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Richard Trentlage, 87, jingle writer (Oscar Meyer Weiner, Buckle Up for Safety)
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That Derek
Sep 29, 2016, 3:47:59 PM9/29/16
to
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/richard-trentlage-dead-oscar-mayer-933802
10:50 AM PDT 9/29/2016
by Mike Barnes
His simple four-line tune is believed to be the longest-running advertising jingle in history.
Richard Trentlage, whose everlasting claim to fame was writing "The Oscar Mayer Wiener Song," thought to the longest-running advertising jingle ever, has died. He was 87.
Trentlage, a professional jungle writer, died Sept. 21 in Libertyville, Ill., his family announced.
The Chicago native also was responsible for "Wow! It sure doesn't taste like tomato juice," for V-8; "Buckle up for safety, buckle up!" for a National Safety Council spot for using seat belts; and "McDonald's is your kind of place!" his relatives noted. But none of these has the lasting impact of his ditty for Oscar Mayer.
Trentlage learned about a jingle contest that the meat products company was having less than 24 hours before a deadline, but that was more than enough time for him to pen these four lines:
"Oh I'd love to be an Oscar Mayer Wiener
That is what I truly wish to be
'Cause if I were an Oscar Mayer Wiener
Everyone would be in love with me."
"The Oscar Mayer Wiener Song" debuted in 1963 and was in use for more than 50 years. He received residuals all along, and the tune "was the biggest thrill I've had in my life," he told the Chicago Tribune in 1998.
Trentlage, a longtime resident of Fox River Grove, Ill., often employed his children to provide the voices for his jingles on audition tapes and in on-air sessions.
"We were always getting out of school to hop a train and meet our dad at a Chicago recording studio," his daughter Linda said in the family obituary. "We never thought that was unusual. It was just part of our regular lifestyle. And it had no negative effect on our grades."
Survivors also include his wife of 33 years, Jacqueline, his other children David, Tom and Becky, and 19 grandchildren.
10:50 AM PDT 9/29/2016
by Mike Barnes
His simple four-line tune is believed to be the longest-running advertising jingle in history.
Richard Trentlage, whose everlasting claim to fame was writing "The Oscar Mayer Wiener Song," thought to the longest-running advertising jingle ever, has died. He was 87.
Trentlage, a professional jungle writer, died Sept. 21 in Libertyville, Ill., his family announced.
The Chicago native also was responsible for "Wow! It sure doesn't taste like tomato juice," for V-8; "Buckle up for safety, buckle up!" for a National Safety Council spot for using seat belts; and "McDonald's is your kind of place!" his relatives noted. But none of these has the lasting impact of his ditty for Oscar Mayer.
Trentlage learned about a jingle contest that the meat products company was having less than 24 hours before a deadline, but that was more than enough time for him to pen these four lines:
"Oh I'd love to be an Oscar Mayer Wiener
That is what I truly wish to be
'Cause if I were an Oscar Mayer Wiener
Everyone would be in love with me."
"The Oscar Mayer Wiener Song" debuted in 1963 and was in use for more than 50 years. He received residuals all along, and the tune "was the biggest thrill I've had in my life," he told the Chicago Tribune in 1998.
Trentlage, a longtime resident of Fox River Grove, Ill., often employed his children to provide the voices for his jingles on audition tapes and in on-air sessions.
"We were always getting out of school to hop a train and meet our dad at a Chicago recording studio," his daughter Linda said in the family obituary. "We never thought that was unusual. It was just part of our regular lifestyle. And it had no negative effect on our grades."
Survivors also include his wife of 33 years, Jacqueline, his other children David, Tom and Becky, and 19 grandchildren.
Bryan Styble
Sep 29, 2016, 5:32:37 PM9/29/16
to
Back in southwest suburban St. Louis in early 1968, a transfer student from the South who proudly (and loudly) supported George Wallace's insurgent presidential campaign, was heard more than once--by me and other fellow students--while strolling down the hallway of the Lindbergh 8th Grade Center singing what he called his "Alabama Trooper Song", sung to the tune of the late Trentiage's familiar jingle:
Oh, I wish I was an Alabama trooper,
That is what I'd really like to be.
