Steve Karmen (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer, most famous for several jingles. Among his better known works are the New York State song, "

I Love New York I Love New York (stylized ) is a slogan, a logo, and a song that are the basis of an advertising campaign developed by the marketing firm of Wells, Rich, Greene under the directorship of Mary Wells Lawrence used since 1977 to promote tourism i ...

", the jingle

Here Comes the King "Here Comes the King" is a well-known advertising jingle written for Budweiser, whose slogan is "The King of Beers." Budweiser is the flagship brand of the Anheuser-Busch brewery. Copyrighted in 1971, the music and lyrics are by Steve Karmen, who ...

for Budweiser, the Hershey's chocolate jingle ''The Great American Chocolate Bar,'' the Exxon Song ''Energy for a Strong America'' (1976), and Wrigley Spearmint Gum / Carry The Big Fresh Flavor (1973). He also composed several music scores for motion pictures including the

Mamie Van Doren Mamie Van Doren (born Joan Lucille Olander; February 6, 1931) is an American actress, singer, and sex symbol. She is perhaps best known for the rock 'n' roll, juvenile delinquency exploitation film ''Untamed Youth'' (1957). Early life Van Do ...

film '' The Candidate'' (1964), ''

Teenage Mother Teenage pregnancy, also known as adolescent pregnancy, is pregnancy in a female adolescent or young adult under the age of 20. This includes those who are legally considered adults in their country. The WHO defines adolescence as the period bet ...

'' (1967) and ''

What Do You Say to a Naked Lady? ''What Do You Say to a Naked Lady?'' is a 1970 American hidden-camera style reality film directed by '' Candid Camera'' creator Allen Funt. In the film, Funt secretly records people's reactions to unexpected encounters with nudity or sexualit ...

'' (1970), and performed briefly as a Calypso singer, achieving some recognition in Trinidad during that time. Karmen is the recipient of 16 Clio Awards.

Life and career

Karmen was born in the

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. Steve was unique among jingle writers. Unlike other composers, who were paid a flat price for their jingles, Steve was the only one of his peers to receive royalties every time one of his jingles was performed on TV or Radio. His informal industry title "The King of Jingles" may have been given to him because of this extraordinary business ability to retain publishing rights. He was born into a conservative family. His father was from Russia. Karmen grew up with

Bobby Darin Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was an American musician and actor. He performed jazz, Pop music, pop, rock and roll, Folk music, folk, Swing music, swing, and country music. He started his car ...

, and played with him in a band in the 1950s. They met while they were at the

Bronx High School of Science The Bronx High School of Science, commonly called Bronx Science, is a public specialized high school in The Bronx in New York City. It is operated by the New York City Department of Education. Admission to Bronx Science involves passing the Spec ...

. He played

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

and

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

. His wife died of

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel mo ...

in 1973. He is the father of three daughters. As of 2007, he lives in

Westchester, New York Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population o ...

List of Jingles

This list of jingles by Karmen only includes those composed from 1968 to the beginning of 1980. (Karmen, 1980).

1968

* Breakaway In A Wide-Trackin'

Pontiac Pontiac may refer to: *Pontiac (automobile), a car brand *Pontiac (Ottawa leader) ( – 1769), a Native American war chief Places and jurisdictions Canada *Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality ** Apostolic Vicariate of Pontiac, now the Roman Catholic D ...

Budweiser Budweiser () is an American-style pale lager, part of AB InBev. Introduced in 1876 by Carl Conrad & Co. of St. Louis, Missouri, Budweiser has become a large selling beer company in the United States. ''Budweiser'' may also refer to an unrelat ...

Beer / Bud Is The King Of Beers...But You Know That * Your Next Car Is A

Chrysler Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...

* Beneficial Finance / At Beneficial (Doot! Doot!) You're Good For More

1969

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

Makes It * There's Nothing Like The Face Of A Kid Eating A

Hershey Bar The Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bar (commonly called the Hershey's Bar, or more simply the Hershey Bar) is a flagship chocolate bar manufactured by The Hershey Company. Hershey refers to it as "The Great American Chocolate Bar". The Hershey Milk Cho ...

Tijuana Smalls Tijuana Smalls is a brand of flavored cigarettes that was produced after a prohibition on advertising cigarettes on television in the United States that was signed into law by President Richard Nixon in 1970. These flavored cigarettes were adver ...

igarettes/ You Know Who You Are *

Nationwide Insurance Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company and affiliated companies, commonly shortened to Nationwide, is a group of large U.S. insurance and financial services companies based in Columbus, Ohio. The company also operates regional headquarters in Scotts ...

/ Call Nationwide, 'Cause Nationwide Is On Your Side

1970

* Chrysler Plymouth Comin' Thru * The More You Know, The More You'll Want Delco * Budweiser Beer / When You Say Budweiser, You've Said It All * Falstaff Brewing Company / Falstaff Beer, For Guys Who Like It

1971

* Budweiser Beer / Here Comes The King *

Michelob Anheuser-Busch, a wholly owned subsidiary of AB InBev, Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, is the largest brewing company in the United States, with a market share of 45 percent in 2016. The company operates 12 breweries in the United States and nearly 2 ...

