Both came from the 50s. By the late 60s, marketers were learning there were easier and cheaper ways to liven up sales meetings, promote the brand and even connect with young audiences.
Today's LP is one of the notable examples of that trend. It is the last of the three albums recorded by the Going Thing, a musical group founded by the Ford Motor Co. to promote its products. The LPs were apparently internal giveaways.
From reading various accounts on the web, it seems likely that The Going Thing was the creation of Ford's ad agency, J. Walter Thompson, who contracted with the young studio singers John and Tom Bahler to put the group together in 1967 or 1968.
The Bahler brothers put out three LPs as the Love Generation, a pop-rock ensemble whose music, not surprisingly, resembles that of the Going Thing. It's what today would be termed "sunshine pop" - optimistic lyrics, simple melodies and soaring harmonies.
Adapting that musical formula to industry was designed to appeal to young people. The agency used the Going Thing to promote such models as the sporty Mustang, which is front and center in this ad showing the group in performance. Thompson also used the phraseology as a tagline ("Ford Is the Going Thing") in addition to the existing "Ford Has a Better Idea" campaign. The ad weaves the two together, including both the "Going Thing" and "Better Idea" tunes.
The ad is contained on the LP at hand as the last cut, and it is certainly the best thing on the record. The other selections include what is very likely the opening song that the group used at sales presentations and other appearances - "Hey, You in the Crowd" - followed by a version of Sly Stone's "Dance to the Music," which allows the vocalist (I believe it is John Bahler) to introduce the members of the ensemble. Or at least the male members. The women are only identified by their first names.
The men are Mitch Gordon, drummer, Terry Shannon, guitar (a Love Generation alumnus), Tom Bahler, bass, Larry Carlton, guitar (he has become a well-known musician), and Steve Flanagan. The women are only identified as Susie, Jackie, Janis and Carolyn. Janis is Janis Hansen, who had been in Sergio Mendes and Brazil '66, and who sang lead on "The Look of Love." Susie and Jackie are probably Susan Teague and Jackie Berry.
The rest of the LP is largely composed of material the group may have performed to entertain at sales meetings and perhaps other promotional events - "Hey Jude," "For Once in My Life" and "The Sound of the Sixties," which pays tribute to everyone from the Beatles to Ray Charles.
Only one cut was apparently aimed directly at an internal sales and management audience - "Happiness Is," which I quote in full:
Happiness is selling a T-Bird, loaded with options
At the list price!
Happiness is "he wants a Mustang," "she wants a wagon" -
Selling 'em twice!
Happiness is no covered service on warranty
And stamping out those bugs from overseas.
Happiness is a 10-day report that gives Chevrolet a stroke!
Yes, happiness is on the day, the very day we learn
That GM went broke!
14 comments:
Link (Apple lossless):
http://www.mediafire.com/file/zxjqc2nlvlawq3m/The%20Going%20Thing%201970.zip
An amazing slice of social and marketing history - thanks so much Buster.
Hi Phillip - You are welcome!
Wow! That's really something! And you dug up quite a bit of the history of the group, I had no idea! Thanks!
Buster--wonderful! Perhaps you have heard about the new documentary about industrial musicals, "Bathtubs Over Broadway." Hopefully coming to a theater near you!
https://www.tribecafilm.com/filmguide/bathtubs-over-broadway-2018
- Jeff
Thanks, Ernie! I should have mentioned that the Bahlers went on to work on the Partridge Family show.
Jeff- Thanks! Did not know that. Love the title. I think this is about the same guy who wrote the book on industrial musicals, which I have.
Oooh, I'd go see that flick! But I'm gonna miss it by a week for my next NYC visit. :( Yeah, pretty sure it's the same guy who wrote the book.
Yes, same guy who wrote the book. He did a live show here in Chicago a while back, screening film clips. Special added attraction was a live performance of "My Bathroom" from "The Bathrooms Are Coming!" by the original singer. She was amazing. Hopefully she'll be in the doc. - Jeff
So revealing !
THX !!
’m losing it… can’t remember anything anymore. when i saw the picture, i thought ‘this looks like a group that richard nixon would dream up.’ and as i read your background material on them, i thought ‘didn’t nixon work at j walter thompson for awhile in the sixties?’ and of course, i got it all wrong in memory again. it was h.r. haldeman, dwight chapin, and ron ziegler who worked there before joining the nixon white house. who knows, maybe haldeman had a hand in creating ‘the going thing’. but i doubt the bahler brothers needed any musical inspiration from him. they were busy men. i looked them up. i learned something new. but i’ll forget it soon. my first history teacher (who was really a basketball coach that legally had to teach a class) once said, ‘do you know why i like history? because the dates never change; the places never change; the people never change; you never have to learn anything new’. he had a point.
Thanks for this Buster. Other pieces of info on the Bahler's and company. Besides being the aforementioned Love Generation and Partridge Family. They were also the "Bob Alcivar Singers" on Bud Shank's "Let It Be" album, the "California Dreamers" on Gabor Szabo's "Wind, Sky & Diamonds" album and Tom Scott's "Honeysuckle Rose" album, The Alan Copeland Singers on their "If Love Comes with It" album on A&M, The Ray Conniff singers in an early 70's incarnation, The Hollyridge Singers on their "Hits Of The 70's" album and played on many a 70's pop tune like the theme from "Laverne & Shirley" in 1976. And I am sure countless more.
Janis Hansen also played Gloria Unger on the TV series of "The Odd Couple" and was in a Sergio Mendes sound alike band "The Carnival" that released one album on World Pacific.
Thanks, monkeeboy! Very interesting. I would note that they were probably "in" the Alan Copeland Singers - Copeland was a singer himself; I have a solo LP by him.
I think the "Jackie" listed here is Jackie Ward, who had a huge hit under her daughter's name Robin in 1963 with "Wonderful Summer" and also sang with the Bahlers and Ron Hicklin on the Partridge Family albums and several of Ray Conniff's '70's choral albums.
musicman - That well could be!
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