Chicago Native Who Wrote Oscar Mayer Wiener Jingle Dies at 87

When Richard Trentlage penned his now-ubiquitous jingle for a hot dog company commercial, he thought everyone's true wish was to be an Oscar Mayer wiener.

But if you ask a certain generation of ad agency creative directors and copywriters, their greatest wish is probably to be Trentlage. Or at least to be able to create something as long-lasting as "The Oscar Mayer Wiener Song," an advertising jingle that has become so enmeshed in American culture that people can still sing it from memory more than 50 years after it was composed.

Trentlage, of Fox River Grove, died Sept. 22 at 87. The cause of death was congestive heart failure, and he passed away at a Libertyville hospital, according to The New York Times.

Born Dec. 27, 1928, in Chicago, Trentlage earned his bonafides as a noteworthy piece of pop culture history by composing "The Oscar Mayer Wiener Song." That commercial ditty was used by the lunch meat company from 1963 until it was retired in 2010, according to The Times. During that period, the company credited the jingle with selling enough hot dogs to reach the moon and back six times.

And while "The Oscar Mayer Weiner Song" has been heard in 21 English-speaking countries and was the definition of an earworm before the term was even coined, the ultimate proof of the song's power as a cultural touchstone is that it was referenced and sung in a 1995 episode of The Simpsons.

But Trentlage wasn't a one-hit wonder in the ad jingle world. Over the years, he also created catchy songs for McDonald's commercials …

… as well as a seatbelt PSA campaign for the National Safety Council. Those jingles might not have reached the legendary status of his wiener song, but they did reach a certain level of popularity in their days.

Trentlage's jingle-writing career started as a senior at Calumet High School, where he graduated in 1947, according to his obituary posted on the website for Davenport Family Funeral Homes and Crematory:

"His first effort was on behalf of a fictional product, Modern Plastic Brooms. It was his idea to create a believable sponsor for a high school talent show which was formatted like a radio program with the jingle being sung as the opening and closing commercials. Fifty years later, at a reunion affair, his class-mates sang his Modern Plastic Broom jingle, testament to the staying power of his intrusive lyrics and melodies."

Building a reputation for himself in the advertising world eventually led Trentlage to found his own Wisconsin-based ad company, Adver/Sonic Productions, The Times reports. And his work wasn't something that simply stayed in the office, according to his obituary:

"For the Trentlages, the jingle business was a family affair; their living room often doubled as a recording studio where jingles were born and audition tapes were turned out via home-grown talent. His [c]hildren … were often tapped for 'on air' sessions as well."

Those "work experiences" also were cherished times for Trentlage's kids.

"We were always getting out of school to hop a train and meet our Dad at a Chicago recording studio," his daughter, Linda Brunn, said in the obituary. "We never thought that was unusual. It was just part of our regular life style. And it had no negative affect on our grades."

A memorial service for Trentlage will be 11 a.m. Oct. 8, with a visitation at 10 a.m. at Davenport Family Funeral Home and Crematory, 419 E. Terra Cotta Ave., Crystal Lake.

Go to the Davenport Family Funeral Home and Crematory website for more information about services.

A 1965 Oscar Mayer commercial featuring Richard Trentlage's jingle. (YouTube screen cap via Oscar Mayer)

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