The Making Of ‘I’d Like To Buy The World A Coke’

A New Pop Version Is Recorded

Billy Davis wanted to produce a record version of the commercial with the New Seekers, but the group’s manager claimed they didn’t have time in their schedule to do so. Davis allowed a group of studio singers to record the new song lyric to “I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke.” They called themselves “The Hillside Singers” in order to identify with the TV image. Within two weeks of the release of the Hillside Singers recording, it was on the national charts. Two weeks after that, Davis was able to convince the New Seekers to find the time and record their version of “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing (in Perfect Harmony),” the new title for the song version of “I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke.” He took them to the studio on a Sunday and produced the record which became the Top 10 hit, followed by the Hillside Singers’ version as No. 13 on the pop charts. The song was recorded in a wide range of languages and sold more sheet music than any song in the previous 10 years. The Coca-Cola Company donated the first $80,000 in royalties earned from the song by writers and publishers to UNICEF under an agreement with the writers.

“I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke” has had a lasting connection with the public. The commercial has consistently been voted one of the best of all time and the sheet music continues to sell today. The song version is being sung in school glee clubs and church choirs and played by high school bands all over the world. Thirty years after Bill Backer was stranded by fog, Coca-Cola is still more than a beverage. It is a common connection between the people of the world.