Sugar, Sugar

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For the Baby Bash song, see Suga Suga
"Sugar, Sugar"
Single by The Archies
from the album Everything's Archie
Released 1969
Recorded 1969
Genre Bubblegum pop
Length 2:48
Writer(s) Andy Kim
Jeff Barry
Producer Jeff Barry
The Archies singles chronology
"Feelin' So Good (S.K.O.O.B.Y.-D.O.O)"
(1969)
"Sugar, Sugar"
(1969)
"Jingle Jangle"
(1969)
Audio sample
file info · help

"Sugar, Sugar" is a pop song written by Jeff Barry and Andy Kim. It was a four-week 1969 number-one hit single by fictional characters The Archies. Produced by Jeff Barry, the song was originally released on the album Everything's Archie. The album is the product of a group of studio musicians managed by Don Kirshner. Ron Dante's lead vocals were accompanied by those of Toni Wine (who sang the line "I'm gonna make your life so sweet"), Andy Kim, and Ellie Greenwich. Together, they provided the voices of the various Archies using multitracking. Ray Stevens, the comic singer, provided the hand claps to the song[citation needed].

The Archie’s "Sugar, Sugar" was the 1969 number one single of the year. According to Billboard magazine, this is a feat yet to be duplicated by any other fictional band[citation needed]. It spent four weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 from September 20, 1969 and eight weeks at the top of the UK singles chart. The song lists at #63 on Billboard's Greatest Songs of All Time.[1] It also peaked at one in the South African Singles Chart.[2]On February 5, 2006, "Sugar, Sugar" was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, as co-writer Andy Kim is originally from Montreal, Quebec.

"Sugar, Sugar" is considered the canonical example of the bubblegum pop musical genre[citation needed]. Rumors have circulated that the song was earlier offered to The Monkees even sparking additional rumors that it was recorded using session musicians with Davy Jones providing all the vocals, but never released. Don Kirshner himself says in an interview on "Popular Song: Soundtrack of the Century episode Modern Pop", that Mike Nesmith put his fist through the wall of the Beverley Hills hotel refusing to do "Sugar, Sugar".[3] Jones confirmed that Kirshner had offered it to them, but stated they turned it down, and he never recorded it [4]. The band thought it seemed cheesy and at that point they were looking to mature their sound.

Contents

[edit] Covers

[edit] Trivia

On September 4, 2006, Dante and Wine performed the song together on the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon. This was the first time they had publicly performed the song together. They performed it again at one of Toni Wine's performances at the Genghis Cohen in West Hollywood.

President George W. Bush has said "Sugar, Sugar" is one of his favorite songs. The song played in Jenna Bush's wedding party in May, 2008.[6]

In the TV Movie Archie: To Riverdale and Back again (VHS reissued title, Return to Riverdale), the now-older Jughead plays the original version of the song to his son; later he uses it to bridge the 'age gap' between them when he finds out his son is shy around girls — the two perform a 'rap' version of the song.

[edit] In pop culture

The song is featured in The Simpsons episodes "Boy-Scoutz N the Hood" and "Sweets and Sour Marge". In the former, Homer has a hallucination about dancing ice cream cones during a heat wave while listening to the song on Rod Flanders' personal stereo, but as the batteries run down, the song gradually slows down and stops and the ice creams melt, ending his dream.

English hard rock band Def Leppard got the idea for their 1987 hit "Pour Some Sugar on Me" from the song.[citation needed]

This song can be heard in the Dreamworks Film Bee Movie while Barry, played by Jerry Seinfeld, is dreaming.The song was used during a TV spot for the Kevin Smith film, Zack and Miri Make A Porno.[citation needed]

The song was adapted for a TV commercial for Equal brand artificial sweetener in the late '80s -- "Sugar (no no no no no no)/Now there's Equal (yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah)".

Preceded by
"Honky Tonk Women" by The Rolling Stones
Billboard Hot 100 number one single
September 20, 1969 (four weeks)
Succeeded by
"I Can't Get Next to You" by The Temptations
Preceded by
"I'll Never Fall In Love Again" by Bobbie Gentry
UK number one single
October 25, 1969-December 13, 1969
Succeeded by
"Two Little Boys" by Rolf Harris
Preceded by
"Hey Jude" by The Beatles
Billboard Hot 100 Number one single of the year
1969
Succeeded by
"Bridge over Troubled Water" by Simon & Garfunkel

[edit] References

  1. ^ "The Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Songs (70-61)" (in en). Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/specials/hot100/charts/top100-titles-70.shtml. Retrieved on 2008-11-01. 
  2. ^ South African Singles Chart
  3. ^ Source: Ron Dante. Ron Dante also clarifies this on a DVD called "Archie's Funhouse", a three-disc set that features Ron Dante in a bonus segment.
  4. ^ Source:David "Davy" Jones in conversation 12/27/2008 Las Vegas, NV
  5. ^ CD liner notes: Saturday Morning: Cartoons' Greatest Hits, 1995 MCA Records
  6. ^ Thaindian News. "Bush's daughter's wedding". http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/world-news/daughters-wedding-was-awfully-special-george-bush_10047800.html. 
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