Back in this post, we talked about the jingle that Southern Californians used to hear incessantly on their radios for Sav-On drug stores. And on that page, you'll even find an audio link so you can hear it.
I knew nothing about it other than that it was on every channel every hour of the day for twenty-some-odd years. Today, I received this e-mail from Tom Wagner…
I came across a post of yours from 2009 regarding the Sav-On Drug Store jingle. I have some info and background on it.
It was written by a gentleman named Marty Sperzel. Mr. Sperzel was best known as the baritone of The Sportsmen Quartet notably featured on The Jack Benny Show on TV and radio shows doing the Lucky Strike cigarette commercials. He started performing as a teenager as a member of "The Three Ambassadors" with Gus Arnheim in the Cocoanut Grove (they replaced a group called "The Rhythm Boys"). The Ambassadors traveled the country in the 1930s with the Phil Harris and Jimmie Grier orchestras. They then became regulars on Kate Smith's radio show.
He joined The Sportsmen in August 1943. Mr. Sperzel left The Sportsmen in early 1957 to form an advertising company with Don Quinn (long time writer of Fibber McGee and Molly and Halls of Ivy) and Henry Russell (composer, arranger, and musical director) called "AdStaff". Mr. Sperzel was VP and helped write the lyrics and even performed some of the jingles. He took over the company in 1963. He wrote the music/lyrics for the Sav-On jingle. I'm sure he wrote plenty of other jingles but the only other one that I know he wrote both music/lyrics for was a jingle for Rayne Soft Water Service in 1964 called "Come on in, the water's fine."
Sad note is that Mr. Sperzel passed away on August 7, 2011 at the age of 98. I tried contacting him around 1995/96 and he was not happy to talk about the past. Didn't want to talk about his career. He didn't even get a L.A. Times or Variety obit. His second wife, actress Barbara Eiler, passed away in July 2007.
I believe I'd heard that numerous Jack Benny fans had contacted Mr. Sperzel, particularly when he became one of the last surviving cast members of that radio program, and been similarly rebuffed. He apparently just plain didn't want to talk to people about his career.
So how did Thurl Ravenscroft fit into the lineage of The Sportsmen. I thought I read that he lost his place in the group when he went into the service during World War II. Did that coincide with Sperzel's arrival?
Thanks, Tom. And everyone…Tom was nice enough to send me an audio clip of a Sav-On radio commercial which features the jingle — and which even mentions Blue Chip Stamps. My first typewriter was acquired with Blue Chip Stamps so I guess I owe them my career. Here's a little audio player with the commercial…