'Cause if I was an Alabama trooper
I could shoot the ------s legally!
As far as I know, no one ever decked him for it, although admittedly, there were precisely zero blacks at the Center that tumultuous election year.
BRYAN STYBLE/Florida
Oh, I wish I was an Alabama trooper,
That is what I'd really like to be.
'Cause if I was an Alabama trooper
I could shoot the ------s legally!
As far as I know, no one ever decked him for it, although admittedly, there were precisely zero blacks at the Center that tumultuous election year.
BRYAN STYBLE/Florida
Bryan Styble
Sep 29, 2016, 5:42:51 PM9/29/16
to
Incidentally, I'm dubious that the Oscar Meyer jingle was THAT much more ubiquitous than the late Trentiage's V-8 line about it sure not tasting like tomato juice, which also had and continues to have considerable currency.
Maybe as a daily V-8 consumer I'm biased, but the V-8 ad campaign had a HUGE edge over the OM lyrics, in that it actually referred to the product's unique taste, whereas the OM lyrics, as catchy as they were, merely promulgated the notion that kids--invariably the jingle's vocalists--would enjoy the franks.
And wasn't that memorable National Safety Council line actually, "Buckle up for safety, everybody buckle up!" ?
BRYAN STYBLE/Florida
Maybe as a daily V-8 consumer I'm biased, but the V-8 ad campaign had a HUGE edge over the OM lyrics, in that it actually referred to the product's unique taste, whereas the OM lyrics, as catchy as they were, merely promulgated the notion that kids--invariably the jingle's vocalists--would enjoy the franks.
And wasn't that memorable National Safety Council line actually, "Buckle up for safety, everybody buckle up!" ?
BRYAN STYBLE/Florida
MJ Emigh
Sep 29, 2016, 10:46:23 PM9/29/16
to
He obviously wrote lyrics that stuck in the heads of consumers, but what of the music? The McDonald's song was certainly based on "Down By The Riverside." The safety belt music was from one of those "support the troops" type of song during WWII, the name of which escapes me. Anybody know about the Oscar Meyer tune? Is it possible that he wrote that himself, or does someone here recognize it's origin?
That Derek
Sep 30, 2016, 12:16:30 AM9/30/16
to
>> The safety belt music was from one of those "support the troops" type of song during WWII, the name of which escapes me.
"Buckle Down, Winsocki" which was about a losing college football team from the musical "Best Foot Forward" (circa 1941) -- the musical that made Nancy Walker somewhat of a star who achieved her greatest fame in 1970s.
Here's a YouTube link with the original song performed by Fred Waring (the blender guy) and His Pennsylvanians:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyOXCh3whUc
David Samuel Barr
Sep 30, 2016, 12:41:26 AM9/30/16
to
On 9/29/2016 5:42 PM, Bryan Styble wrote:
> Incidentally, I'm dubious that the Oscar Meyer
> jingle was THAT much more ubiquitous than the
> late Trentiage's V-8 line about it sure not
> tasting like tomato juice, which also had and
> continues to have considerable currency.
YMMV. I haven't heard the V-8 line in decades
> Incidentally, I'm dubious that the Oscar Meyer
> jingle was THAT much more ubiquitous than the
> late Trentiage's V-8 line about it sure not
> tasting like tomato juice, which also had and
> continues to have considerable currency.
(and it was always a tag line, not in a jingle),
while the Oscar Mayer song can still be heard
routinely not only in ads of recent vintage but
in schools, playgrounds and other venues (though
often with variant lyrics attached to the tune).
> Maybe as a daily V-8 consumer I'm biased, but
> the V-8 ad campaign had a HUGE edge over the
> OM lyrics, in that it actually referred to the
> product's unique taste, whereas the OM lyrics,
> as catchy as they were, merely promulgated the
> notion that kids--invariably the jingle's
> vocalists--would enjoy the franks.
trying to find foods for their picky eaters....
