# ID the ice cream man tune from the '60s **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 17, 2013, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-the-ice-cream-man-tune-from-the-60s/663719 "2013-07-17T02:33:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-the-ice-cream-man-tune-from-the-60s/663719/1 "2013-07-17T02:33:38Z")
I’d like to identify the tune played by the ice cream man’s truck when I was a small child in the '60s. Unfortunately, I can’t write music. I started typing out detailed instructions on how to play the notes on an interactive keyboard. I think it might work if I just looked up which notes go with which keys. It goes something like this: B-B-A-A-G-B-D-G-F#-A-D-G-G-B-D ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-the-ice-cream-man-tune-from-the-60s/663719/2 "2013-07-17T02:56:48Z")
I can’t ID it with your notation, but check this ice cream truck [video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdrhCCAFLS0). It’s playing “Turkey in the Straw”, which is sort of the standard ice cream truck song. Is that it? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-the-ice-cream-man-tune-from-the-60s/663719/3 "2013-07-17T03:03:13Z")
> [@Balance](#): > > I can’t ID it with your notation, but check this ice cream truck [video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdrhCCAFLS0). It’s playing “Turkey in the Straw”, which is sort of the standard ice cream truck song. Is that it? No, I know _Turkey In The Straw_. That’s not it. [Here is a flash keyboard](http://www.musipedia.org/flash_piano.html). And [here are the notes](http://spider.georgetowncollege.edu/music/larue/music315/Piano%20Keyboard.html) on a keyboard. The notes are evenly spaced, and the tempo is about the same as _Old Joe Clark_. (The tune is nothing like _Old Joe Clark_. Just the tempo.) ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-the-ice-cream-man-tune-from-the-60s/663719/4 "2013-07-17T03:13:40Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > No, I know _Turkey In The Straw_. That’s not it. _Turkey in the Straw_ was a friend of his. That’s no _Turkey in the Straw._ ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-the-ice-cream-man-tune-from-the-60s/663719/5 "2013-07-17T03:51:29Z")
Is it the “Mr. Softee Song”? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/WsCDGY8e0P8/hqdefault.jpg "Vintage 1960 Boyertown/Ford Mister Softee Ice Cream truck & jingle, Buffalo, New York") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsCDGY8e0P8) ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-the-ice-cream-man-tune-from-the-60s/663719/6 "2013-07-17T03:59:59Z")
> **[Conspiracy and paranormal: News, features and articles | Live Science](https://www.livescience.com/human-behavior/conspiracies-paranormal)** > > From ghosts to UFOs, get the latest news, features and articles about conspiracies and the paranormal from Live Science. > [@](#): > > The “Mister Softee” tune, often referred to simply as “that ice cream truck song,” is a summer staple that’s here to stay. > > The music was originally written for an advertising agency by Les Waas in 1960 as part of an early radio campaign for Mister Softee ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-the-ice-cream-man-tune-from-the-60s/663719/7 "2013-07-17T04:07:53Z")
> [@Folly](#): > > Is it the “Mr. Softee Song”? > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsCDGY8e0P8](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsCDGY8e0P8) That’s not it either. It actually goes (as near as I can figure out a keyboard) B-B-A-A-G-B-D-G-F#-A-D-G-G-B-D. ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-the-ice-cream-man-tune-from-the-60s/663719/8 "2013-07-17T04:22:32Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > That’s not it either. It actually goes (as near as I can figure out a keyboard) B-B-A-A-G-B-D-G-F#-A-D-G-G-B-D. hmmm.. Ok, if you say so. playing that on a keyboard does remind me of the mister softee jingle though. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-the-ice-cream-man-tune-from-the-60s/663719/9 "2013-07-17T07:43:40Z")
> [@Folly](#): > > Is it the “Mr. Softee Song”? > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsCDGY8e0P8](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsCDGY8e0P8) Yes, that’s the song I remember when I was a kid in the 50s. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-the-ice-cream-man-tune-from-the-60s/663719/10 "2013-07-17T08:46:43Z")
Unfortunately, I can’t read music so I have no idea what the OP’s notes translate to. But here’s a [previous thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=571555)on the topic, _Music Box Dancer_ and _Turkey in the Straw_ seems to be popular ones. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-the-ice-cream-man-tune-from-the-60s/663719/11 "2013-07-17T09:01:19Z")
