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Did you know? A music legend is behind some of the most famous commercial jingles of all time.<\/p>\n
Barry Manilow<\/a> is a Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter whose career has spanned seven decades. He\u2019s sold more than 85 million records as a solo artist, performing hits like \u201cCopacabana (At the Copa),\u201d \u201cMandy,\u201d \u201cCan\u2019t Smile Without You,\u201d \u201cI Write the Songs,\u201d \u201cMandy\u201d and \u201cLooks Like We Made It.\u201d<\/p>\n But he\u2019s also worked in writing music and lyrics for TV and radio advertisements. He reportedly<\/a> wrote the iconic Band-Aid song (\u201cI am stuck on Band-Aid brand, \u2019cause Band-Aid\u2019s stuck on me\u201c) in 1971, as well as jingles for McDonald\u2019s (\u201dYou Deserve a Break Today\u201d), KFC (\u201cFinger-Lickin\u2019 Good Day\u201d), Dr. Pepper (\u201cBe a Pepper\u201d), Pepsi (\u201cFeelin\u2019 Free\u201d) and even Green Bowlene toilet cleaner (\u201cBathroom Bowl Blues\u201d).<\/p>\n In 2019, Manilow revealed how little he was paid for his longest-running ditty: \u201cLike a Good Neighbor, State Farm is There.\u201d He received just $500 for the State Farm jingle in 1971, and hasn\u2019t seen a dime since.<\/p>\n \u201cYou get residuals if you\u2019re singing or talking on the commercial, but as a composer, you get a flat fee,\u201d Manilow told<\/a> the Television Academy. \u201cIt\u2019s been going for 45 years, but nobody expected a jingle to last that long. Same thing with Band-Aid. And $500 was great for me at that point.\u201d<\/p>\n While $500 in 1971 may be worth more than $4,000 when adjusted for inflation today, Manilow couldn\u2019t help joking in 2012 that the girl who sang the original version of the State Farm song \u201cis on her third Rolls-Royce.\u201d<\/p>\n So how did he do it? Manilow said he was given the company slogans for State Farm and Band-Aid, then had to \u201cwrite a catchy melody, something that will stick in listeners\u2019 ears in 15 seconds.\u201d Some of them became so catchy that they\u2019re still stuck in people\u2019s heads half a century later.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s my greatest hit!\u201d Manilow joked of the State Farm song.<\/p>\n State Farm Insurance: \u201cLike a Good Neighbor, State Farm is There\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n Manilow, 82, told the Television Academy that he got his start in 1965 when he was working in the CBS mailroom and became known as the \u201cpiano-playing mail boy.\u201d After delivering the mail and before going to night classes<\/a> at the New York College of Music and Juilliard, he\u2019d go into the television studio\u2019s rehearsal room and play on Yamaha grand pianos.<\/p>\n He also performed in bars and clubs, but credits commercial jingles with really launching his career. In addition to writing tunes for brands, he \u201cstarted to make some big money\u201d as a background singer in ads, including for Stridex acne products\u2019 \u201cGive Your Face Something to Smile About\u201d and \u201cRandy Newman\u2019s \u201cJoin the Pepsi People.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI learned the most about music working in the jingle industry. It was the best music college I could ever imagine,\u201d Manilow said<\/a> in 2009.<\/p>\n Band-Aid: \u201cI Am Stuck on Band-Aid Brand\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n Manilow\u2019s career came full circle in 2022 when he was asked to star in a Dr. Pepper ad for the soda company\u2019s Dark Berry flavor. He previously sang on the first-ever Dr. Pepper jingle (\u201cThe most original soft drink ever in the whole wide world\u201d) written by Newman in 1974, but now Manilow was the face of the brand.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought it was going to be the commercial that I did years ago,\u201d Manilow told People<\/a> magazine.<\/p>\n