Google Groups no longer supports new Usenet posts or subscriptions. Historical content remains viewable.
Dismiss
Songwriter Lee Pockriss Dead at 87
0 views
Skip to first unread message
tr...@iwvisp.com
Nov 18, 2011, 2:27:27 PM11/18/11
to
ap.com...
HARTFORD, Conn. — Paul Vance remembers calling his friend and fellow
songwriter Lee Pockriss more than 50 years ago to share the lyrics of
a song he had just written: "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot
Bikini."
"Lee, I said, I have an idea," he recalled Friday. "He went crazy. By
the time he got to my office he had 90 percent of the tune written."
The song, which was recorded by 16-year-old teen idol Brian Hyland,
surged to No. 1 on the Billboard charts in August 1960 and has been
pop culture staple ever since.
Pockriss, who wrote other hit songs for an eager, youthful post-World
War II generation, died in Connecticut this week after a long illness.
He was 87.
His wife, Sonja Pockriss, confirmed his death on Friday. She said he
died at home in Bridgewater on Tuesday.
"Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" — about a shy young
woman in a skimpy bathing suit — has been used in such movies as
"Sister Act 2" and "Revenge of the Nerds II" and was more recently
revived in a yogurt commercial.
Pockriss, who also worked in musical theater, co-wrote several songs
with Vance, including "Catch a Falling Star" in 1957.
Vance, 82, said Pockriss did an excellent job on their collaborations.
"He was a very talented composer, a great composer, the opposite of
me," he told The Associated Press on Friday. "He knew music inside
out. I don't know one note of music."
Vance was erroneously reported as dead five years ago because of the
death of an Ormond Beach, Fla., man who had falsely claimed to have
written "Itsy Bitsy" under the name Paul Vance. The real Vance was
able to prove that it was he, not Paul Van Valkenburgh, who had
written the song.
Vance, who lives in Boca Raton, Fla., said Pockriss also worked in
musical theater and wrote the music for the 1963 Broadway show
"Tovarich," for which Vivien Leigh won the Tony Award for best actress
in a musical.
Pockriss was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Jan. 20, 1924, his wife said.
He served as a cryptographer, writing in code to guide Army Air Force
planes over the Pacific during World War II, she said. Pockriss
studied musicology at New York University with the modernist composer
Stefan Wolpe, she said.
Sonja Pockriss said her husband was versatile, broadening his formal
education in music with an ability to improvise. That talent was in
demand for live TV in the 1950s and `60s and helped him land gigs on
top programs starring Jack Paar, Milton Berle and Martha Raye, she
said.
"He ran from one studio to another," his wife said.
Ray Arthur
HARTFORD, Conn. — Paul Vance remembers calling his friend and fellow
songwriter Lee Pockriss more than 50 years ago to share the lyrics of
a song he had just written: "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot
Bikini."
"Lee, I said, I have an idea," he recalled Friday. "He went crazy. By
the time he got to my office he had 90 percent of the tune written."
The song, which was recorded by 16-year-old teen idol Brian Hyland,
surged to No. 1 on the Billboard charts in August 1960 and has been
pop culture staple ever since.
Pockriss, who wrote other hit songs for an eager, youthful post-World
War II generation, died in Connecticut this week after a long illness.
He was 87.
His wife, Sonja Pockriss, confirmed his death on Friday. She said he
died at home in Bridgewater on Tuesday.
"Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" — about a shy young
woman in a skimpy bathing suit — has been used in such movies as
"Sister Act 2" and "Revenge of the Nerds II" and was more recently
revived in a yogurt commercial.
Pockriss, who also worked in musical theater, co-wrote several songs
with Vance, including "Catch a Falling Star" in 1957.
Vance, 82, said Pockriss did an excellent job on their collaborations.
"He was a very talented composer, a great composer, the opposite of
me," he told The Associated Press on Friday. "He knew music inside
out. I don't know one note of music."
Vance was erroneously reported as dead five years ago because of the
death of an Ormond Beach, Fla., man who had falsely claimed to have
written "Itsy Bitsy" under the name Paul Vance. The real Vance was
able to prove that it was he, not Paul Van Valkenburgh, who had
written the song.
Vance, who lives in Boca Raton, Fla., said Pockriss also worked in
musical theater and wrote the music for the 1963 Broadway show
"Tovarich," for which Vivien Leigh won the Tony Award for best actress
in a musical.
Pockriss was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Jan. 20, 1924, his wife said.
He served as a cryptographer, writing in code to guide Army Air Force
planes over the Pacific during World War II, she said. Pockriss
studied musicology at New York University with the modernist composer
Stefan Wolpe, she said.
Sonja Pockriss said her husband was versatile, broadening his formal
education in music with an ability to improvise. That talent was in
demand for live TV in the 1950s and `60s and helped him land gigs on
top programs starring Jack Paar, Milton Berle and Martha Raye, she
said.
"He ran from one studio to another," his wife said.
Ray Arthur
The Bloomfield Bloviator
Nov 18, 2011, 5:44:52 PM11/18/11
to
On Nov 18, 2:27 pm, "t...@iwvisp.com" <t...@iwvisp.com> wrote:
> ap.com...
>
> HARTFORD, Conn. — Paul Vance remembers calling his friend and fellow
> songwriter Lee Pockriss more than 50 years ago to share the lyrics of
> a song he had just written: "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot
Can you imagine?
> ap.com...
