Dunwich Jingles "In making a jingle that is strong enough to stand alone as a commercial tune, the most obvious approach is to buy the rights to an established hit.  This is obvious, but very expensive.  We believe that the more practical approach is using comtemporary groups to create their own original material and then arrange it and produce it."  ~ Bill Traut, 1968 When Sundazed released their two-volume Best of Dunwich Records set, the label’s best singles (and unreleased songs) were prominently featured, offering collectors a chance to finally obtain rare songs by some of the Chicago area's absolute best garage bands.  Also included, however—and somewhat surprisingly—were radio jingles and commercials performed by some of Dunwich’s top recording groups.  This little known (and even less heard) area of recordings was heralded by hardcore collectors; although some complained that a “Best Of” should technically not include commercials, the majority of ‘60s music buyers were shocked to know that their favorite bands had branched out in an area that was little publicized—and virtually forgotten once the jingles' airdates had concluded. The Dunwich Productions Team (December, 1968) in Record World Volume One included The Del-Vetts' ‘I Call My Baby STP,’ which was well-known as it was officially released as a Dunwich single, and The Shadows Of Knight singing 'Potato Chips,' also well-known since cardboard singles were originally attached to Kitty Clover Potato Chips.  In addition, however, the volume featured heretofore radio-only spots, including Saturday’s Children’s for Wisconsin Electric Company, H.P. Lovecraft for Ban Roll-On, and The American Breed for Partridge Wieners and Coke.  While The American Breed were popular enough to have their group name recorded as part of some commercials, Saturday’s Children and H.P. Lovecraft were basically utilized as studio ensembles—making the documentation of their contributions a first.  After Volume Two was released—featuring The American Breed again, this time for Alone Phone, and another H.P. Lovecraft Ban Roll-On spot—collectors started to wonder just how many jingles could have possibly been recorded by the Dunwich roster of bands.  The answer?  Many, many more. Collector and historian Clark Besch first alerted 60sgaragebands.com to an April 12, 1969 issue of Billboard that nicely summarized Bill Traut’s, co-founder of Dunwich, philosophy and strategy when it came to utilizing his roster for commercial projects: Billboard: April 12, 1969 Traut’s knack for landing considerable talent on his local label was instrumental in being able to delve into the jingles field, and the article revealed some very interesting information detailing just how expansive Traut’s side-project actually was (he even labeled Dunwich a “rock jingle company”):  The American Breed also recorded radio-TV commercials for American Airlines; The Cryan’ Shames recorded for a documentary film on CUNA Mutual; The Troll (earlier known as The Trolls) recorded (and filmed) for Utica Club Beer; and The Rotary Connection recorded for both Miles Laboratories’ Bactine Spray Relief and Quaker Oaks.  Amazingly…this was only the tip of the iceberg. 60sgaragebands.com recently entered into an agreement with Dave and Bill Traut, now heading the Classic Garage Rock Library (which licenses music by the classic Dunwich—and affiliated labels—entire roster), to digitize 54 reels of jingles for possible release down the line.  The number of acts and products involved is, in all honesty, staggering: Band Song Product Agency Year Notes American Breed As Long As We're Together Coca-Cola Dunwich Productions 1968 Two :60 versions and :85 version American Breed Temperature's Rising Coca-Cola Dunwich Productions 1968 :10, :30, :60 and :85 versions American Breed The Brain MGM Productions Dunwich Productions 1969 Two versions, one with and one without guitar, recorded for movie soundtrack American Breed Partridge Wieners Morrel Meats Dunwich Productions 1969 Band name is announced in jingle; at least two different versions American Breed Alone Phone New York Telephone Dunwich Productions 1967 Recorded in rock, soul and "regular" versions American Breed Alone Phone New York Telephone BBD&O 1968 Regular and soul versions American Breed Personality WLS Radio Dunwich Productions 1968 :13 only Cryan' Shames Take Another Look CUNA Mutual Fenton McHugh Productions 1969 4:30 song for promotional film Del-Vetts I Call My Baby STP STP Motor