Catch A Falling Star: The Man Who Put The Yellow Polka Dots On the Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Bikini

Everyone knows the song, but very few people ever get to know the songwriter. In CATCH A FALLING, STAR, Paul Vance, the man who put the Yellow Polka Dots on the Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Bikini, one of the most gifted songwriters to come along in our lifetime recounts the extraordinary, intimate story of his life. At a young age, growing up in the mob infested streets and gutters of Brooklyn Paul knew that he was not like the other boys in his neighborhood. Although he had to be tough to survive, he did not want to be just another hood from the street. Acting impulsively, Paul quit school and left home in his early teens when he found himself having difficulty sitting still and concentrating on his schoolwork. He knew if he wanted to succeed in life, he would have to try harder. Vance was never diagnosed until much later in his life, with ADHD. That's when some of the problems he may have endured for a long time started to make sense. Although lacking a formal education and never learning how to play an instrument, nor read a musical note, Vance loved music. He realized he could write lyrics on any topic. From the day he wrote his first hit song Catch a Falling Star, recorded by Perry Como, Paul thrust himself into the music business as an award winning songwriter, producer and owner of his record label. With over 300 recorded songs, 20 Gold Records, and numerous nominations into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, Paul wrote beautiful ballads for Johnny Mathis, Perry Como, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett , Englebert Humpberdinck, Dean Martin , Jack Jones, Jerry Vale and numerous other artists. Pop songs for many of the 1960's Doo Wop groups, including the Playmates, the Cufflinks, the Detergents, the Tokens, and Tommy James and the Shondells. R&b and pop songs for the top contemporary artists of the '50s, '60s and '70s such the Drifters, Maxine Brown, Dee Dee Warwick, The Kingston Trio, Clint Holmes, Gene Pitney, The Four Lads, Little Anthony and the Imperials, Sarah Vaughan, Patti Page, The Shirelles , Doris Day, Shirley Bassey and Ella Fitzgerald. In 2006, stunned by a false report carried by the Associated Press and picked up by news outlets around the world, reporting that Paul Vance had died, Vance sat back and took a look at his life. That's when he decided to write his memoir. Vance, in his own words, takes you on an incredible journey from his childhood in Brooklyn, to the recording studios and Tin Pan Alley in New York City, all the way to the movie studios in Hollywood California on his road to success.