Dittrich Furs - meet the man behind the famous jingle

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. (FOX 2) - When it comes to Detroit classics - you think of Vernors, Coney Dogs, and a certain jingle that you've probably been singing all week long - Dittrich Furs.

This week the news dropped that the long-time luxury fur store will be closing its doors for good.  

The backstory:

FOX 2 got a chance to talk to the man who wrote that catchy jingle that has lasted for 40 years.

Metro Detroiter Dan Yessian has been writing jingles for more than 50 years.

"We've done it for United Airlines, Spirit Airlines, Coca-Cola, Disney, and blah, blah, blah, all these things, but it's never garnered this kind of attention," he said.

That classic Dittrich song is back in the spotlight since the long time for a company announced it was closing its doors in a few months for good.

"That's been around now for so long, it's just uncanny," he said. "It's kind of a phenomenon."

When Yessian got the call about doing the jingle, his marching orders from Dittrich were clear.

"(They said) 'Dan, I need to have this jingle with the words in it, 1893 when we started. I need the word dependability, and I need you to mention Dittrich Furs at least seven times,'" he said. "The commercial kind of wrote itself because it was all lined up there. All I had to do was put the pieces together."

Finding the right music tempo was important, he said.

"It wasn't that simple, but I went home that evening and started fleshing out a melody," Yessian said.

When he found out the model would be riding a horse bareback while wearing a beautiful fur coat - that gave him an idea.

"All I could think was it could be a waltz in three-quarter time," he said.

Little did Dan know 40 years later people would still be singing that song.

"It just seeped it into the consciousness of the public and it's played an awful lot," he said. "It was played a lot back then, but gradually it became part of the culture."

FOX 2 was lucky enough to get a live performance by Yessian along with vocalist Kenny Watson and musician Ohad Wilner. While they aren't the original singers, it felt just as magical.

"I'm very, very proud of the fact that it's had this kind of longevity," he said.

But at the same time, he's a little perplexed.

"People have it as their ringtone on their phones," he said laughing. "Why?"