RIP To Les Waas, Creator Of The Mister Softee Jingle
CBS- The creator of the Mister Softee jingle heard in hundreds of ice cream trucks since 1960 has died. Les Waas was 94. Goldsteins’ Rosenberg’s Raphael-Sacks funeral home says Les Waas died April 19 at Abington Hospice in Warminster, Pennsylvania. The advertising legend wrote and produced more than 970 jingles during a career that spanned more than five decades. But none was more well-known than the Mister Softee song, which he wrote as a radio ad in for the Philadelphia-based company in 1960. The song is officially titled “Jingle and Chimes” and includes less recognized lyrics. The tune later moved on to announce the arrival of ice cream trucks all over the world, WCBS 880’s Mike Smeltz reported. Former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg tired to ban the Mister Softee jingle as part of a city wide noise crackdown in 2004. But the ban failed, and Mister Softee plays on.
They say that a man’s life is only worth the other lives it touches. And I like to think that means Les Waas’ life was worth my weight in gold. Because the glorious tune that Waas created means so many things to so many people. The arrival of warm weather, girls in sun dresses, and baseball season. Oh yeah, and a tasty treat was within earshot. The fact that the Mister Softee song took on KFC’s boy Bloombito and defeated him in a stare down is all you need to know about the staying power of that jingle. There are many, many noises in New York City that need to be silenced. The Mister Softee song is literally the last one on that list. Just a soft, beautiful melody from the Gods themselves. Which makes this a perfect idea.
So RIP to the writer of a beautiful ballad that was loved by all. Well, except for one person.