Three Budweiser Jingle Singles

One of the most recognizable American TV commercial tunes in its day was Steve Karmen's "You've Said It All," written for Budweiser. It debuted on TV in 1970 and featured an ad in which a Dionne Warwick lookalike sang solo, later to be joined by a growing chorus of cheerfully average people. The chord change to a flatted seventh in the bridge (at :43 in this clip), along with the singers' emphatic delivery, gives the beer ad an almost poignant, Jesus Christ Superstar aura.

A 45 record of this song credited to the Steve Karmen Orchestra sold well enough in the summer of '71 to register in Billboard magazine as a "breakout hit" in Chicago even though it never cracked the Hot 100. Oddly enough, "Budweiser" is mentioned nowhere on the label of Karmen's disc. Would that have helped or hurt its chances as a stand alone track, I wonder?

In 1972, the Nashville songwriting team of Jerry Foster and Bill Rice served up a song called "When You Say Love" to country/rockabilly veteran Bob Luman. They appropriated the Budweiser hook outright, giving it new words and a new bridge, and it bubbled right up to #6 on the country chart. Later that year it became Sonny and Cher's final Top 40 hit (#32). I'd always assumed "When You Say Love" was a knowing spin off of Karmen's jingle and that all parties had been in on it. No - it was an old-fashioned rip off, credited only to Foster and Rice, prompting the dumbfounded Karmen to (successfully) sue. (Karmen reports on this in his 2005 book Who Killed the Jingle? His name now appears on writer credits for reissues of this song, but it's often misspelled as "Carmen," for some reason.)

As for the adoption of the same Budweiser jingle by the Wisconsin marching band (and the legal aspects), that's a story you'll need to get elsewhere.   

Steve Karmen Orchestra - “You’ve Said It All (Tuba Version)” (Billboard Regional Hit: Chicago, entered 7/31/71). Written and produced by Steve Karmen. 45: "You've Said It All (Tuba Version)"/"You've Said It All (Four Feeling Version)" (Audio Fidelity 1971). LP: (No album appearance).

Don't miss the seventies noir version on the B-side!

Bob Luman - "When You Say Love" (Billboard country #6, 2/19/72). Written by Jerry Foster and Bill Rice (and Steve Karmen). Produced by Glenn Sutton. 45: "When You Say Love"/"Have a Little Faith" (Epic 1972). LP: When You Say Love (Epic 1972).

Sonny and Cher - “When You Say Love” (Billboard #32, entered 7/8/72). Written by Jerry Foster and Bill Rice (and Steve Karmen). Produced by Snuff Garrett. 45: "When You Say Love"/"Crystal Clear/Muddy Waters" (Kapp 1972). LP: Greatest Hits (MCA 1974).