Biography
Paul Vance ranked among the top songwriters and producers during the bubblegum pop years, penning multiple major chart successes that included Brian Hyland’s “Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini,” the Cuff Links’ “Tracy,” and Clint Holmes’ “Playground of My Mind.” Born in Brooklyn, New York, on November 4, 1929, he first gained notice in 1957 by partnering with Brill Building colleague Lee Pockriss on “Catch a Falling Star,” which became a number one pop single for Perry Como the next spring. Vance attempted his own release the following year with “Hey! Now Mary” on the Kenco label, yet the single failed to chart. He rejoined Pockriss in 1960 for “Four Little Heels (The Clickety Clack Song),” a modest hit that featured sixteen-year-old Hyland. The later blockbuster “Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini” propelled Hyland to teen-idol fame while giving Vance and Pockriss their second number one; nevertheless the track typecast the pair as novelty specialists. Their next notable success arrived in 1964 with the Detergents’ parody “Leader of the Laundromat,” a send-up of “Leader of the Pack” that showcased vocals by Aldon Music session singer Ron Dante. Vance and Pockriss worked repeatedly with Dante for the rest of the decade, securing a minor hit on Dante’s solo track “Don’t Stand Up in a Canoe” before placing him as lead voice of their studio ensemble the Cuff Links, which reached the Top Ten in 1969 with “Tracy.” After Dante, already known as the lead singer on the Archies’ “Sugar Sugar,” departed for a solo album, Vance recruited rising songwriter and arranger Rupert Holmes to sing on the Cuff Links’ self-titled second LP, which scraped the lower reaches of the Billboard pop chart with “Run Sally Run.” Holmes also supplied lead vocals for Vance’s subsequent studio outfit the Street People. Their first single, “Bubblegum Has Come to Town,” had been prepared for Musicor when label president Art Talmadge demanded a rewrite to avoid bubblegum’s worsening reputation in the business. Retitled “Jennifer Tomkins,” the record climbed into the U.S. Top 40 in spring 1970. Resuming his collaboration with Pockriss, Vance achieved his last major success with Clint Holmes’ “Playground of My Mind.” The single had flopped on its mid-1972 release but later found favor on AM radio and climbed to number two during summer 1973. As bubblegum’s sales declined, Vance withdrew from the music business and eventually moved to Florida. In fall 2006 he appeared in national headlines when a man who had falsely asserted authorship of his songs passed away, leaving survivors bewildered and prompting numerous incorrect obituaries. Vance released his autobiography, Catch a Falling Star, in 2014. The authentic Paul Vance died on March 30, 2022, at a nursing home in West Palm Beach, Florida; he was ninety-two.
Albums