> And wasn't that memorable National Safety Council
> line actually, "Buckle up for safety, everybody
> buckle up!" ?
Buckle up for safety, buckle up!
Pull your seat belt snug, give an extra tug,
Buckle up for safety, buckle up!
Buckle up for safety, buckle up!
Buckle up for safety, always buckle up!
Buckle up for safety, buckle up!
Show the world you care by the belt you wear,
Buckle up for safety, when you're driving buckle up!
Buckle up for safety, buckle up!
Put your mind at ease, tell your riders, please
Get your seat belts buckled, everybody buckle up!
Buckle up for safety, everybody buckle up!
written by Hugh Martin & Ralph Blane for
the 1941 Broadway/1943 MGM musical "Best
Foot Forward" (it's a football fight song,
not a "support the troops" song, predating
the US entry into WWII). As far as I can
determine, the Oscar Meyer jingle tune was
wholly original to Trentlage.
That Derek
Sep 30, 2016, 12:16:47 PM9/30/16
to
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/30/us/richard-d-trentlage-oscar-mayer-wiener-song-author-dies.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fobituaries&action=click&contentCollection=obituaries®ion=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront
U.S.
Richard D. Trentlage, 87, Who Wrote ‘The Oscar Mayer Wiener Song,’ Dies
By CHRISTOPHER MELE
SEPT. 29, 2016
The name Richard D. Trentlage may not roll off the tongues of most Americans, but generations of them, for good or ill, can no doubt sing along with some of the catchiest advertising jingles that he wrote for companies like Oscar Mayer and McDonald’s.
Especially this one:
“Oh, I wish I were an Oscar Mayer wiener/That is what I’d truly like to be/’Cause if I were an Oscar Mayer wiener/Everyone would be in love with me.”
Mr. Trentlage died on Sept. 21 at the Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, Ill. He was 87. His daughter Linda Bruun, said the cause was congestive heart failure.
Mr. Trentlage’s melodies, lyrics and tag lines were practically a hit parade in the advertising world, many of them with the mental stickiness of flypaper; among others, he wrote “McDonald’s is your kind of place”; “Wow! It sure doesn’t taste like tomato juice,” for V8; and “Buckle up for safety, buckle up!” for a National Safety Council promotion for using seatbelts.
“The Oscar Mayer Wiener Song” had its beginnings in September 1962, when Mr. Trentlage, who worked for large advertising agencies like McCann-Erickson and D’Arcy before founding his own company, learned that Oscar Mayer, the food giant known for its deli meats and frankfurters, was sponsoring a contest for a wiener jingle.
He heard about the contest only the day before the deadline, but he quickly got to work. At home that night, he started to tap out ideas on a typewriter. Inspiration struck when he remembered one of his sons talking about a friend who was a “dirt bike hot dog,” he told The Wisconsin State Journal in 2012.
“I wish I could be a dirt bike hot dog,” his son said, using a term for someone who is cool.
Thus inspired, Mr. Trentlage type the first line to the jingle, which he completed within an hour. It debuted in 1963 and became the company’s signature advertising tune in 21 English-speaking countries until 2010, when it was retired.
An animated television commercial featured children marching and singing the praises of Oscar Mayer.
Mr. Trentlage, who lived in Fox River Grove, Ill., was a songwriter and musician who played a banjo-ukulele, a hybrid instrument that combined a banjo-like body with a ukulele neck.
While his success with Oscar Mayer was long-lasting, it hardly happened overnight, Ms. Bruun recalled in an interview on Thursday. One of his son’s, David, then 11, and Ms. Bruun, then 9, recorded the jingle in a small recording studio set up in the family’s living room.
Mr. Trentlage delivered the recording to the Oscar Mayer headquarters in Wisconsin, but it was a year before the jingle was selected as the winning entry, Ms. Bruun said. The company played it before a series of focus groups, and “that’s the one that surfaced over and over” as the favorite, she said.