>
> HARTFORD, Conn. — Paul Vance remembers calling his friend and fellow
> songwriter Lee Pockriss more than 50 years ago to share the lyrics of
> a song he had just written: "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot
The guy's main accomplishment in life was writing that piece of shit
song.
Michael Pendragon
Nov 18, 2011, 5:51:34 PM11/18/11
to
B) It's a helluva lot more than you've ever accomplished.
BobbyM
Nov 18, 2011, 7:23:49 PM11/18/11
to
"Leader of the Laundromat", "My Heart Is an Open Book" & "Johnny Angel".
Sharx3335
Nov 18, 2011, 7:33:50 PM11/18/11
to
"The Bloomfield Bloviator" <Sav...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:1ae4a901-3a01-4fac...@n35g2000yqf.googlegroups.com...
of the Jersey Shore glory hole establishments.
tr...@iwvisp.com
Nov 18, 2011, 7:45:37 PM11/18/11
to
could write. And, I give him a pass on based on "Catch a Falling
Star."
Ray Arthur
The Bloomfield Bloviator
Nov 18, 2011, 8:01:46 PM11/18/11
to
"Bikini" and never even mentioned most of the other things he wrote.
Sweet Cream Swan
Nov 18, 2011, 9:58:41 PM11/18/11
to
On Nov 18, 2:51 pm, Michael Pendragon
Eh, and it's not the ONLY thing he wrote either. Great song btw.
Just swam in here..[check email:)]
Sweet Cream Swan
-carring some boxtops to get their letter.
Just swam in here..[check email:)]
Sweet Cream Swan
-carring some boxtops to get their letter.
Roger Ford
Nov 19, 2011, 12:31:54 AM11/19/11
to
On Sat, 19 Nov 2011 09:23:49 +0900, BobbyM <massey...@hotmail.com>
wrote:
He also co-wrote the vocal version of the huge "Calcutta" hit as by
The Four Preps and was part responsible for two particularly annoying
big hits of later years----The Cuff Links' "Tracy" and Clint Holmes'
"Playground In My Mind"
ROGER FORD
-----------------------
"Spam Free Zone" - to combat unwanted automatic spamming I have added
an extra "b" in my e-mail address (mari...@bblueyonder.co.uk).
Please delete same before responding.Thank you!
wrote:
The Four Preps and was part responsible for two particularly annoying
big hits of later years----The Cuff Links' "Tracy" and Clint Holmes'
"Playground In My Mind"
ROGER FORD
-----------------------
"Spam Free Zone" - to combat unwanted automatic spamming I have added
an extra "b" in my e-mail address (mari...@bblueyonder.co.uk).
Please delete same before responding.Thank you!
The Bloomfield Bloviator
Nov 19, 2011, 12:41:00 AM11/19/11
to
On Nov 19, 12:31 am, maria...@bblueyonder.co.uk (Roger Ford) wrote:
>
> He also co-wrote the vocal version of the huge "Calcutta" hit as by
> The Four Preps
It's awful, and just to clarify, the vocal version was not huge.
>
> He also co-wrote the vocal version of the huge "Calcutta" hit as by
> The Four Preps
Dean F.
Nov 19, 2011, 12:39:54 AM11/19/11
to
> The guy's main accomplishment in life was writing that piece of shit
> song.
Not to mention dying in Hartford. Talk about redundant!
> song.
Roger Ford
Nov 19, 2011, 12:56:19 AM11/19/11
to
On Fri, 18 Nov 2011 21:41:00 -0800 (PST), The Bloomfield Bloviator
<Sav...@aol.com> wrote:
I thought I chose my wording carefully enough that my meaning was
clear. The "Calcutta" song was a huge hit and The Four Preps did a
vocal version of it.
<Sav...@aol.com> wrote:
clear. The "Calcutta" song was a huge hit and The Four Preps did a
vocal version of it.
RWC
Nov 19, 2011, 10:43:05 AM11/19/11
to
On Fri, 18 Nov 2011 16:45:37 -0800 (PST), "tr...@iwvisp.com"
<tr...@iwvisp.com> wrote:
>> On 11/19/2011 7:44 AM, The Bloomfield Bloviator wrote:
>>
>> > The guy's main accomplishment in life was writing that piece of shit
>> > song.
>>
<tr...@iwvisp.com> wrote:
>> On 11/19/2011 7:44 AM, The Bloomfield Bloviator wrote:
>>
>> > The guy's main accomplishment in life was writing that piece of shit
>> > song.
>>
>None are in my Top 100. ALL are 100 times better than anything I
>could write.
>And, I give him a pass on based on "Catch a Falling Star."
>
Nice one, Ray.
>could write.
>And, I give him a pass on based on "Catch a Falling Star."
>
SixStringStu
Nov 20, 2011, 9:46:33 AM11/20/11
to
"The Bloomfield Bloviator" <Sav...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:1ae4a901-3a01-4fac...@n35g2000yqf.googlegroups.com...
Some cudd for you to chew on:
Negativity and condemnation are the inner contaminants of the soul.
I think you have let your attitude imprison you in a self inposed cage
covered in windowshades. That was a great song in it's time and continues to
be played, even if just for advertising, which speaks to it's marketability.
Try to be more positive and less confrontational.
Jan Dean
Nov 20, 2011, 8:04:36 PM11/20/11
to
Smile on your brother
Everybody Get Together
Try to love one another
Right now
Right now
Right now
0 new messages