In the 1960's Coca
Cola recorded at least 50 commercials with rock & pop stars of the day
singing that "things go better with Coca Cola," or variations. These
were the big names of the day. Lesley Gore, as far as I know, recorded the
"Things Go Better" ad in three lengths: 30, 60 and 90 seconds. The
90-second ad was actually released on a 45 rpm record, given out for promotion.
It also featured Roy Orbison, The Drifters and Los Bravos. This was good stuff,
and that disc today is usually in around the $40 range. In 1967 more
commercials were produced and Lesley got another one, usually called "Her
Little Sister," done in 60 and 90 second versions. I do not believe this
one or the others done then were pressed on vinyl. I've read that both of
Lesley's songs were written by the team of Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield,
and their sound fit that completely. As I could not find all three of these on
YouTube I put them together in this medley.
Things Go Better
With Coca Cola, 90 seconds
Her Little Sister,
60 seconds
Her Little Sister,
90 seconds
And, I don't want to leave out our other lesbian diva of the 60's, Dusty Springfield. Her contribution to the music of commercials was in 1967 for a product called Great Shakes, which was a powder added to milk to make it into a milkshake. That company also recruited a number of popular acts, including The Tokens, The Yardbirds, The Who, The Chiffons, The Happenings, and others. Fortunately, there was already a video slide show on YouTube for this ad, and it can be found on a 2011 CD as a bonus track, on the Dusty collection of rarities, "Heart & Soul."
This one can be found on vinyl, on what is probably a late 1970's pressing, collecting a number of these type of ads.
And people thought Britney, Beyonce and Madonna were sell-outs when they did "Pepsi" commercials? There's nothing new under the sun... Jx
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