You know the song. But do you know the man who produced the Adventureland ad jingle?

"Come on over to Adventureland, you're gonna have a fun-filled day!"

You know the song. You might even know the words.

For years, Adventureland's commercial jingle ruled the airwaves. The seconds-long song, which debuted in the mid- to late-1980s on TV and radio ads, became a summer fixture for Iowans much like their days spent at the Altoona amusement park.

But what else is there to know about the tune?

It starts with Rick Condon at Triad Studios.

Longtime Des Moines musician and recording engineer Rick Condon produced the legendary jingle, which briefly was taken off the air in 2021 as the amusement park faced new ownership. Adventureland, Iowa's largest theme park celebrating its 50th milestone anniversary this year, was sold to Palace Entertainment, the U.S. subsidiary of global theme park operator Parques Reunidos.

Palace Entertainment brought the familiar song back during the summer of 2022 along with a new ad to promote the park's newest ride at the time — The Flying Viking. Alex Payne, regional public relations manager for Palace Entertainment, said the company plans to include the song as "a large part of our brand in the future."

In 1985, Condon was named chief engineer at Triad Studios in Des Moines — a period in his life where he says he hit a professional stride and cemented his role in the city's music scene. Condon, now 73, said he first joined Triad in 1974 to help run the company's secondary studio. He was then 24 and shifting away from his band, Salt River.

Condon said an ad agency approached him sometime in the mid-1980s, with a request to revamp Adventureland's original banjo-heavy number. He remembered they wanted something "more like Disney" and less "hokey."

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Condon's first idea was to "get a huge orchestra." Then, he hired Duane Funderburk, a pianist and composer he had often collaborated with, to craft the arrangement. Funderburk, who lived in Des Moines with his wife from 1985 to 1992, said he met Condon at Triad. They began working together, he recalls, after Condon learned of his love for writing music.

Funderburk, 70, and who settled in California after his stint in Iowa, remembered Condon wanted the new jingle to be lively.

"He wanted this to be a really fun jingle with some energy to it," Funderburk said about Condon's vision. "We knew enough about Iowa. We knew enough about how much Adventureland meant to a lot of people. We worked really hard to create a fun, energetic piece of music."

Somewhere between 20 to 30 singers and musicians, including those from the Des Moines Symphony, were brought on to bring the upbeat brass-dominant track to life, Condon and Funderburk said.

Condon said he couldn't have predicted that his Adventureland ad jingle would take off the way it did and have the shelf-life that it did.

"Had I known that was going to last that long, I would have charged them more," he joked.

The bill came out to $4,000 — about $12,000 in today's dollars.

More: Adventureland sets its 2024 opening date. Here's what to expect this season

Funderburk shared a similar response.

"No, no, no," he said, reflecting on the longevity of the Adventureland song Condon produced.

"Music changes so fast, but what's happened is people got this (song) in their mind when we first created it," he added. "And that's what they heard every time they saw the Adventureland commercial. ... It's really catchy, and people remember it."

Condon recalls other popular jingles like Drake Diner, Chevrolet

Condon also helped produce catchy jingles years later for Drake Diner and a local Chevrolet dealership.

On producing music for the diner, Condon remembered the no-frills restaurant on Drake University's campus had a slogan: "Where you want to be." Condon said he was asked to create three different versions of one jingle — it had to come in country, rock and R&B. The song didn't have a message; the sound needed to be distinct enough for people to associate the college spot with it.

It was a tall order, but one Condon said he completed. Condon said he enlisted the help of Warren Rogers, a local pastor in the Des Moines metro, with the R&B version. He also tapped then Iowa Public Television host Morgan Halgren to assist with the diner's punk rock version. He had a particular vision for Halgren.

Condon wanted Haldren's screechy, Olive Oil-style voice to tower over the chorus to get that brash sound.

"She was an actress, and she had 100 voices that she could do," Condon said as he went over Halgren's body of work and areas of expertise.

Condon says secret to his success: Singing in the shower

Among the stories Condon told the Register, there's one that stood out. Years ago, Condon said he was hired to produce a song that went along with a presentation for a former Maytag CEO who was scheduled to speak at a major conference.

It was the mid-1990s and the movie "Space Jam," which featured Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan and other NBA stars such as Larry Bird, Larry Johnson and Patrick Ewing, was popular. And the hit song from that film was R. Kelly's "I Believe I Could Fly."

Condon said he read over the president's speech and saw it echoed the same messages of possibility, bravery and self-belief as "I Believe I Could Fly." What he knew for certain was that he was going to bring a full orchestra. The rest was still unwritten.

Condon said he was stumped and didn't have anything to share up until the day before he was to make his pitch. He said he got in the shower and minutes later came out with a song.

"This is how my whole music career has gone frankly," he said, while laughing. "I got in the shower one morning, and by the time I got out of the shower, I had a completely written song and sat down on the piano."

Just curious: This occasional feature in the Des Moines Register aims to answer your questions about Iowa. Is there some place, event, lore, history or cultural quirk you're just curious about? Email your question to the Des Moines Register's Bill Steiden at [email protected].

F. Amanda Tugade covers social justice issues for the Des Moines Register. Email her at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter @writefelissa.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Do you know the man who produced the Adventureland ad jingle?