Oil Dunwich Productions 1967 Released as a 45-rpm single Annette Gillette & Dunwich Orchestra Hey Look Us Over New York Telephone BBD&O 1968 :60 recruiting song Grass Roots Alone Phone New Jersey Bell BBD&O 1969 Rock, pop and soul versions Grass Roots Alone Phone New York Telephone Unknown 1968 Possible multiple versions Grass Roots Alone Phone Southern New England Telephone BBD&O 1969 Rock and pop versions Hardy Boys Hardy Boys Theme Filmation Associates Dunwich Productions 1969 Recorded for network cartoon show Eddie Higgins with Orchestra Unknown Second Debut Fleetwood Overseas 1968 Bill Fountain provided voiceover Hi-Los Sounds Of The Season New York Telephone BBD&O 1969 Eddie's Semi-Traditional, Eddie's Traditional, Bill's Dance Tempo and Eddie & Bob's Modern versions Syl Johnson Hey Look Us Over New York Telephone BBD&O 1968 R&B Memphis instrumental 2:15, R&B Radio Vocal :60 and R&B Vocal Record 2:00 versions H.P. Lovecraft As The Day Wears On Ban Deodorant Ogilvy & Mather / Jerry Jerome Productions 1968 White Ship, Telephoto Walking, Straight and Announcer Voiceover versions Chad Mitchell Unknown Love Cosmetics Dunwich Productions Unknown Unknown Chad Mitchell The Taste That Beats The Others Cold Pepsi Cola Dunwich Productions Unknown Probable song title Chad Mitchell You Can't Take The Country Out Of Salem Salem Cigarettes Dunwich Productions Unknown Song title is a guess Chad Mitchell Hi Ho Hey Hey Wrigley's Spearmint Gum Dunwich Productions Unknown Song title is a guess Presidentials The Sun Set WCFL Radio Unknown 1968 Full song Rotary Connection Unknown Bactine Sunburn Spray McCann Erikson Agency 1969 Multiple :28 and :60 TV and Radio versions; possible titles are Snow Job, Hot & Cold, Last Winter and Uncold Rotary Connection Roll Out The Barrel Quaker Oats Allen-Anderson Agency 1969 Dippy Canoe and Salty Surfers :30 and :60 versions Saturday's Children Unknown Wisconsin Electric Co. Unknown Unknown :60 Siegel Schwall Band Unknown NAPRA Anti-Drug Spot Unknown Unknown Two versions each by Corky Siegel and Jim Scwall (only Schwall sings) Shadows Of Knight Potato Chip Fairmont Potato Chips Bozell & Jacobs, Inc. 1967 Full song given away on potato chip boxes as cardboard flexi; also two different radio spots without Shadows involvement Trolls Unknown Utica Club Beer Unknown 1969 Original jingle that is different than the Utica Club Natural Carbonation Band 45 Unknown The Un-Cola / Cola Hearted Woman 7-Up Unknown Unknown Multiple versions by unknown band Unknown Friendly Bob Adams General Finance Dunwich Productions 1969 At least one reel lists possible Cryan' Shames involvement Unknown California Way Hidden Magic Unknown 1966 Recording band not listed on reel Unknown Unknown Honda Dunwich Productions 1971 Recording band not listed on reel; country, bubblegum pop and underground versions Unknown Unchanged For The Better Kellogg's Corn Flakes Unknown Unknown Song title is a guess Unknown Unknown Miss Lively Live-In Barbie Game / Mattel Unknown Unknown Cool pop song in Saturday's Children mold Unknown Unknown Mennen Dry Dunwich Productions 1971 Recording band not listed on reel Unknown Unknown Snoopy Snap-Tight Toy / Monogram Toys Unknown Unknown Cool pop song in Saturday's Children mold Unknown Unknown Tang Dunwich Productions 1971 Bubblegum and underground versions Unknown Unchanged For The Better Ultra Sheen / Johnson Products Unknown Unknown Multiple versions by unknown band Will-O-Bees Hey Look Us Over New York Telephone Unknown Unknown Possible multiple versions, including an instrumental Will-O-Bees Perfect Letter/Getting Better New York Telephone BBD&O 1969 Song appeared many times on various reels but it's unknown whether there are different versions Will-O-Bees The Ugliest Girl In Town CBS-TV / Screen Gems Unknown 1969 Theme song for TV show Now that the Dunwich jingles catalog has been properly examined, it becomes obvious that Bill Traut was instrumental in making jingles more than just 30- or 60-second ditties intended to sell product.  He may not have been the first to understand the benefits of rock band endorsements, but by fully utilizing the skills of an incredible array of groups, there’s little doubt that his insight paved the way for future rock commercial endeavors.  Although there are rumors of additional jingles not found on Traut's reels (The Del-Vetts for Brachs and The Trolls for Button & Bows/General Mills, for example), a large percentage of his efforts, is now, thankfully, documented.