3 Songs From the 1970s That Were Only Written for Commercials but Became Beloved Hits Anyway

The art of putting together the perfect jingle for a series of commercials is no easy feat; in fact, many such songs will either fail to entice potential consumers or fail to have the catchiness of major hits. The following three songs, however, came to be because of commercials and would later become big hits for their makers. Let’s take a look at a few 1970s songs that you definitely heard in and out of commercials back in the day!

“We’ve Only Just Begun” by The Carpenters from ‘Close To You’ (1970)

If you were a 70s kid living in sunny California, you probably remember hearing this song in a commercial for Crocker-Citizens National Bank. An advertising agency for the bank gave songwriters Roger Nichols and Paul Williams a simple slogan: “You’ve got a long way to go. We’d like to help you get there.” The song was written in just one afternoon. This tune was later recorded by Smokey Roberds before The Carpenters got their hands on it. But when they did, “We’ve Only Just Begun” became a smash hit for the sibling duo. The soft rock tune peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1970.

“Jeans On” by David Dundas from ‘David Dundas’ (1976)

David Dundas had quite the hit on his hands with “Jeans On” in 1976. Originally, the song was featured as a jingle for the UK brand Brutus Jeans. It was later used in a commercial for Wrangler Jeans in the US. After the popularity of the Brutus Jeans commercial, Dundas decided to record a full-length version of the song for his self-titled pop album. The resulting track was quite popular, peaking at No. 17 in the US and No. 3 in the UK.

“Times Of Your Life” by Paul Anka from ‘Times Of Your Life’ (1975)

Paul Anka has enjoyed many hits throughout his career. But “Times Of Your Life” is the most well-suited for our list of songs written for commercials that later became hits. This 1975 pop song was commissioned by Kodak for an ad campaign in 1975. The tune made it to the ears of listeners through that series of commercials for several months. Later that year, Anka decided to record and release the jingle as a full-length single. The resulting hit would be Anka’s final Top 10 hit on the Hot 100, peaking at No. 7.

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