Here come the Hawks! The jingle and the team.

The swishiest fight song ever!

Despite growing up in the city of Chicago, and living here all my life, I am not a “super fan” of any our local sports teams. I like our teams but I don’t live and (mostly) die with them. And while I was raised only a few blocks from Wrigley Field, and passed it everyday on the Addison bus to Lane Tech High School, at that time the Cubs strain of sucking was particularly virulent. The losers hadn’t become quite so “loveable” yet. In addition, the neighborhood now trendily known as “Wrigleyville” was a fairly dangerous place, rife with Latino gang-bangers and transvestite prostitutes.

But I digress…

One aspect of Chicago sports I remember fondly is now making a spirited comeback. As is the team it belongs to. I’m referring to that wonderfully cheesy theme song for the resurgent Chicago Black Hawks: “Here come the Hawks!” The song was written by J. Swayzee and produced by the Dick Marx Orchestra and Choir in 1968. In the unlikely event you haven’t heard this gem, here it is, baby!

Here Come the Hawks!

Given how sugary and catchy this number is, it should come as no surprise to anyone that Dick Marx and his Orchestra were some of the most prolific advertising jingle makers of their time –of any time really. Credits include Ken-L-Ration’s “My dog is bigger than your dog,” Wrigley’s Doublemint chewing gum’s “Double your pleasure, double your fun,” Kellogg’s Raisin Bran’s “There’s two scoops of raisins in every package of,” and Dial Soap’s “Aren’t you glad you use Dial.” But my favorite from Marx’s “oeuvre” has to be the number they created for La Choy Foods; Sing it, kids: “La Choy makes Chinese Food…Swing American!” It’s ridiculously catchy, fun and silly –if not a tad politically incorrect.

The team behind the team’s jingle

The infectious spirit of all these jingles, particularly La Choy’s, permeates the giddy, sugar-coated “Here come the Hawks!” No, they don’t make ‘em like they used to. If ever that phrase applied to anything at all, it’s here.

Fun fact: 80’s pop star, Richard Marx (“Don’t mean Nothing” “Now and Forever”) is none other than the son of late composer, Dick Marx.

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