Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke

Songs that become hits, after being in commercials.

I read a story in the New York Times the other day, about the song for the Coke commercial from 1972. I remember as a kid being moved by that tune. You'd hear it around the holidays, with the kids singing "I'd like to teach the world to sing/in perfect harmony."

The story said the song reached #7 on the charts, after it was reworked to remove the brand references.

And, in the mid-60s, the T-Bones had a hit with a remake of "No Matter What Shape (Your Stomach's In)" from an Alka-Seltzer commercial. Although now, people are probably more familiar with the catchier jingle of "plop plop/fizz fizz/oh what a relief it is." I blogged a few weeks ago about the jingle writer that wrote that who recently passed away.

Well, it's happened again. No, not another catchy Alka Seltzer spot. But, a hit song from a commercial.

The band Lifehouse's singer, Jason Wade, did a song called "From Where You Are," which was used in an Allstate commercial.

It got so much exposure on the commercial, that it was made available on iTunes, where it sold well enough to hit #40 on the Billboard charts.

That may seem weird to some, but this is the computer age and downloads, and weird things happen. Hell, that horrible Chocolate Rain song got two million hits.

And I still can't get it out of my head.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Five new golden locals

San Diego rocks the rockies

I read a story in the New York Times the other day, about the song for the Coke commercial from 1972. I remember as a kid being moved by that tune. You'd hear it around the holidays, with the kids singing "I'd like to teach the world to sing/in perfect harmony."

The story said the song reached #7 on the charts, after it was reworked to remove the brand references.

And, in the mid-60s, the T-Bones had a hit with a remake of "No Matter What Shape (Your Stomach's In)" from an Alka-Seltzer commercial. Although now, people are probably more familiar with the catchier jingle of "plop plop/fizz fizz/oh what a relief it is." I blogged a few weeks ago about the jingle writer that wrote that who recently passed away.

Well, it's happened again. No, not another catchy Alka Seltzer spot. But, a hit song from a commercial.

The band Lifehouse's singer, Jason Wade, did a song called "From Where You Are," which was used in an Allstate commercial.

It got so much exposure on the commercial, that it was made available on iTunes, where it sold well enough to hit #40 on the Billboard charts.

That may seem weird to some, but this is the computer age and downloads, and weird things happen. Hell, that horrible Chocolate Rain song got two million hits.

And I still can't get it out of my head.

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Writers Get No Love (even in death)

Next Article

Locally Produced Hollies Documentary Gets BigScreen Debut Sept. 22

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader