Steve Karmen
Steve Karmen | |
---|---|
Born | Bronx, New York City, New York, U.S. | January 31, 1937
Known for | Jingles |
Notable work | "I Love New York" "Here Comes the King" |
Children | 3 |
Steve Karmen (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer known for his
Early life and education
Karmen was born in the
Karmen finished one semester of medical school at New York University before abandoning his goal of being a brain surgeon.[15][10] In 1957, he released "She Had Wild Eyes and Tender Lips," which he promoted on American Bandstand.[16] He later pursued acting at American Theatre Wing.[17][9] Karmen is also a self-taught guitarist and saxophonist.[18][17]
Career
Karmen worked as a Calypso singer[17] and appeared on Talent Scouts in 1957. Though he lost, host Arthur Godfrey was impressed with his performance and Karmen performed on the Arthur Godfrey Time twice a day for three weeks. Art Davis encouraged him to travel to Trinidad, where he might find better success as a Calypso singer, and Karmen worked on a cruise ship for two months.[10][9]
Karman moved to Los Angeles, intent on pursuing a career in acting after feeling out of sync with music trends, but returned to New York within ten months.
While working on the nudie films, Karmen was hired to write music for a
After his wife died from cancer in 1974, Karmen took a professional hiatus to spend time with his daughters.[24] When he returned, he began working on his own album, We've All Been There, which he wrote for "emotionally tormented men and women" dealing with loss.[25][24] In 1978, he told The Tampa Tribune that the "biggest restriction" of writing jingles is that he was largely barred from tapping into deeper emotions, something he felt he achieved only in his public service advertisements, which he pointed out only run in the middle of the night.[22] He avoided writing music for political campaigns, claiming to have turned down Richard Nixon in 1972 and Gerald Ford in 1976.[15][26][20] In 1995, however, he wrote two free songs for a hospital association that approached him to ask about writing music to "[fight] proposed Medicaid and Medicare cuts." In general, he was wary of the impact of political messages but felt that the healthcare cuts "superseded money."[26][20]
Royalties
In 1978, Karmen, the "King of Jingles,"
His 1989 book Through the Jingle Jungle, published by
Personal life
Karmen and his wife Mary married c. 1961 and had three daughters.
Awards
- 1971 - Budweiser) and Tijuana Smalls commercials[32]
- 1979 - Clio Award, Best Music with Lyrics - Opening/Tag Category: "I Love New York"[33]
- 2012 - Binghamton University: Honorary degree[6]
Selected discography
Jingles
- 1969 - "
- 1969 - "There's Nothing Like The Face Of A Kid Eating A Hershey Bar" (Hershey)[3][34]
- 1970 - "
- 1971 - "The Land of Pleasant Living" (National Bohemian)[3]
- 1977 - "I Love New York" (New York Tourism)[33][2][3]
- 1979 - "Ford, That's Incredible!" (Ford)[3]
Film scores
- 1964 - The Candidate[8]
- 1967 - Teenage Mother[8]
- 1970 - What Do You Say to a Naked Lady?[8]
- 1981 - Paternity[8]
Bibliography
- The Jingle Man (1980). Hal Leonard Corporation, ISBN 0-88188-239-9
- Through the Jingle Jungle (1989). Billboard Books, ISBN 0-8230-7707-1
- Me and Bobby D.: A Memoir (2003). Hal Leonard Corporation, ISBN 0-634-04876-7
- Who Killed the Jingle? - How a Unique American Art Form Disappeared (2005). Hal Leonard Corporation, ISBN 0-634-06656-0
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Miller, Roland Foster (1989-07-16). "Westchester Bookcase". The New York Times. p. 12. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
- ^ a b c d e f "'The Jingle King' Tracks Decline Of Original Music In Advertising". NPR. 2016-12-13. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
- ^ a b c d e f g Luchinsky, Ellen (2020-12-23). The Song Index of the Enoch Pratt Free Library. Rutledge. p. 1098.
- ^ a b Hernandez Chico, Juan Manual. ""Have you tried Wheaties?"". University of Maryland Library. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
- ^ a b c Calicchio, Dominick (1988-03-18). "'King of Jingles' hums a happy tune". The Jersey Journal. Jersey City, New Jersey, USA. p. 170. Retrieved 2023-12-12 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Commencement 2012". Binghamton University. 2012-05-23. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
- ISBN 9780634066566.