Beer / The Michelob Drinking Song * National Beer / The Land Of Pleasant Living * Diet Rite Cola / Everybody Likes It * U.S. Brewers Association / Pitch In To Clean Up America * Beneficial Finance / It's Great To Know You're Good For More

1972

* General Tires / Sooner Or Later You'll Own Generals * Budweiser Malt Liquor / The First Malt Liquor Good Enough To Be Called Budweiser * Colt .45 Malt Liquor / A Completely Unique Experience * Colt .45 Malt Liquor / You'll Be Sorry For All The Time You Wasted *

Fresca Fresca is a grapefruit-flavored citrus soft drink created by The Coca-Cola Company. Borrowing the word ''Fresca'' (meaning "fresh") from Italian, Spanish and Portuguese, it was introduced in the United States in 1966. Originally a bottled sugar- ...

/ Tastes Like A Soft Drink *

R.C. Cola RC Cola (short for Royal Crown Cola) is an American brand of cola invented by Claud A. Hatcher in 1905. Royal Crown Ginger Ale was the first product of the RC Cola line, and it referred to the original ingredient: ginger. More ingredients w ...

/ It's Right For You * Doublemint Gum / Doublemint Will Do It *

Hush Puppies Hush Puppies is an American brand of casual footwear. A division of Wolverine World Wide, Hush Puppies is headquartered in Rockford, Michigan. Wolverine also licenses the Hush Puppies name for apparel, toys and accessories. Hush Puppies uses a ...

Are Dumb

1973

* Pontiac / Stand Up *

Sunoco Sunoco LP is an American master limited partnership organized under Delaware state laws and headquartered in Dallas, Texas, that is a wholesale distributor of motor fuels. It distributes fuel to more than 5,500 Sunoco-branded gas stations, ...

Oil Corp. / I Can Be Very Friendly * Juicy Fruit Gum / Let's Pick A Pack *

Wrigley's Spearmint Wrigley's Spearmint is a brand of Wrigley's chewing gum. Wrigley's launched the brand in 1893, and markets the gum as its ''classic'' brand, although the company's brand Juicy Fruit has been on the market slightly longer. As the name implies, the ...

Gum / Carry The Big Fresh Flavor *

Ozark Air Lines Ozark Air Lines was an airline that operated in the United States from 1950 until 1986 when it was purchased by Trans World Airlines (TWA). In 2001, TWA was merged into American Airlines. A smaller regional airline that used the Ozark name ( ...

/ We're Big On That

1974

* Cadillac - A Standard For The World * Michelin Tires / We Made It First, We Make It Last * Wrigley's Spearmint Gum / You'll Like The Big, Long-Lasting Flavor * Buc-Wheats Cereals / Feelin' Like A Million Bucks *

Northwest Orient Airlines Northwest Airlines Corp. (NWA) was a major American airline founded in 1926 and absorbed into Delta Air Lines, Inc. by a merger. The merger, approved on October 29, 2008, made Delta the largest airline in the world until the American Airlines ...

/ We Give You Half The World *

Trans World Airlines Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major American airline which operated from 1930 until 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles via St. Louis, Kansas City, and other stops, with F ...

/ A Taste Of Europe—Trans World Service * Dial Soap / Aren't You Glad You Use Dial * Purina Cat Food / Purina In The Little Blue Can * Scholl's Sandals / The Comfortable Life * Michelob Beer / Weekends Were Made For Michelob

1975

* Farrell's Ice Cream Parlors / Farrell's Is Fabulous Fun *

Burry's Burry's is a food manufacturer, founded as Burry's Biscuit Corporation by George W. Burry in 1888 in Elizabeth, New Jersey. It became a division of the Quaker Oats Company in 1962. The company was one of the manufacturers of Girl Scout cookies fro ...

Cookies / The Burry's Blues *

The Detroit News ''The Detroit News'' is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival ''Detroit Free Press'' building. ''The News'' absorbed the '' Detroit Tribune'' on Februa ...

/ You Haven't Read The Paper Until You've Read The News * Great Adventure Amusement Park (now

Six Flags Great Adventure Six Flags Great Adventure is an amusement park located in Jackson, New Jersey. Owned and operated by Six Flags, the park complex is situated between New York City and Philadelphia and includes a water park named Six Flags Hurricane Harbor, Hu ...

) / The Greatest Day In Your Life

1976

Exxon ExxonMobil Corporation (commonly shortened to Exxon) is an American multinational oil and gas corporation headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is the largest direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, and was formed on November 30, ...

/ Energy For A Strong America * Prestone Anti-Freeze / You Know It Protects *

Midas Muffler Midas International, LLC is an American chain of automotive service centers headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. In its North American main and home market, Midas stores are company-owned or franchised. In the 17 other countries it o ...

