Brian Hyland is an American pop recording artist who was particularly successful during the early 1960s and continued recording into the 1970s. Allmusic journalist Jason Ankeny states, \"Hyland's puppy-love pop virtually defined the sound and sensibility of bubblegum during the pre-Beatles era.\" Although his status as a teen idol faded, he went on to release several country-influenced albums and had additional chart hits later in his career.
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, (#8 in the UK) and sold almost a million copies in the first two months of its release, and over two million copies in total.
Hyland's other major hit during this period was 1962's \"Sealed with a Kiss\", which reached #3 in 1962 on both the American and UK Singles Chart. It stayed on the U.S. pop chart for eleven weeks. In 1975, \"Sealed With a Kiss\" was reissued as a single in the UK and became a surprise #7 hit.
Hyland went on to chart just two more Top 40 hits, \"Gypsy Woman\" written by Curtis Mayfield, and a cover of \"Lonely Teardrops\" in 1971. \"Gypsy Woman\" reached #3 on the 1970 U.S. pop chart, making it the second-biggest hit of his career, selling over one million copies, and being certified gold by the R.I.A.A. in January 1971
From 1960 to 1977, Hyland recorded a total of eleven albums for several different record companies. A twelfth album, Young Years, was a reissue.
