The Guy Who Created the Mister Softee Jingle Has Died

Read: The War on Ice Cream Men

Les Waas—the man behind the jingle that's been cemented into America's collective consciousness from decades of after-school ice cream truck visits—has died, ABC News reports. He was 94 years old.

Waas originally wrote the Mister Softee jingle, officially titled "Jingle and Chimes," for a Philadelphia company he worked for in 1960. The tune quickly became the pied piper of ice cream, coaxing kids out of their homes and up to the trucks with cash in hand.

Surprisingly, the tune actually has lyrics you can sing along to. You can hate the song or love it, but the damn thing will get stuck into your head either way.

"The creamiest, dreamiest soft ice cream,
You get from Mister Softee.
For a refreshing delight supreme,
Look for Mister Softee.
My milkshakes and my sundaes and my cones are such a treat,
Listen for my store on wheels, ding-a-ling down the street.
The creamiest, dreamiest soft ice cream,
You get from Mister Softee.
For a refreshing delight supreme,
Look for Mister Softee.
S-O-F-T Double 'E,' Mister Softee."

Waas worked in advertising for five decades and wrote more than 970 jingles, also serving as chairman of the board at Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia. He passed away April 19 at Abington Hospice in Warmington, Pennsylvania, but his Softee jingle will live on forever.

Thumbnail photo via Suzanne LaGasa