I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing

Infobox Single
Name = I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing


Artist = The New Seekers
Released = 1971
[Recorded =]
[Label =]
Writer = Roger Cook, Roger Greenaway, Bill Backer and Billy Davis
Producer = David Mackay
Chart position =
* #1 (UK Singles Chart)
* #1 (Japan Oricon Weekly Singles Chart)
* #1 (Ireland)
* #2 (Norway)
* #7 (United States "Billboard" Hot 100)
NoReviews = yes"I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony)" is a pop song which originated as an advertising jingle, produced by Billy Davis and sung by the Hillside Singers, for Coca-Cola, and was featured in 1971 as a TV commercial. The Hillside Singers' version was released as a successful single the same year; it reached #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #5 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart.

The New Seekers also had a hit with the song around the same time.

Origins

The song began life as a collaboration by UK hit songwriters Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway. The melody was based on a Cook/Greenway jingle originally called "Mom, True Love and Apple Pie", cite web
url = http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/heritage/pdf/cokelore/Heritage_CokeLore_HillTop.pdf
title = "I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke" - The Hilltop Story
accessdate = 2007-07-30
publisher = The Coca-Cola Company] ; a version of this called "True Love and Apple Pie" was recorded by Susan Shirley and released in 1971. After a twisting lawsuit the song was reworked by Cook, Greenaway, Coca-Cola with executives Bill Backer, and Billy Davis and recorded as a Coca-Cola radio commercial, with the lyric "I'd like to buy the world a Coke and keep it company." The idea originally came to Cook and Greenaway while plane delayed at Shannon Airport, Ireland who noticed fellow plane delayed travellers talking and joking over a vending machine dispensed Coca-Cola.

It was first aired as an American radio commercial on February 12, 1971, sparking public demand for its release as a single. Reworked by Bill Backer and Billy Davis to remove the brand name references, the single climbed to UK #1 and US #7 in 1971 and 1972.

The Coca-Cola Company waived royalties to the song and instead donated $80,000 in payments to UNICEF. The song has since been recorded over 75 times.

British band Oasis were sued after their recording Shakermaker borrowed its melody directly; they handed over $500,000 in damages.

TV commercial

The 1971 TV commercial "Hilltop" directed by Haskell Wexler [ [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/ccmphtml/colaadv.html The "Hilltop" Ad: The Story of a Commercial] ] featured young people from around the world singing on a hilltop outside Rome, Italy, and was so popular that the song (without the Coke references) became a hit in its own right. Commercial recordings as a pop-song were issued by The New Seekers and The Hillside Singers.

In the commercial, the lead singer and the people surrounding her were filmed lip synching to the New Seekers radio version of the commercial. None of the actors actually sang in the TV version.

The song's success was particularly notable in the UK where it is one of the 100 best selling singles of all time.

The commercial, as one of the most popular of all time, is credited with helping Coca-Cola regain its status as the preeminent soft drink in North America.

When Coca Cola planned to broadcast this commercial in South Africa on the state-run SABC network, they wanted Coca Cola to use an all-white version, due to the apartheid government. Nevertheless, the commercial was accepted.

In the media

*In 1986, the song was used as the opening theme for the "Kidsongs" video release, "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing".
*The song's melody was later used as the basis of the song "Shakermaker" by the rock group Oasis. They were successfully sued for the unlicensed use by The New Seekers and had to pay out A$500,000. This incident was the inspiration for the Oasis parody/tribute band No Way Sis's cover of the song in an Oasis style. Also, the chorus of the song "She's Electric" follows a similar melody to the song.
*In 2005, Coca-Cola Zero was introduced with a TV spot called "Chilltop" directed by The Malloys which featured "I'd Like to Teach the World to Chill", with rewritten lyrics intended to better match a new generation's sensibilities.
*In 2006 the song was used again in the Coca-Cola commercial at least in the Netherlands. The song is covered by the Dutch singer Berget Lewis. Remix prduce by Massive music team: DvM, Roy shen-Zoor And Aux. was present 13, in the Top 40, holland.
*Instrumental versions of "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing" were occasionally used in some Coca-Cola (and its variants) television ads.
*The line "I'd like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony" is featured as a lyric in the 18-minute punk rock opera The Decline by Southern California punk band NOFX.
*Smash Mouth's hit "Walkin' On the Sun" also references "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing" ("It ain't no joke, I'd like to buy the world a toke / And teach the world to sing in perfect harmony...")
*In a satire of Barack Obama, John Semmens wrote that the senator stated he would rather salute "I'd Like To Teach.." than the national anthem [ [http://www.azconservative.org/Semmens118.htm Obama Explains National Anthem Stance] ] . This fictional quote has appeared out of context in many blogs, shared videos and newsgroups generating negative reactions as if it were factual. [ [http://allhiphop.com/forums/2/19328218/ShowThread.aspx Allhiphop.com forums] ] Others have commented that the appeal of his campaign is similar to that of the original Coke commercial.

Pop culture references

*A 2002 7-Up commercial parodied the famous Coke ad as an attack on its soft drink rival.
*The FOX cartoon "American Dad" referenced it in a video of Stan and Hayley.
*Our Dumb Century, a book by "The Onion", features a fictitious news report from 1971 in which the commercial is covered as if it were an actual, spontaneous event. "Critics" cited in the article denounce the singing teen's proposals "unrealistic" arguing that a single bottle of coke cannot be practically shared with the planet Earth's billion-plus inhabitants.
* National Lampoon ran a subscription ad with a photo sequence and captions parodying the Coke ad. The opening lines read, "I'd like to give the world a hug / and tell it jokes and stuff, / then pull its pants down to its knees / and chase it through the rough."
* The first episode of Spongebob Squarepants had the song in it.

See also

* Move Closer to Your World

References

External links

* [http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/presscenter/presskit_hilltop.html Celebrating Advertising History]
* [http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ccmphtml/colaadv.html Library of Congress. The "Hilltop" Ad: The Story of a Commercial]