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| Jan Gabriel, the man who coined the phrase "SUNDAY! SUNDAY! SUNDAY!" passes away | | Print | |
| Written by Larz | |||
| Monday, 11 January 2010 12:09 | |||
Jan C. Gabriel passed away yesterday. While the name Jan Gabriel may not ring a bell for many of you, his voice surely will. It was Jan Gabriel who first came up with the phrase "SUNDAY! SUNDAY! SUNDAY!" for the US 30 Drag Strip and Sante Fe Speedway TV & radio commercials. These commercials were arguably the catchiest local commercials ever. The phrase was later copied in many other markets (often with Gabriel himself doing the vocals). It still is commonly used for Monster Truck exhibitions and continues to be the subject of numerous parodies. NBC's Jay Leno and Al Roker use the phrase often for laughs. It is an American institution and it all started because of one local area man. Jan Gabriel as a WJOB DJ Jan Gabriel did much more for Chicago area media than just promote weekend races on commercials. In the early 60's, he was a night time rock & roll DJ for WJOB in Hammond -- a "screamer" much like Dick Biondi. He would emcee and DJ dances around the northwestern IN and Chicago's south suburbs. He was the host of the "Up Tempo" TV dance program that aired on Channel 26. He produced & directed "Flash Gordon Theater" for Channel 7. His nationally syndicated TV program "Super Chargers" ran for a dozen years, locally airing on WLS-TV & WMAQ-TV. He put out the popular "Battle of the Monster Trucks" video tape series. He did many other commercials, as well, including those for Community Discount, Nelson Brothers Furniture and Aronson Furniture. Since the late 50's, Jan has been a radio personality, a radio and TV producer, a writer & announcer of thousands of commercials, host of a local TV show, host of a national TV show, president of an advertising agency, and much more.  Jan Gabriel at the US 30 Drag Strip Despite all of his media victories, it was his love for motor sports that fueled his passion and truly made him famous. He was a drag race announcer in the early 60's. That little hobby turned into a career as a 14 year announcer for the Sante Fe Speedway and another 3 years at the Indianapolis 500 Speedway. The US 30 Drag Strip was advertising on the radio & TV, but really wanted to fans to know when the races were. The Drag Strip's owner, Ben Criss, asked Jan Gabriel to figure out a way to get fans to the park at the proper time. A few minutes later, thanks to Jan Gabriel's vocal power and a little reverb, the famous "SUNDAY! SUNDAY! SUNDAY!" was born. You could not turn on local TV or flip on a rock or country radio station in the evenings or weekends and not hear a commercial that said "SUNDAY! SUNDAY! SUNDAY! at SMOKIN' US 30 Drag Strip... Where the great ooooones... RUN, run, run, run, run..." Those commercials would make household names out of racers like Chi-Town Hustler, Don Prudhomme, "Big Daddy" Don Garlits, Mr. Norm and so on. Even with all of his promotional talents, Jan himself did not become a household name, although he seemed alright with that.  Jan Gabriel and his "Super Chargers" Serious health issues started for Jan in the 90's. In 1990, he found out he had a genetic Polycystic Kidney Disease. In 1992, he had surgery to open up clogged arteries near his heart. It was also around then, that Jan began on dialysis to keep his blood clean and was put on a kidney donor list, awaiting a new kidney to keep him alive. Early 1993 brought yet another heart surgery. Late 1993 was still another surgery, but this time it was because a matching kidney had been found and the kidney transplant finally took place. This donated kidney work for about 12 years and life picked up again for Jan Gabriel. However, this donated kidney failed in 2005 and his poor health returned. In addition to the daily dialysis routine, Gabriel found out that he had Peripheral Artery Disease, a disease that constricted the blood vessels in his legs. It ended up costing him both of his legs. For the last few years, he had been on a kidney waiting list. Unfortunately, his match never came. Jan C. Gabriel lost his struggle with his health issues yesterday, passing away at the age of 69 years. He is survived by his wife Teresa and his daughter, Amanda. No funeral or wake arrangements have been announced. Those who knew Jan and shared time with him know how he beamed with pride when talking about his many accomplishments. He had no regrets at all. He was simply stuck inside of a body that could not contain all that energy. It also seems fitting that the man left us on a day of the week he made echo in our heads: "SUNDAY! SUNDAY! SUNDAY!"  Note: I have a video tribute to the late Jan Gabriel on the Videos page at this link HERE.
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