AllMusic journalist Jason Ankeny said: "Hyland's puppy-love pop virtually defined the sound and sensibility of bubblegum during the pre-Beatles era.

[1] Hyland was eventually signed by Kapp Records as a solo artist and released his debut single, "Rosemary", in late 1959.

[1] In August 1960, at the age of 16, Hyland scored his first and biggest hit single, "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini", written by Vance and Pockriss.

[3][4] Hyland moved on to ABC-Paramount Records, where he began working with the songwriting and production team of Gary Geld and Peter Udell, and further hits followed with "Let Me Belong to You" and "I'll Never Stop Wanting You".

[1] Hyland appeared on national television programs such as American Bandstand and The Jackie Gleason Show, and toured both internationally and around America with Dick Clark in the Caravan of Stars.

[7] In response to the event, Hyland wrote the song "Mail Order Gun", which he recorded and eventually released on his 1970 eponymous album.

[9] An album released in 1964 featured numbers that hearkened back to the 1950s, including such hits as "Pledging My Love" and "Moments to Remember"—at a time when The Beatles and other British Invasion acts were drowning out American artists.

3 on the 1970 U.S. pop chart, making it the second-biggest hit of his career, selling over one million copies and being certified gold by the RIAA in January 1971.

[11] Two of his previous hits, "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini" and "Sealed with a Kiss", were also awarded gold discs.

By 1977, he and his family had settled in New Orleans, and in 1979 the In a State of Bayou album, on which he had worked with Allen Toussaint, was issued by the Private Stock label.

[12] Sixty years after the release of "Sealed with a Kiss", Hyland reunited with Peter Udell, who invited him to record "A Little Bit of Christmas Time".

[14][15] His former wife Rosmari co-wrote songs and performed with him as a back-up singer and percussionist; their son, Bodi, was their drummer.