Dick Hamilton (1976)

Dick Hamilton passed away on June 9, 2025, but he left behind a wealth of great jingles created for radio, TV and advertisers of all sorts. Living in Los Angeles for many years, Dick had access to the top musicians in the country, including the Ron Hicklin Singers. Over the years he also performed live jazz and Dixieland gigs in which he played just about every instrument at one time or another. In fact he produced an entire CD of original songs on which he performed every instrument simultaneously (with the aid of multi-track tape) including trumpet, trombone, keyboards, drums and flutes. This project was called “Album Myself.”

The following radio station jingle lyrics are brought to you courtesy of Dick Hamilton and The Heller Corporation:

The brand new old time flying machine, step on a wing, swinging in the cockpit, all day flight time up in the air, the whistling wind, the flying hair. WNAP stereo 93 Indianapolis. 

There’s a 47 year-old pussycat loose in the countryside oh yeah. The 47-year old pussycat can run oh, yeah. He’s stalkin’ the street, he’ll walk in and meet you, shhhh, listen. There’s a middle-aged psychedelic pussycat around oh, yeah. There’s a tiger of a different strip around, oh yeah.  Action he seeks, you better listen when he speaks, the 47-year old swingin’ pussycat KFI 640.

It’s a shame what’s happened to radio, but they can’t afford to do it anymore. It’s a shame they can’t hire a section of strings, and the group that sings KVIL, but they can’t afford to do it anymore. It’s a shame. It’s a shame what’s happened to radio, but they can’t afford to do it anymore. It’s a shame they can’t hire a section of brass, be so much class on KVIL, but they can’t afford to do it anymore. It’s a shame! It’s a shame what’s happened to radio but they can’t afford to do it anymore. You remember the days they had a big rock band, I’d like to give ‘em a hand on KVIL, but they can’t afford to do it anymore.  (Written in 1974!)

Beyond the valleys of the moon we see the beauty everywhere. Beyond the wind a haunting tune, we hear the music in the air. Listen WJW the living sound. Beyond the shadow of a dream there lives a memory or two. WJW. The living sound, the Cleveland sound.

WDEE, the far off whistle through the night, over the fields the flashing light. We gotta make the run before the night is through, the midnight train to Hamtramck (a Polish community of Detroit) a choo choo choo. The Big D, WDEE. Hey get them cattle off the track, ain’t nothing gonna hold us back. The legendary engine number 150, the midnight train to Hamtramck, a ho ho ho.  The midnight train to Hamtramck, WDEE.

It should be obvious even from these brief lyric samples that Dick Hamilton was not your typical jingle writer. His vision was unique. (Listen to a sampling of the jingles he created below.)

Not only did Hamilton write jingles for Heller, TM and commercial producer Dynamic Productions, he created musical magic for many others as well beginning in about 1968. It’s a little known fact that he also ran his own recording studio in his garage and got a sound that million dollar studios couldn’t equal. Using only eight tracks to record on, he produced incredible music that many tried to copy.

Dick Hamilton was an original.

Ken Deutsch
Wednesday, December 31, 2025 

Hamiltonian Sampler

Heller WNBC Jingles

Heller WBAL Jingles

Heller WEEI Jingles

Heller WIND Jingles

Heller WCKY Jingles

Heller WMAL Jingles

Heller CBS Radio Network Sounders