Mary Mayo (20 July 1924 – December 1985) was an American singer and actress who was a member of The Hillside Singers and performed at New York City nightclubs including Michael’s Pub and the Copacabana.
[1] Mayo was born in Statesville, North Carolina to Lois Long and Franklin Riker, both opera singers who had returned to Long's hometown to operate the Dixie Dame Co., which manufactured "pickles with a pedigree.
[3] In 1946 Mayo won a talent show run by Arthur Godfrey and worked for him briefly.
After spending time performing at the Mount Royal Hotel in Montreal and alongside pianist Frankie Carle, she joined the Glenn Miller Orchestra where she was a "moonlight serenader" and performed solos.
[4] She, along with her daughter, was a member of the Hillside Singers, an ensemble created by advertising agency McCann Erickson to sing the jingle "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony)" in a 1971 television commercial for Coca-Cola.