Paul Vance

Paul Vance
Birth name	Joseph Paul Florio
Born	(1929-11-04)November 4, 1929 Brooklyn, New York,U.S.
Died	May 30, 2022(2022-05-30)(aged 92) West Palm Beach, Florida,U.S.
Genres	Pop,novelty songs
Occupation(s)	Songwriter,record producer
Labels	Columbia Records

Joseph Paul Florio(November 4, 1929 – May 30, 2022), known professionally asPaul Vance,was an Americansongwriterandrecord producer,primarily from the 1950s until the 1970s.

His most successful song compositions, all written withLee Pockriss,included "Catch a Falling Star","Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini",and"Tracy".

Career

He was born Joseph Paul Florio inBrooklyn,New York,United States on November 4, 1929.He started writing song lyrics in his early teens, before serving with theU.S. ArmyatFort Leavenworth, Kansas.

After opening anauto salvagebusiness in his twenties, he met composerLee Pockriss,and the pair started writing together. Pockriss described their working relationship as ideal - "He [Vance] understands the public, I understand the profession".They co-wrote thehitsong "Catch a Falling Star," recorded in 1957 byPerry Como,which topped Billboard's "Most Played By Jockeys" chart.It became one of Como's signature songs, and was the firstgold recordcertified by theRecording Industry Association of America.The song's success enabled Vance to become a full-time songwriter.

Another success, written with Pockriss, was "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini,"recorded in 1960 byBrian Hyland,which rose to number one on theBillboardHot 100chart.Vance got the idea for the lyrics of "Itsy Bitsy Bikini" because his daughter was too shy to wear abikiniin public.The song was a Top 10 hit in other countries around the world.

In all, Vance wrote over 300 songs, including recordings byJohnny Mathis,Paul Anka,andTommy James and the Shondells.Pockriss and Vance released a single in 1959 forColumbia Recordsas 'Lee and Paul,' a novelty tune called "The Chick."They also provided English lyrics for the song "Calcutta"."What Will Mary Say",aTop 10hit for the singerJohnny Mathisin 1963, was written by Vance withEddie Snyder.

Vance and Pockriss wrote a song titled "Leader Of The Laundromat," in 1964, the song was a spoof of the then-popular "Leader of the Pack"bythe Shangri-Las,and Vanceproducedarecordingof the track by atrioconsisting ofRon Dante,Tommy Wynn, and Vance's nephew Danny Jordan. Therecordwas released under the namethe Detergents,and its success led to an album,The Many Faces Of The Detergents,which Vance produced and for which he, along with Pockriss, penned all the songs. The release of "Leader of the Laundromat" earned a lawsuit against the group by "Leader Of The Pack" composersJeff Barry,Ellie Greenwich,andGeorge "Shadow" Morton.Dante would later work alongside Barry as lead vocalist forthe Archies.

Vance and Pockriss wrote "What's Going On in the Barn," in 1965, which Billy Thornhill recorded forWand Recordsas the B-side to his recording of "The Key," written by Pockriss andHal Hackady.The following year, Vance had a minor hit as a singer when his recording of "Dommage, Dommage (Too Bad, Too Bad)", intended as a demo, was released by Scepter Records.

Vance teamed up with Dante again in 1969 after the latter agreed to record ademoof the new Vance/Pockriss composition, "Tracy."Dante provided all the voices on the recording, both leads and backgrounds, and the single was released under the nameThe Cuff Links.Its success prompted Vance to bring Dante back into therecording studioto record an entire album's worth of songs, and the resultant LP, also titledTracy,was rush-released to capitalize on the popularity of the single. As with The Detergents' album, Vance produced the recording sessions and co-wrote all of the songs with Pockriss.

Vance and Pockriss penned "Playground in My Mind,"in 1972, which was recorded byClint Holmes,and became a 1973 #2 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, where it remained for 23 weeks. The single was awardedgold recordstatus on July 3, 1973. Vance's son, Philip, sang on therefrainon the recording along with Holmes. In 1974, Vance discovered singer/songwriter Joseph Nicoletti, later a successful singer of commercial jingles, and recorded "Changing Colors" with Nicoletti on RCA Records. Vance co-wrote and produced the song "Run Joey Run"forDavid Geddesin 1975; the song reached the top 5 on the Billboard charts that year. The female vocals on the song were provided by Vance's daughter Paula, who had earlier inspired "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini."The songwriting duo also wrote theballad,"I Haven't Got Anything Better To Do," first recorded byAstrud GilbertoandcoveredbyNatalie Cole,Esther Phillips,andDee Dee Warwick.

On April 14, 1980, Vance produced Andy Williams' recording of Vance and Tina Kaplan's penned "Christine, She's a Woman Now". for Columbia Records. The track remained in the vaults until February 2024.

Through the years, Vance continued to produce various recording artists, including Kathy Keates, who recorded, among other songs on theRCA Recordslabel,the hit single "I Think About You" withAl Martino.

In October 2009, Vance was nominated for induction into theSongwriters Hall of Fame.

Vance was also a successful owner ofharness racinghorses. According to theUnited States Trotting Associationhe owned or leased 167 horses during his career, including record winner Secret Service, trained by his son Joseph Vance.

Premature obituary

On September 6, 2006, a man named Paul van Valkenburgh ofOrmond Beach,Florida,died from complications oflung cancer.An obituary published inThe News-TimesofDanbury, Connecticutrepeated Van Valkenburgh's claim that he had written the song "Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka-Dot Bikini" under the pen name of Paul Vance, but that he had sold his rights to the song decades earlier.The report was picked up by theAssociated Press,which ran a short obituary of Vance based on both theNews-Timesobituary and information received from Van Valkenburgh's widow. The AP obituary was picked up by newspapers and other media outlets worldwide.

Vance contacted local media after viewing a report of his death on a local television news broadcast. He announced that he was still alive and was able to prove his identity to reporters with a stack ofroyaltychecks fromASCAPfor his songwriting. He told a reporter forThe New York Timesthat his relatives and friends, shocked by the Associated Press report, had called to check on him after the media reports, and that two racehorses he owned had been scratched from races based on the reports.Vance also told theTimesthat he was considering legal action, since licensees outside the United States might be confused by the false report of his death and discontinue making royalty payments. He was quoted as saying, "Believe me, if they think you’re dead, they ain’t going to send the money."

Memoir

In September 2014, after eight years in the making, Vance published his memoir, titledCatch a Falling Star.

Personal life and death

Vance resided inBoca Raton, Florida.His son, Philip, who sang the chorus of "Playground in my Mind" withClint Holmes,died on December 11, 2009, at age 44.

Vance died inWest Palm Beach, Floridaon May 30, 2022, at the age of 92.

External links

• Paul Vancediscography atDiscogs
• Paul VanceatIMDb