Singles
After the TV commercial was aired, radio stations began to get calls from people who liked it and Billy Davis' friends in radio suggested he record the song, but not as an advertising jingle. It became so popular that the song was rewritten without brand name references, and expanded to three verses. Davis recruited a group of studio singers to take it on because The New Seekers did not have time to record it. The studio group named themselves The Hillside Singers to identify with the ad, and within two weeks the song was on the national charts. The Hillside Singers' version reached #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #5 on Billboard's Easy Listening chart.
The New Seekers later found time to record the song, and sold 96,000 copies of their record in one day, eventually selling 12 million total. The recording shot lead singer Eve Graham and the other members of The New Seekers to super-stardom. "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (in Perfect Harmony)" climbed to UK #1 and US #7 in 1971 and 1972. The song has sold over a million copies in the UK. The Coca-Cola Company waived royalties to the song and instead donated $80,000 in payments to UNICEF.
Read more about this topic: I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing (in Perfect Harmony)