Could you tell us which notes are the highest and lowest? The tune jumps around and it’s a bit ambiguous as listed, e.g. is that a high F# or a low one? It would also be nice to know which notes the beat falls on. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-the-ice-cream-man-tune-from-the-60s/663719/12 "2013-07-17T12:29:15Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > Could you tell us which notes are the highest and lowest? The tune jumps around and it’s a bit ambiguous as listed, e.g. is that a high F# or a low one? > It would also be nice to know which notes the beat falls on. It’a a commuting day, so I need to hit the road. I’ll go back to my original plan of detailing which keys are played. For example, the first two notes are the white key immediately to the right of the third black key in the second set of three black keys depicted on the flash keyboard. The second two notes are played on the white key immediately to the left of the white key that was just played. And so on… Oh, before I go: The F# is the first black key in the second set of three black keys depicted on the flash keyboard. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-the-ice-cream-man-tune-from-the-60s/663719/13 "2013-07-17T14:52:26Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > No, I know _Turkey In The Straw_. That’s not it. Yes it is, though I admit it’s an unusual arrangement. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-the-ice-cream-man-tune-from-the-60s/663719/14 "2013-07-17T15:01:55Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Yes it is, though I admit it’s an unusual arrangement. No. The tune **Johnny L.A.** notated is nothing to do with “Turkey in the Straw.” It’s the standard ice cream truck song I heard growing up in San Diego, and in various threads like this one I’ve never seen anyone put a name to it. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-the-ice-cream-man-tune-from-the-60s/663719/15 "2013-07-17T15:32:29Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > No. The tune **Johnny L.A.** notated is nothing to do with “Turkey in the Straw.” It’s the standard ice cream truck song I heard growing up in San Diego, and in various threads like this one I’ve never seen anyone put a name to it. Sorry, I misunderstood what he was referring to. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-the-ice-cream-man-tune-from-the-60s/663719/16 "2013-07-17T15:41:16Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > It’a a commuting day, so I need to hit the road. I’ll go back to my original plan of detailing which keys are played. For example, the first two notes are the white key immediately to the right of the third black key in the second set of three black keys depicted on the flash keyboard. The second two notes are played on the white key immediately to the left of the white key that was just played. And so on… > > Oh, before I go: The F# is the first black key in the second set of three black keys depicted on the flash keyboard. Why don’t you whistle it into a Youtube video? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-the-ice-cream-man-tune-from-the-60s/663719/17 "2013-07-17T15:55:12Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > No. The tune **Johnny L.A.** notated is nothing to do with “Turkey in the Straw.” It’s the standard ice cream truck song I heard growing up in San Diego, and in various threads like this one I’ve never seen anyone put a name to it. Yeah, San Diego, '60s and '70s. ---
**Author:** ![MrSquishy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9e5f3/32.png) [@MrSquishy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrSquishy)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-the-ice-cream-man-tune-from-the-60s/663719/18 "2013-07-17T20:30:10Z")
Not sure if some of the links on this page might help: > **[3 Ways to Identify Songs Using Melody - wikiHow](https://www.wikihow.com/Identify-Songs-Using-Melody)** > > It's happened to all of us at one point or another; we get a song stuck in our heads, but can't figure out what the song actually is. While lyrics are still the easiest way to recognise a tune, something like a simple melody can be all you... I’m sure most of those sites are geared towards “real” music (not ice cream man tunes) but maybe something there might help. If nothing else, maybe there is a virtual keyboard site out there where you could record your version and link to it so we could listen to that? There is no rhythm to your list of notes, does that matter? Or would we recognize it just playing that melody as a bunch of say, quarter notes? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-the-ice-cream-man-tune-from-the-60s/663719/19 "2013-07-18T14:48:51Z")
Number 2 on that link is the flash keyboard I linked to earlier. I was unable to find the tune using that tool. As for the rhythm, it’s regular. Like ‘ONE and TWO and THREE and FOUR, and ONE and TWO and THREE and FOUR…’ ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-the-ice-cream-man-tune-from-the-60s/663719/20 "2013-07-18T17:38:42Z")
It’s not the tune that includes “4 and 20 blackbirds baked in a pie” is it? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-the-ice-cream-man-tune-from-the-60s/663719.md?page=2)