The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.

Originally, I planned to write this post about “Ariel,” Dean’s obscure-ish 1977 hit. “Ariel” was the full extent of my Dean Friedman knowledge. Sounding a little like a cross between Billy Joel (in the verses) and The Four Seasons (in the chorus), his debut single reached the Top 30 in the US (Top 20 if you go by Cash Box) and likely would have climbed higher if not for the fact that Dean’s tiny record label couldn’t press the vinyl fast enough to keep up with demand. The single stalled and eventually faded from the public consciousness.

Friedman writes with a sense of humor so it’s possible that radio programmers later treated “Ariel” as a novelty song, which may explain it’s disappearance from “oldies” stations while other small hits from the time remain in rotation.

But wait, why am I writing about this song when I apparently scrapped that plan to write about a song called “McDonald’s Girl” instead? Good question. Let me answer that by writing about another, entirely different song.

Having not grown up in the UK, I can only cover so much ground when it comes to hearing all the music which achieved popularity across the Atlantic, especially when you’re talking about nearly 50 years ago. And especially when it comes to one- (or two-) hit wonders. Unbeknownst to me — until doing a little research for “Ariel” — Friedman’s song, “Lucky Stars,” a duet with Denise Marsa from his second album, was a huge hit outside of North America in 1978, reaching #3 on the UK charts. After an appearance on Top Of The Pops, Friedman’s next album and single should have been perfectly set up to build on his previous UK success.

Which finally brings us to “McDonald’s Girl,” the sweet and innocent tale of a teenage boy falling for the cashier at his local McDonald’s. Research brought me to this song, as well — another with which I was wholly unfamiliar. Taken from Friedman’s third album, the single was released in 1981 and the BBC, as it was wont to do, promptly banned it because, at the time, they refused to play any song whose lyrics mentioned a brand name. (The same hammer fell on The Kinks when they submitted “Lola” to the BBC, only to find it necessary to rerecord and replace “Coca Cola” with the less specific “cherry cola” — but in that instance it wasn’t the title and core of the entire song.) The follow-up-hit-that-might-have-been never gained traction where it should have in the UK, and low sales, coupled with management and label difficulties, effectively ended Friedman’s pop career. He worked on a few TV and movie soundtracks over the next decade but wouldn’t release an album of new material until 1998.

A cult following held a torch (not the flashlight kind), huddled in the dark, cupping the flame. Barenaked Ladies recorded their own live version of “McDonald’s Girl” in 1991 which garnered some of their first airplay and attention on Canadian radio. The Blenders, a vocal quartet from North Dakota, covered the song in 2000, scoring a European hit (#1 in Norway, baby!), and 10 years later, McDonald’s used their version in a commercial — something you’d think the Golden Arches would have done much sooner.

Anyway, all of this was a long, long way to go just to say that I found this song and now I’m in love with “McDonald’s Girl.” It wasn’t the plan.