Louie the Fly

The iconic jingle, which immortalised Louie in the mind of generations of Australians, was recorded by Neil Williams five years later in 1962.

'In those analogue days, a music jingle involved big expense', explains Grant Higgins, who works in advertising himself. 'A composer, session musicians, studio time - all expanding the budget. So they needed to know it was successful before they took that plunge.'

The composer and the singer

The man behind the music and lyrics for ‘Louie the Fly’ was James Joseph White (or ‘Jimmy’ to his colleagues). Born in 1922, Jimmy worked as a pianist and composer after serving in the Second World War. He wrote numerous popular jingles, including ‘Mr Sheen’ and, of course, ‘Louie the Fly.’

James Joseph White, composer of the 'Louie the Fly' jingle.

'It was the only composition that he copyrighted', says his niece, Lesley Rochaix. Lesley, along with other family members, retains copyright. 'He must have known how popular it would turn out to be.'

Louie’s original singing voice was Neil Williams. Born in 1929, Williams was already a popular singer when the time came to record the commercial. It was he who was asked to sing the part of Louie for the jingle, while Higgins and two other singers, Jimmy Parkinson and Ted Hamilton, provided backing vocals.

'Dad often forgot which commercial he sang in until it was aired on the TV', says his daughter, Carla Dyson. 'He commented to Mum after this session that he had sung about many products, but this was the first time he had been asked to be a fly. He laughed it off.'

The jingle was an instant success. When the time came to re-record it for a new campaign, it was Ross Higgins who took on singing duties in addition to voice acting.

'Bryce Courtenay instructed the audio engineers and his agency staff to "leave it to Ross" as to how it was done', says Grant. 'From that point, Ross was given free rein over how Louie evolved from a performance point of view.'

King Louie

This free rein lasted for more than 50 years, with Ross voicing Louie until 2011.

'In his final years, the recording sessions became something of an event, and agency staff and others in the industry would ask to come along and watch', recalls Grant.

For the families of Ross Higgins, Neil Williams and James Joseph White, Louie is one part of their relatives’ long and illustrious careers in showbiz.

Carla says, 'My brother, sister and myself were often referred to as the children of Neil Williams, the singing celebrity. We were proud of this.'

'What Ross did seemed normal to me growing up, because I knew nothing else', adds Grant. 'Working in television as a writer, I was lucky to write scripts and shows in which Ross performed.'

Mortein ads still feature the unmistakeable tune of the original jingle. And while everyone’s favourite gangster fly shows no sign of disappearing (despite Mortein’s 2011 PR campaign around killing him off), the fact that the jingle is now part of Sounds of Australia means it will live on at the NFSA for future generations to enjoy.

'I don’t know that Jim ever dreamed that Louie the Fly would become an Australian musical icon!', says Lesley Rochaix of her uncle’s legacy. 'He was very fond of this jingle and rightfully proud of it.'