Times of Your Life - Paul Anka (1976) 11/25/21

Remember those golden days of yesteryear when you didn't have 500 pictures of Thanksgiving dinner on your cell phone?

Let's go back to 1975, when the only way you could capture a memory--Thanksgiving or otherwise--was with a camera.

The name Kodak meant quality cameras and film back then, and they came up with a simple, but genius concept. They created an ad campaign called "Times of Your Life," suggesting that people could (and should) capture their memories with Kodak products.

The idea itself certainly wasn't new...but the presentation was unique!

Songwriters Roger Nichols and Bill Lane wrote a jingle around the idea, and Kodak hired Paul Anka to sing it.

The campaign was a HUGE success for Kodak...and then, when the jingle was expanded into a song and released as a single, it was a HUGE success for Paul!

In early 1976, "Times of Your Life" reached #1 on Billboard's Easy Listening Chart and #7 on the Hot 100!

Believe it or not, it was Paul Anka's ONLY #1 on any chart in his long, illustrious career, which continues even today. (At age 80, he recently appeared on "The Masked Singer" as "Broccoli.")

"Times of Your Life" has reappeared in pop culture a number of times over the years. It was used on promos for the TV series "Mad Men," (which made sense since the show took place at an ad agency back in the day), and RIGHT NOW, in 2021, it's being used as a jingle for Downy fabric softener!

"Times of Your Life:" a Great ad campaign for Kodak, and a "Great Song of 1976" by Paul Anka! Happy Thanksgiving!

And now, (if you'll forgive the pun I used a few times on the air in Toledo):

"Enjoy some Anka Brand decaffeinated music!" (Those of a certain age will get it.)