McDonald's Girl

Album: Rumpled Romeo (1981)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • A track from Dean Friedman's third album, this one finds him falling in love with a girl who works at McDonald's - an angel in polyester. Friedman's second album produced hits in the UK with "Lucky Stars" and "Lydia," but this one ran into a problem: the BBC refused to play any song where the name of a product or company was mentioned in a way they could be considered an endorsement. The Kinks got around this by swapping out "Coca-Cola" for "cherry cola" in their song "Lola," but there was no way to edit this one. In our Dean Friedman interview, he said: "I thought 'McDonald's Girl' was a surefire hit. It was released by CBS Records in the UK. But it was immediately banned by the BBC.
  • In their early year, the Barenaked Ladies played this song at concerts, and in 1992 they played it on an appearance on the Toronto radio station CFNY. In 1998, a Minnesota group called The Blenders released their version as a single, and it went to #1 in Norway. In 2011, their version was used in a commercial for McDonald's.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Alan Merrill of The Arrows

Alan Merrill of The ArrowsSongwriter Interviews

In her days with The Runaways, Joan Jett saw The Arrows perform "I Love Rock And Roll," which Alan Merrill co-wrote - that story and much more from this glam rock pioneer.

Dave Mason

Dave MasonSongwriter Interviews

Dave reveals the inspiration for "Feelin' Alright" and explains how the first song he ever wrote became the biggest hit for his band Traffic.

Peter Lord

Peter LordSongwriter Interviews

You may not recognize his name, but you will certainly recognize Peter Lord's songs. He wrote the bevy of hits from Paula Abdul's second album, Spellbound.

Rock Stars of Horror

Rock Stars of HorrorMusic Quiz

Rock Stars - especially those in the metal realm - are often enlisted for horror movies. See if you know can match the rocker to the role.

Bill Withers

Bill WithersSongwriter Interviews

Soul music legend Bill Withers on how life experience and the company you keep leads to classic songs like "Lean On Me."

Al Kooper

Al KooperSongwriter Interviews

Kooper produced Lynyrd Skynyrd, played with Dylan and the Stones, and formed BS&T.