Sealed with a Kiss and All the Great Hits: 1960-1962

Liner Note Author: Bob Fisher.
In the teen idol years before the Beatles ushered in a new era of rock music, singer Brian Hyland's "puppy love" songs essentially defined the bubblegum pop sound. His 1960 chart-topper "Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" turned the 16-year-old into a heartthrob pop sensation. Several other hits would follow, like "Let Me Belong to You" and "Sealed with a Kiss," the latter of which introduced the more country-based sound Hyland would employ later on in his career. While he would go on to reinvent himself in the coming decade, his greatest commercial successes came during the years featured on this two-disc set, Sealed with a Kiss and All the Great Hits: 1960-1962. Containing both his 1961 album The Bashful Blonde and 1962's Let Me Belong to You, this collection also includes all of his singles released during that period. Popular music may have gotten a lot more serious throughout the '60s, but there were both innocence and artistry to this type of pop that would never really be seen again. There are some real gems among Hyland's early songs, which show why he was one of the leading lights of the teen idol period. ~ Timothy Monger