the second verse. In an interview and article by Greg Ehrbar in The Cartoon Music Book, edited by Daniel Goldmark and Yuval Taylor, Rankin Bass musical director Maury Laws said he 'ghosted' the arrangement of the song for John Dixon, as Dixon had taken on more work than he could handle at that time. At a time when bikini bathing suits were still seen as too risqué to be mainstream, the song prompted a sudden takeoff in bikini sales. It is credited as being one of the earliest contributors to the acceptance of the bikini in society. The early 1960s saw a slew of surf movies and other film and television productions that rapidly built on the song's momentum. Hyland's version hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on August 8, 1960, and sold over a million copies in the US. It also made the top 10 in other countries, including #8 on the UK Singles Chart. It also reached #1 in New Zealand.

In September 2006, Paul Vance, the song's co writer, saw his own mistaken obituary on TV, as a consequence of the death of another man, Paul Van Valkenburgh, who claimed to have written "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini" under the name Paul Vance. The impostor had explained his lack of royalty payments for the song by claiming that he had sold the rights as a teenager. Vance, the song's true co author, earned several million dollars from the song from 1960 until his own death in 2022, describing it as "a money machine."

The song was adapted into Italian under the title "Pezzettini di Bikini" by Giancarlo Testoni and recorded by Dalida in 1960. Then was recorded by Marino Marini