Brian Hyland was born November 12, 1943, in Woodhaven, Queens,
New York. Hyland studied guitar and clarinet while singing in his church
choir. At the age of 14 he co-founded a harmony group, The Delfis, which
recorded a demo they sent to various New York record labels. Hyland
ultimately signed as a solo artist to Kapp Records, and in late 1959
issued his debut single, "Rosemary." For the follow-up, "Four
Little Heels (The Clickety Clack Song)," the label paired him with
the Brill Building songwriting duo of Lee Pockriss and Paul Vance, and
when the single proved a minor hit, Pockriss and Vance set to work on
the follow-up. Thus in August 1960, Hyland scored his first and biggest
hit single at the age of 16, "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka
Dot Bikini", written by Vance and Pockriss. It was a novelty song
that reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and sold over two
million copies.[
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