The Complete Releases 1960-62

Brian Hyland was one of the good-looking teen stars to come to the fore in years after the initial impact of the rock ‘n’ roll explosion had dissipated somewhat and the moguls of Tin Pan Alley sought to recapture the musical high ground by launching artists who they felt would appeal to the broad middle-ground of record buyers. Recording initially in 1960 for Mickey Kapp’s Leader label, he switched to the main Kapp label when he had initial success with the classic pop novelty song “Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini”, a memorable classic of its kind on both sides of the Atlantic. He switched to ABC-Paramount in 1961, and working with the great songwriter/producers Peter Udell and Gary geld, had Top 5 successes with “Ginny Come Lately” and “Sealed With A Kiss”. This 40-track 2-CD set comprises all his releases during that hectic first three years of his career, including all his Leader, Kapp and ABC-Paramount A and B sides, plus all the album tracks for those labels which were not otherwise released as singles. It’s an evocative slice of pre-British Invasion pop.