Sealed With A Kiss

This archetypal American high-school teen love song was composed by Gary Geld and lyricist Peter Udell. The duo began their writing partnership in the early sixties and wrote over 100 songs together. One of their first songs was this, which they wrote in 1960 and was a hit for Brian Hyland two years later. Hyland said in 1000 UK #1 Hits by Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh, "Sealed With A Kiss was recorded about a year before I did it by The Four Voices, who had a sound like The Brothers Four. It dragged and didn't have any life in it, so it wasn't a hit. I told them we should do it. Gary Geld was a classically trained musician and he had been inspired to write it from a finger exercise for the piano."

This was Hyland's biggest hit in the UK, but 2 years earlier in the US at the age of 16, he enjoyed an American chart topper with "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini."

In 1989 Jason Donavon covered this, taking it to the top of the UK hits. He personally chose this as his follow up to "Too Many Broken Hearts," which also reached the top. Brian Hyland commented in 1000 UK #1 Hits, "I didn't mind his version-he got all the chords right."