Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Jingle Hit

What San Diego musician can claim the title of Most Local Airplay? Pinback? P.O.D.? Jewel?

The honor goes to Leonard Tucker. You many not recognize the name, but odds are you know the voice. Here’s why: “Mossy Nissan! Mossy Nissan moves you!”

Love it or hate it, but the Mossy Nissan jingle — and Tucker’s distinctive yell at the end of the spot — is well known to most San Diegans. The 20-year-old song, in various incarnations, is broadcast locally approximately 2000 times a month on both radio and television. According to FM 94.9 music director Mike Halloran, a current Top 40 radio hit gets about 10,000 plays a month nationwide.

The song was recorded in either 1988 or 1989 — details about the recording are a bit fuzzy — and Tucker credits San Diego songwriter Dove Linkhorn at Powerhouse Recording Studios for writing the song.

Sponsored
Sponsored

“His jingles have a fun rhythm,” says Tucker. “He gave me the melody of what they were looking for and just kinda let me go for it.”

As for the yell at the end of the tune, Tucker says he went with his gut. “It just kind of came out. I don’t think it was a direction from anybody; it just kind of happened at the end.”

Singing commercial spots is a tough way to make a living, but Tucker has a successful career as a session singer and has performed on a number of well-known jingles. His voice can still be heard crooning the tag for Smooth Jazz 98.1, and radio listeners might remember his vocals on a radio spot for Bill Howe Plumbing and a jingle for the San Diego trolley.

“I also sang the San Diego Chargers song,” says Tucker. “There are two different versions. They played mine for years, and then more recently — with the Chargers having such a phenomenal season — they went back to the original, more disco version.”

The original “Super Chargers” was recorded in 1979 by a group of session musicians under the name of Captain Q.B. and the Big Boys. Tucker’s rendition has since been retired.

Along with having two of the best-known San Diego songs under his belt, Tucker, a former employee of NASSCO (National Steel and Shipyard Company), also sings with ’60s R&B soul legends the Fifth Dimension.

Jim Tindaro, co-owner of American Strategies Marketing, the agency that handles advertising for Mossy, said he was looking for something with a Latin beat back in 1988 to catch the ear of the young, urban car buyer.

“We knew that music plays a big part in that segment, and we decided to come up with a musical signature,” says Tindaro. “At the time I knew kind of what I wanted to accomplish — I’m a former musician myself — and I knew what kind of sound would resonate. At the time it was all Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine. That was the thought process. I went to the creative people and said, ‘This is what I am envisioning for this tune.’ ”

Dove Linkhorn isn’t surprised at the jingle’s longevity. “Mossy Nissan is Jingles 101. The essence of jingle writing is all there. If you want to know how to write a jingle, listen to that one, and you’ve got it. It has to have a hook, and you’ve got to get the name out there clearly — get it out there so people are not only listening, but singing. It’s really not much different than trying to write a hit song.”

For proof that the jingle has become a piece of local music history, look no further than Rookie Card’s front man Adam Gimbel. The song is such a San Diego institution that at one point the band incorporated the jingle into their set list.

“Everyone knows it,” says Gimbel. “We opened up for ABC at the House of Blues and opened up with [Mossy Nissan], and I swear, there were 500 or 600 people and you could see them start to cheer. Everyone knows it.”

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Dia de los Muertos Celebration, Love Thy Neighbor(Hood): Food & Art Exploration

Events November 2-November 6, 2024
Next Article

The Fellini of Clairemont High

When gang showers were standard for gym class

What San Diego musician can claim the title of Most Local Airplay? Pinback? P.O.D.? Jewel?

The honor goes to Leonard Tucker. You many not recognize the name, but odds are you know the voice. Here’s why: “Mossy Nissan! Mossy Nissan moves you!”

Love it or hate it, but the Mossy Nissan jingle — and Tucker’s distinctive yell at the end of the spot — is well known to most San Diegans. The 20-year-old song, in various incarnations, is broadcast locally approximately 2000 times a month on both radio and television. According to FM 94.9 music director Mike Halloran, a current Top 40 radio hit gets about 10,000 plays a month nationwide.

The song was recorded in either 1988 or 1989 — details about the recording are a bit fuzzy — and Tucker credits San Diego songwriter Dove Linkhorn at Powerhouse Recording Studios for writing the song.

Sponsored
Sponsored

“His jingles have a fun rhythm,” says Tucker. “He gave me the melody of what they were looking for and just kinda let me go for it.”

As for the yell at the end of the tune, Tucker says he went with his gut. “It just kind of came out. I don’t think it was a direction from anybody; it just kind of happened at the end.”

Singing commercial spots is a tough way to make a living, but Tucker has a successful career as a session singer and has performed on a number of well-known jingles. His voice can still be heard crooning the tag for Smooth Jazz 98.1, and radio listeners might remember his vocals on a radio spot for Bill Howe Plumbing and a jingle for the San Diego trolley.

“I also sang the San Diego Chargers song,” says Tucker. “There are two different versions. They played mine for years, and then more recently — with the Chargers having such a phenomenal season — they went back to the original, more disco version.”

The original “Super Chargers” was recorded in 1979 by a group of session musicians under the name of Captain Q.B. and the Big Boys. Tucker’s rendition has since been retired.

Along with having two of the best-known San Diego songs under his belt, Tucker, a former employee of NASSCO (National Steel and Shipyard Company), also sings with ’60s R&B soul legends the Fifth Dimension.

Jim Tindaro, co-owner of American Strategies Marketing, the agency that handles advertising for Mossy, said he was looking for something with a Latin beat back in 1988 to catch the ear of the young, urban car buyer.

“We knew that music plays a big part in that segment, and we decided to come up with a musical signature,” says Tindaro. “At the time I knew kind of what I wanted to accomplish — I’m a former musician myself — and I knew what kind of sound would resonate. At the time it was all Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine. That was the thought process. I went to the creative people and said, ‘This is what I am envisioning for this tune.’ ”

Dove Linkhorn isn’t surprised at the jingle’s longevity. “Mossy Nissan is Jingles 101. The essence of jingle writing is all there. If you want to know how to write a jingle, listen to that one, and you’ve got it. It has to have a hook, and you’ve got to get the name out there clearly — get it out there so people are not only listening, but singing. It’s really not much different than trying to write a hit song.”

For proof that the jingle has become a piece of local music history, look no further than Rookie Card’s front man Adam Gimbel. The song is such a San Diego institution that at one point the band incorporated the jingle into their set list.

“Everyone knows it,” says Gimbel. “We opened up for ABC at the House of Blues and opened up with [Mossy Nissan], and I swear, there were 500 or 600 people and you could see them start to cheer. Everyone knows it.”

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

At 4pm, this Farmer's Table restaurant in Chula Vista becomes Acqua e Farina

Brunch restaurant by day, Roman style trattoria by night
Next Article

Haunted Trail of Balboa Park, ZZ Top, Gem Diego Show

Events October 31-November 2, 2024
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader