Itsy Bitsy Bikini songwriter Lee Pockriss dies (BBC)

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Itsy Bitsy Bikini songwriter Lee Pockriss dies (BBC)

Postby Tape Splicer » Fri Nov 18, 2011 11:39 am

Itsy Bitsy Bikini songwriter Lee Pockriss dies

18 November 2011 Last updated at 10:09 ET

Lee Pockriss, the songwriter behind Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini and Catch A Falling Star, has died at the age of 87.

His wife Sonja said he died at home in Connecticut following a long illness.

Best known for his collaborations with Paul Vance, including the number one hit Bikini, he also worked in musical theatre and television.

Perry Como released a hit version of Catch a Falling Star in 1957, winning the singer a Grammy Award in 1959.

Born in Brooklyn, Pockriss studied musicology in New York before serving as a cryptographer for the US Air Force during World War II.

After the war, he began composing, primarily for television, where he came across Vance - and a successful partnership was born.

Among their collaborations, including Four Little Heels, Playground of My Mind and Stagecoach to Cheyenne, Bikini remains the best-known.

A number one hit for Brian Hyland in 1960, the song was widely credited with helping the bikini gain popular acceptance beyond the starlet confines of Hollywood and the French Riviera.

Great Gatsby

Pockriss moved into musical theatre in the 60s, working alongside lyricist Anne Croswell on the Oscar Wilde adaptation Ernest in Love and, later, on the Broadway hit Tovarich (1963), which won a Tony Award for leading lady Vivien Leigh.

Gatsby, a 1969 adaptation of F Scott Fitzgerald's famous novel, was never fully staged, though it did receive a concert performance in New York earlier this year.

Writing in the New York Times, reviewer David Rooney said the songs succeeded in "spreading a beguiling carpet of melancholy beneath all that jazz age revelry".

"It made me curious to see a full production," Mr Rooney added.

Pockriss, whose promise was revealed as a young graduate, will be remembered with affection by Sesame Street fans for his song My Polliwog Ways, as sung by Kermit the Frog.
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Re: Itsy Bitsy Bikini songwriter Lee Pockriss dies (BBC)

Postby Tape Splicer » Fri Nov 18, 2011 11:54 am

(THERE IS MORE TO THIS STORY BEYOND THE ABOVE POST - ALSO FROM THE BBC)

Last Updated: Thursday, 28 September 2006, 09:22 GMT 10:22 UK

Itsy Bitsy writer 'death' error
A man who co-wrote the song Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini was wrongly reported as dead after the death of a man who claimed authorship.
The widow of Paul Van Valkenburgh, of Ormond Beach, Florida, said he claimed to have written the song as Paul Vance.

Rose Leroux said she had had no reason to doubt her late husband's claim to fame and was "devastated".

The real Paul Vance, of Coral Springs, Florida, said the phones "don't stop with people calling thinking I'm dead".

BBC News was among the organisations that reported the writer's death after the Associated Press ran the story.

The songwriter, who now owns race horses, said two of his horses were withdrawn from races on Wednesday because people thought he had died.

"Do you know what it's like to have grandchildren calling you and say, 'Grandpa, you're still alive?'" said 76-year-old Vance.

"This is not a game. I am who I am and I'm proud of who I am."

'Money machine'

Vance co-wrote the hit track with Lee Pockriss. It was recorded by teenage singer Brian Hyland and topped the US Billboard chart in 1960.

It has since been featured in adverts and film soundtracks including Sister Act 2 and Revenge of the Nerds II.

"It's a money machine," said Vance, who provided proof of ongoing royalty payments.

Mrs Leroux said her late husband, who was 68 when he died, had always told her he sold the royalties to the song in his late teens.

He was working as a salesman when they met almost 40 years ago, and later became a painting contractor, she said.

"It's such a long time ago. To have it come out now, I'm kind of devastated," said Mrs Leroux.

Vance also wrote Catch a Falling Star for Perry Como, and various hits for artists including Johnny Mathis.
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Re: Itsy Bitsy Bikini songwriter Lee Pockriss dies (BBC)

Postby CubbyCam » Fri Nov 18, 2011 12:55 pm

And in memory of the man who said he wrote it (but didn't), here's a little memorial video. (Actually I put it together a while back because I have so many pictures of people with cameras) Nonetheless, enjoy...

http://youtu.be/SZsCLQr9MC8
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Re: Itsy Bitsy Bikini songwriter Lee Pockriss dies (BBC)

Postby hagopian » Fri Nov 18, 2011 1:08 pm

For people of a certain age "Itsy" represented one of the last summers of innocence.

Great story - and Cubby, thanks for the link.

Now back to being my real age.
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Re: Itsy Bitsy Bikini songwriter Lee Pockriss dies (BBC)

Postby PMC » Fri Nov 18, 2011 9:02 pm

CubbyCam wrote:And in memory of the man who said he wrote it (but didn't), here's a little memorial video. (Actually I put it together a while back because I have so many pictures of people with cameras) Nonetheless, enjoy...

http://youtu.be/SZsCLQr9MC8


Great video and excellent audio !
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Re: Itsy Bitsy Bikini songwriter Lee Pockriss dies (BBC)

Postby Tape Splicer » Fri Nov 18, 2011 9:39 pm

If you enjoyed CC's "Itsy Bitsy Bikini" video on youtube, check out the other postings, eight in total... They are really well don and show a great deal of time and creativity went into each piece of work, Oh and the music quality is very high.
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Re: Itsy Bitsy Bikini songwriter Lee Pockriss dies (BBC)

Postby Russ_Byth » Fri Nov 18, 2011 10:39 pm

And let's not forget this:

viewtopic.php?f=53&t=9971
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