Weighed down by nearly $5 billion in debt, Toys R Us plans to close or sell all of its roughly 800 stores across the U.S. But while the majority of the locations will close, the brand will endure: "I'm a Toys R Us Kid" remains one of the most iconic and lasting jingles in retail history.

Kids in the 1980s and '90s grew up singing the lyrics, "I don't want to grow up, I'm a Toys R Us kid." The jingle dates back to 1982, when bestselling novelist James Patterson co-created it with Linda Kaplan Thaler.

The two were coworkers at the J. Walter Thompson advertising agency. Thaler was a junior copywriter and Patterson, who started as a junior copywriter, had worked his way up to creative director. He was 34 years old when he helped create the jingle, he tells the Wall Street Journal. He came up with the line, "I'm a Toys R Us kid."

Thaler initially thought the song was going to be a "one time thing," she tells Inside Edition. "We never thought it was going to go on for so long."