Coca Cola Ad Music

There's a cool song in a recent Coca Cola ad which I saw several times during the Olympics. I liked the song so much (not to mention the concept of the ad: singing a gentle song and handing out gifts to strangers) that I did a few searches until I figured out what it was. The song, "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to be Free", was written in 1954 by Billy Taylor, and became a civil rights anthem. It was first recorded in 1967 by Nina Simone. Here's a Library of Congress article about it (they have a manuscript of the song). The version in the commercial is by Sharlene Hector of Basement Jaxx, and has been released as a single in Great Britain.

If it weren't for the ad, I may have never noticed this beautiful song. Every once in awhile commercials are good for something.

Did I also mention the JC Penny ad with the cool hiphop music? I'm not much into rap, but this one is just very cool. The song is "Rock Ya Body (Mic Check 1, 2)" by Stagga Lee of MVP (Most Valuable Playas). The album is available on Amazon.com, but I only want the one song. It's not like I listen to a lot of rap. If I could get it legally as an MP3 I'd go for it. At least until I can get a copy, there is a sample at Amazon.com to listen to.