Barry Manilow's Famous Fast Food Jingles
When you think of Barry Manilow, perhaps the melodies of hit songs like "Copacabana" flood your memory, but did you know that the singer-songwriter also sang and co-wrote some pretty catchy jingles? Per People, Manilow worked in the jingle industry when he was "a starving musician." He was the voice behind the first Dr. Pepper jingle, "The Most Original Soft Drink Ever In The Whole Wide World." Keeping with the soda theme, he also performed a jingle called "Feelin' Free" to advertise Pepsi in the 1970s.
Manilow also helped bring in customers at a couple of fast food joints. Back when KFC was still known as Kentucky Fried Chicken and before you couldn't help but think of McDonald's when hearing "ba da ba ba ba...," Manilow performed jingles for both fast food restaurants. KFC's "Get a Bucket of Chicken" encouraged busy families to head to KFC for dinner, while "You Deserve a Break Today" was designed to appeal to the go-go-go nature of society, inspiring everyone to take a break — at McDonald's, of course.
Manilow's KFC and McDonald's jingles are 70s classics
Barry Manilow's jingle for KFC debuted in the early 1970s and targeted those too busy to cook. Manilow sings, "There's barkin' at the kitchen/ yellin' in the hall/ ringin' at the doorbell/ poundin' on the wall/ kids out of sight/ and kids in the way/ no time to cook on this hectic day/ Come on, come on, come on/ Get a bucket of chicken/ Finger lickin' good/ Have a barrel of fun ... at Kentucky Fried Chicken."
On the other hand, it was Manilow's McDonald's jingle, that he called "the granddaddy of them all" (via Mental Floss). The lyrics go: "So much life to be lived/ So much reason to try/ And when you feel it you'll get/ A certain feeling inside." This refrain is followed by many "doo doo doos" before continuing: "Oh, you deserve a break today/so get up and get away/to McDonald's!" Despite the passion he seems to show for the fast food joint, at the time the jingle was recorded, People says Manilow had only ever eaten at a McDonald's once, stating the food gave him gas!