In MKE Music Rewind we revisit notable Milwaukee music that was released before Milwaukee Record became a thing in April 2014. This week: Perfect Pitch Inc.’s “Brewer Fever” baseball anthem from 1980.
Today is Opening Day, which marks the official start of another season of Milwaukee Brewers baseball. Between this afternoon and the end of September (or potentially deep into October), the Brew Crew will offer oodles of unforgettable moments fans might remember for years to come. Meanwhile, fans will partake in Brewers-adjacent rituals such as tailgating, embarking on road trips to visiting ballparks, and listening to game broadcasts while grilling or doing yard work. Some Brewers faithful might even sing along to endearingly dated songs about Milwaukee’s favorite professional baseball organization.
Last year, we preceded a Brewers playoff run by looking back at Terry Sweet And The Brewer Band’s 1985 jam, “Turnin’ Up The Heat.” Well, in advance of today’s home opener, we’re going to focus on another ’80s team anthem about our Milwaukee Brewers. A full five years before Sweet—a Wauwatosa-based composer and accomplished jingle writer—turned up the heat, the city came down with a case of “Brewer Fever” on account of another catchy baseball bop.
You could say “Brewer Fever” walked so “Turnin’ Up The Heat” could homer. In terms of quality, relevance, and popularity among fans, the former is a distant second place compared to Sweet’s follow-up half a decade later. Though released in accordance with the 1980 Brewers season, the team-approved “Brewer Fever” sounds straight out of the mid-’70s, as hand clap-conveyed percussion is flanked with a blaring (seemingly artificial) brass section, bloop-y keyboard accompaniment, and shrill AM radio-inspired vocals encouraging listeners to stomp their feet and clap their hands.
Though the song was commissioned by the Milwaukee Brewers organization, it was produced by Perfect Pitch Inc., an advertising firm based in Cleveland, Ohio. Perfect Pitch was founded by Walter Woodward, a longtime folk musician and a songwriter who co-wrote material for country artists like Billie Jo Spears and Walt Mills in the 1970s. Woodward’s company name had a dual meaning, nodding to the advertising “pitch” along with its apparent sports-related marketing focus—especially in the realm of professional baseball.
Woodward and Perfect Pitch Inc. in general were unabashedly hired guns who operated with no semblance of team loyalty. They wrote and recorded a “Royal Mania” song for the Kansas City Royals. In 1980 alone, Perfect Pitch was commissioned to compose songs for at least three Major League Baseball teams.
There was the ill-named “Indian Fever” that championed Cleveland’s team using similar lyrics, instruments, and broad sentiments as its Brewers counterpart. In addition to those “Fever”-themed songs, Woodward and the Perfect Pitch crew as a whole also managed their MLB music masterpiece in 1980 with the release of “Orioles Magic.”
The driving, toe-tapping number gradually builds to a rousing, Neil Diamond-like crescendo of “Orioles Magic, feel it happen!” amid swelling horns, squealing electric guitar, and era-specific references to O’s great. It absolutely rules, even if you’re not a Baltimore fan, and it’s no surprise the song has stuck as a popular Orioles anthem more than 45 years after its release.
As for “Brewer Fever,” it lands somewhere between the poorly-aged blandness of “Indian Fever” and the catchy charm of “Orioles Magic.” There have been better Brewers fight songs, but there have been far, far worse as well. If you’re fortunate enough to happen upon a 7-inch from the (almost certainly) one and only pressing of “Brewer Fever,” you’ll probably have to fork over at least $25 to add it to your collection. It’s no “Orioles Magic” and not even close to the novelty or local significance of “Turnin’ Up The Heat,” but if you’re hearing “Brewer Fever,” it’s probably baseball season so life is good. So stomp your feet and clap your hands, Milwaukee. The Brewers are back!
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