- ^ a b c d e "Steve Karmen Filmography". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
- ^ a b c d "The East Coast: Hotter Than a Pistol" (PDF). TV Radio Mirror. August 1957. p. 5. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Connelly, Sherryl (1980-08-25). "Going for the jingular". Daily News. New York, New York, USA. p. 54. Retrieved 2023-12-11 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Slocum, Peter (1980-07-02). "Gov loves it so they're playing our song". Daily News. New York, New York, USA. p. 958. Retrieved 2023-12-12 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d Linnett, R.; Atkinson, C. (2003). "This bub's for you. The story of the first American idol". Advertising Age. Vol. 74, no. 16. p. 48. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
- ^ Keeler, Bob (1980-07-02). "Love song for the State of New York". Newsday. New York, New York, USA. p. 13. Retrieved 2023-12-12 – via newspapers.com.
- ISBN 9780634080265. Retrieved 2011-12-25.
- ^ a b c d e "Steve Karmen: 'I Did That'". Argus-Leader. Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA. 1977-01-30. p. 69. Retrieved 2023-12-11 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ Calicchio, Dominick (1988-03-18). "'King of Jingles' hums a happy tune". The Jersey Journal. Jersey City, New Jersey, USA. p. 157. Retrieved 2023-12-12 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d e Heinzel, Ron S. (1978-02-12). "And Then He Wrote 'When You Say Budweiser You've...'". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California, USA. p. 101. Retrieved 2023-12-12 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Me and Bobby D: A Memoir -Interview with Author Steve Karmen by Jordon Rich - BobbyDarin.net/BobbyDarin.com". Bobbydarin.com. Retrieved 2011-12-25.
- ^ ProQuest 1401335341. Retrieved 2023-12-11 – via ProQuest.
- ^ a b c d e f g Heinzel, Ron S. (1978-02-12). "Steve Karmen's Jingles Sell, Pay Well". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California, USA. p. 101. Retrieved 2023-12-12 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ Hanauer, Joan (1977-03-17). "Know Steve Karmen? he sells with music". The Delaware Gazette. Delaware, Ohio, USA. p. 21. Retrieved 2023-12-12 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d Ruth, Daniel (1978-11-06). "Steve Karmen: Jingle Genius". The Tampa Tribune. Tampa, Florida, USA. p. 47. Retrieved 2023-12-11 – via newpapers.com.
- ^ a b White, Jane See (1976-08-11). "Loneliness Big Burden". Spokane Chronicle. Spokane, Washington, USA. p. 19. Retrieved 2023-12-11 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c Battelle, Phyllis (1976-03-09). "Daughters help composer through grief". The Piqua Daily Call. Piqua, Ohio, USA. p. 7. Retrieved 2023-12-11 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c "Widower father is jingle master". Denton Record-Chronicle. Denton, Texas, USA. 1977-06-10. p. 36. Retrieved 2023-12-11 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c Stark, Steven J. (1996-05-13). "Jingle writer crusades for aid". Citizen Register. Ossining, New York, USA. p. 3. Retrieved 2023-12-12 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ Advertising Age. p. 91. Retrieved 2023-12-11 – via Nexis Uni.
- ^ "With 1992 just around the corner..." Advertising Age. 1989-07-03. p. 4. Retrieved 2023-12-11 – via Nexis Uni.
- ^ Sullivan, Ronald (1994-08-25). "Court: No higher royalties for jingle writer". The Bangor Daily News. Bangor, Maine, USA. p. 22. Retrieved 2023-12-12 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ ProQuest 1401293619. Retrieved 2023-12-11 – via ProQuest.
- ^ "Steve Karmen - Me and Bobby D. - Book". Stagepass.com. Retrieved 2011-12-25.
- ^ Micklin, Bob (1971-08-29). "People Don't Hum the Announcer". The Record. Hackensack, New Jersey, USA. p. 50. Retrieved 2023-12-12 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Allis, Samuel (1979-06-15). "CLIO for All Occasions". Washington Post. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
- ^ Ferretti, Fred (1977-03-06). "Karmen the King Of the Jingle". The New York Times. p. 473.
External links
- Steve Karmen at IMDb