Although I am in the middle of preparing for my conference next weekend, I am constantly checking in on the status of my dear friends on SearchWarp. While checking out the latest stats, I couldn't help but notice that Bruce wanted to teach the world to sing.
The first thing that popped in my mind was the Christmas commercial from Coca-Cola during the 1970's.
Thanks to Bruce, I have been completely distracted and haven't been able to refocus on my very important preparation efforts. As a result, I had to stop what I was doing and write this little ditty in hopes of getting back on task.
Without further ado, I dedicate the following to my dearly beloved friend Bruce.
I'd like to buy the world a home and furnish it with love
Grow apple tress and honey bees and snow white turtle doves.
I'd like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony
I'd like to buy the world a Coke and keep it company
That's the real thing
What the world wants today (Coca-Cola)
Is the real thing.
I'd like to teach the world to sing (Sing with me)
In perfect harmony.
I'd like to buy the world a Coke and keep it company
That's the real thing.
Curiosity got the best of me and I wasn't satisfied with the singing of this heartwarming jingle. Therefore, I did a little searching, not soul searching, as I should be, but internet searching-or surfing as the correct term goes.
Did you know that the birth of this song came because of the ending of the Coca-Cola Company's "Things go better with Coke" campaign?--very interesting stuff.
Bill Backer, the creative director for the Coca-cola account, birthed this little jingle on a trip to London on January 18, 1971. He teamed up with a couple of other songwriters, whose job was to write songs and arrange radio commercials for the company.
These songs were to be performed by then popular singing group, the New Seekers.
Anyway, on this trip to London, there was such a heavy fog that the plane was forced to land at Shannon Airport in Ireland. The passengers were not happy because they had to share rooms at the now crowded hotel. Despite the uncomfortable evening, the next morning many of the passengers were sharing stories and laughing while drinking a Coke.
And here you have it; in his own words, Bill recalls that day.
"In that moment…I began to see a bottle of Coca-Cola as more than a drink...I began to see the familiar words, "Let's have a Coke," as a subtle way of saying, "Let's keep each other company for a little while." (From the book, The Care and Feeding of Ideas-New York: Times Books/Random House, 1993.)
Having to remain in Ireland due to the fog, Bill Backer met up with Billy Davis and Roger Book to finish the musical arrangement for this new song.
There is a whole lot more to this story, but I just don't have the time to share it today.
Now that I have this out of my system, I can get back to work.
Thanks for the break Bruce. I really would like you to teach me to sing--I'm going to go to the refrigerator and serve myself a big, ice-cold glass of Coke.
Come on, everybody sing along with Bruce -- I'd like to teach the world to sing....
You know, there just might be a place for this song in these trying times.
Source: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ccmphtml/colaadv.html
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© Teresa Ortiz
