A sound of summer

Written in E-flat major in jaunty 6/8 time, the jingle was created by an advertising agency in 1960 for the company's early radio campaigns. Though the trucks play only an instrumental version, the tune does have words:

      The CREAM-i-est DREAM-i-est SOFT ice CREAM

      you GET from MIS-ter SOF-tee.

      FOR a re-FRESH-ing de-LIGHT su-PREME

      LOOK for MIS-ter SOF-tee.

From the New York Times obituary for James Conway Sr., co-founder of Mister Softee.

On my block in Brooklyn, the Mister Softee truck would arrive mid-to-late afternoon. I can't remember a thing about the ice cream, but the Mister Softee jingle is a permanent sound of summer in my head.

Three links

» James Conway Sr., 78, a Founder of Mister Softee, Dies
from the New York Times (registration required)

» Mister Softee Jingle: Not So Sweet?
from NPR, with soundclip featuring the jingle

» "Mister Softee" sheet music
from mistersoftee.com

(The Mister Softee homepage plays an abridged version of the jingle if you have the proper Quicktime plug-in installed in your browser.)