/ Don't Compromise, Midasize *

Anheuser Busch Anheuser-Busch Companies, LLC is an American brewing company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Since 2008, it has been wholly owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (AB InBev), now the world's largest brewing company, which owns multiple glo ...

Natural Light

eer EER may refer to: * East of England Regiment, a British Army Reserve unit * Effective exchange rate * Energy efficiency rating in the Australian Capital Territory * Energy efficiency ratio, of a cooling device * Engineering education research * En ...

/ Won't Fill You Up, So It Won't Slow You Down * Budweiser Beer / When Do You Say Budweiser? * General Foods International Coffees / It's Our Flavor That Makes Us Special *

Sunbeam Bread Sunbeam Bread is a franchised brand of white bread, rolls, and other baked goods owned by the Quality Bakers of America cooperative. The bread products are produced and distributed by regional bakeries. History The brand was launched in 1942 and ...

/ A Sunwich Is Better Than A Sandwich *

Southwestern Bell Telephone Southwestern Bell Telephone Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of AT&T. It does business as other d.b.a. names in its operating region, which includes Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, and portions of Illinois. The company is cu ...

/ What Else Is So Nice For The Price

1977

* Anheuser Busch Natural Light

/ Take A Natural Break * Michelob Beer / Weekend Pops (instrumental) - based upon "Weekends Were Made For Michelob" *

Jack in the Box Jack in the Box is an American fast-food restaurant chain founded February 21, 1951, by Robert O. Peterson (1916–1994) in San Diego, California, where it is headquartered. The chain has over 2,200 locations, primarily serving the West Coast ...

estaurants/ Ji-Ji-Jack, Ji-Ji-Jack—Jack In The Box *

Tic Tac Tic Tac (stylized as "tic tac") is a brand of small, hard mint manufactured by the Italian company Ferrero. They were first produced in 1969 and are now available in a variety of flavours in over 100 countries. Tic Tacs are usually sold in smal ...

/ It's Time For A Tic Tac * (Hershey Is) The Great American Chocolate Bar *

Tourism /

1978

* Michelob Light / Good Taste Runs In The Family * Beneficial Finance / That's What It's All About

1979

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

, That's Incredible! * Sunoco Is Making Every Drop Count *

Braniff Braniff Airways, Inc., operated as Braniff International Airways from 1948 until 1965, and then Braniff International from 1965 until air operations ceased, was an airline in the United States that once flew air carrier operations from 1928 un ...

International Airways / We Better Be Better *

Eureka Eureka (often abbreviated as E!, or Σ!) is an intergovernmental organisation for research and development funding and coordination. Eureka is an open platform for international cooperation in innovation. Organisations and companies applying th ...

vacuum cleaners / You and Eureka * The Leukemia Society of America / We Care

1980

Pabst Blue Ribbon Pabst Blue Ribbon, commonly abbreviated PBR, is an American lager beer sold by Pabst Brewing Company, established in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1844 and currently based in San Antonio. Originally called Best Select, and then Pabst Select, the curr ...

Beer / Give That Man A Blue Ribbon

Discography (selective)

* "Freight Train" / "

Mama Look a Boo Boo "Mama Look at Bubu" (later retitled "Mama Look a Boo Boo") is a song written by Trinidadian calypsonian Lord Melody, Harry Belafonte and Lord Burgess, and performed by Harry Belafonte featuring Bob Corwin's Orchestra & Chorus featuring Millard Th ...

" - El Dorado 510 (1957) * "Free Passes" / "Lost" - CUB 9059 (1960) * "Breakaway" Part 1 / "Breakaway" Part 2 (Featuring

Jimmy Radcliffe James Radcliffe (November 18, 1936 – July 27, 1973) was an American soul singer, composer, arranger, conductor and record producer. Biography James Radcliffe was born in New York City. He released such singles as "My Ship is Coming In", a so ...

) - United Artists 50451 (1968) * "Moments" / "Moments" instrumental - United Artists 50534 (1969) * "

" / "Too Bad You Can't Read My Mind" - United Artists 50636 (1970) * "You've Said It All" (Four Feeling) / "You've Said It All" (Tuba Version) - Audio Fidelity 171 (1971) * "Everybody Likes It" / "The East Way" - Audio Fidelity 179 (1971) * "I've Never Had The Time" / "37-21" - Audio Fidelity (1972) ''Goldmine Price Guide to 45 RPM Records'' By Tim Neely, Martin Popof
Page 380 Karmen, Steve
/ref>

Bibliography

* ''The Jingle Man'' (1980). Hal Leonard Corporation, * ''Through the Jingle Jungle'' (1989). Billboard Books, * ''Me and Bobby D.: A Memoir'' (2003). Hal Leonard Corporation, * ''Who Killed the Jingle? - How a Unique American Art Form Disappeared'' (2005). Hal Leonard Corporation,

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Karmen, Steve 1937 births Living people The Bronx High School of Science alumni Jingle writers People from the Bronx