When the song debuted on a Houston radio station in 1963, listeners, thinking it was a pop tune, requested that it be played repeatedly, Judann Pollack, deputy editor at Advertising Age, said on Thursday.
Over the years there have been perhaps 25 advertising tag lines or jingles that have remained truly memorable, she said, and “this is definitely one of them.”
John H. Murphy II, a professor emeritus at the Stan Richards School of Advertising and Public Relations at the University of Texas in Austin, said in an email that the jingle was remarkable for “its longevity and uncanny freshness” after so many years.
Mr. Trentlage’s work was “one of the great single accomplishments in advertising history,” he wrote, adding, “As far as jingles go, the OM jingle is one of the best all-time.”
The song became part of the fabric of American culture, with airings on the children’s television show “Captain Kangaroo,” on the cartoon show “The Jetsons” and on an episode of the “The Simpsons” in the 1990s, according to the Wisconsin Historical Society, which has among its possessions Mr. Trentlage’s banjo-ukulele.
Ms. Bruun noted that her father continued to collect residuals on the jingle decades after it was first broadcast. Such tunes generally have a shelf life of eight to 13 weeks, partly because of the requirement of such payments, she said.
Richard Dale Trentlage was born on Dec. 27, 1928, in Chicago, to Richard B. Trentlage and the former Edna Nossum.
Besides Ms. Bruun, his survivors include his wife of 33 years, Jacqueline; his sons David and Tom; another daughter, Becky Trentlage; his stepdaughters, Susan Jennings and Patricia Kelley; a stepson, Jeffrey Davis; 19 grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren.
His first wife, Vivian Atherley, died before him, as did another son, Terry, in 1997.
His success led him to found his own company, Adver/Sonic Productions in Wisconsin.
Mr. Trentlage discovered a passion for music early and began taking guitar lessons when he was 12. He began writing jingles as a senior at Calumet High School in Chicago, according to an obituary by his family.
His first effort was on behalf of a fictional product, Modern Plastic Brooms. His idea was to create a sponsor for a high school talent show in the form of a radio program. The jingle was used for the opening and closing commercials.
Even that jingle had staying power. At his high school class’s 50th-anniversary reunion in 1997, his former classmates gathered round and sang it.
U.S.
Richard D. Trentlage, 87, Who Wrote ‘The Oscar Mayer Wiener Song,’ Dies
By CHRISTOPHER MELE
SEPT. 29, 2016
The name Richard D. Trentlage may not roll off the tongues of most Americans, but generations of them, for good or ill, can no doubt sing along with some of the catchiest advertising jingles that he wrote for companies like Oscar Mayer and McDonald’s.
Especially this one:
“Oh, I wish I were an Oscar Mayer wiener/That is what I’d truly like to be/’Cause if I were an Oscar Mayer wiener/Everyone would be in love with me.”
Mr. Trentlage died on Sept. 21 at the Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, Ill. He was 87. His daughter Linda Bruun, said the cause was congestive heart failure.
Mr. Trentlage’s melodies, lyrics and tag lines were practically a hit parade in the advertising world, many of them with the mental stickiness of flypaper; among others, he wrote “McDonald’s is your kind of place”; “Wow! It sure doesn’t taste like tomato juice,” for V8; and “Buckle up for safety, buckle up!” for a National Safety Council promotion for using seatbelts.
“The Oscar Mayer Wiener Song” had its beginnings in September 1962, when Mr. Trentlage, who worked for large advertising agencies like McCann-Erickson and D’Arcy before founding his own company, learned that Oscar Mayer, the food giant known for its deli meats and frankfurters, was sponsoring a contest for a wiener jingle.
He heard about the contest only the day before the deadline, but he quickly got to work. At home that night, he started to tap out ideas on a typewriter. Inspiration struck when he remembered one of his sons talking about a friend who was a “dirt bike hot dog,” he told The Wisconsin State Journal in 2012.
“I wish I could be a dirt bike hot dog,” his son said, using a term for someone who is cool.
Thus inspired, Mr. Trentlage type the first line to the jingle, which he completed within an hour. It debuted in 1963 and became the company’s signature advertising tune in 21 English-speaking countries until 2010, when it was retired.
An animated television commercial featured children marching and singing the praises of Oscar Mayer.
Mr. Trentlage, who lived in Fox River Grove, Ill., was a songwriter and musician who played a banjo-ukulele, a hybrid instrument that combined a banjo-like body with a ukulele neck.
While his success with Oscar Mayer was long-lasting, it hardly happened overnight, Ms. Bruun recalled in an interview on Thursday. One of his son’s, David, then 11, and Ms. Bruun, then 9, recorded the jingle in a small recording studio set up in the family’s living room.
Mr. Trentlage delivered the recording to the Oscar Mayer headquarters in Wisconsin, but it was a year before the jingle was selected as the winning entry, Ms. Bruun said. The company played it before a series of focus groups, and “that’s the one that surfaced over and over” as the favorite, she said.
When the song debuted on a Houston radio station in 1963, listeners, thinking it was a pop tune, requested that it be played repeatedly, Judann Pollack, deputy editor at Advertising Age, said on Thursday.
Over the years there have been perhaps 25 advertising tag lines or jingles that have remained truly memorable, she said, and “this is definitely one of them.”
John H. Murphy II, a professor emeritus at the Stan Richards School of Advertising and Public Relations at the University of Texas in Austin, said in an email that the jingle was remarkable for “its longevity and uncanny freshness” after so many years.
Mr. Trentlage’s work was “one of the great single accomplishments in advertising history,” he wrote, adding, “As far as jingles go, the OM jingle is one of the best all-time.”
The song became part of the fabric of American culture, with airings on the children’s television show “Captain Kangaroo,” on the cartoon show “The Jetsons” and on an episode of the “The Simpsons” in the 1990s, according to the Wisconsin Historical Society, which has among its possessions Mr. Trentlage’s banjo-ukulele.
Ms. Bruun noted that her father continued to collect residuals on the jingle decades after it was first broadcast. Such tunes generally have a shelf life of eight to 13 weeks, partly because of the requirement of such payments, she said.
Richard Dale Trentlage was born on Dec. 27, 1928, in Chicago, to Richard B. Trentlage and the former Edna Nossum.
Besides Ms. Bruun, his survivors include his wife of 33 years, Jacqueline; his sons David and Tom; another daughter, Becky Trentlage; his stepdaughters, Susan Jennings and Patricia Kelley; a stepson, Jeffrey Davis; 19 grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren.
His first wife, Vivian Atherley, died before him, as did another son, Terry, in 1997.
His success led him to found his own company, Adver/Sonic Productions in Wisconsin.
Mr. Trentlage discovered a passion for music early and began taking guitar lessons when he was 12. He began writing jingles as a senior at Calumet High School in Chicago, according to an obituary by his family.
His first effort was on behalf of a fictional product, Modern Plastic Brooms. His idea was to create a sponsor for a high school talent show in the form of a radio program. The jingle was used for the opening and closing commercials.
Even that jingle had staying power. At his high school class’s 50th-anniversary reunion in 1997, his former classmates gathered round and sang it.
MJ Emigh
Sep 30, 2016, 12:38:53 PM9/30/16
to
On Thursday, September 29, 2016 at 11:16:30 PM UTC-5, That Derek wrote:
> "Buckle Down, Winsocki" which was about a losing college football team
Ohhhhh, yeah.... I may have been confusing it with "Over There." I know; wrong war. Thanks for that bit of info!
> "Buckle Down, Winsocki" which was about a losing college football team
MJ Emigh
Sep 30, 2016, 5:02:14 PM9/30/16
to
On Thursday, September 29, 2016 at 11:16:30 PM UTC-5, That Derek wrote:
> "Buckle Down, Winsocki"
But, are you sure it's not KNUCKLE Down, Winsocki?
> "Buckle Down, Winsocki"
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