#1 for weeks of October 12, 19, 26, and November 2 and 9th, 1963.
"Sugar Shack" is tied with "He's So Fine" as having the longest run at #1 of the year at 5 weeks. However, whereas the latter song is quite well known even today, the former song, which we'll be taking a look at today, is a bit more forgotten - forever doomed to oldies stations. But did it deserve better? Should it have been a #1 hit to begin with?
The Fireballs were already an established musical group, mostly known for some instrumental hits. In fact, their 1959 recording "Bulldog" was one of the earliest examples of surf rock. Now despite the fact that the band were musical pioneers in that sense, there is practically no surf rock (or even surf pop for that matter) present in "Sugar Shack". In fact, the song borders on sugary in places.
What prevents me from calling this just a piece of bubblegum fluff is the music arrangement. Those heavy opening guitar and bass lines which repeat throughout the song sound just plain awesome. There is also the sound of a piccolo which was played on an organ and it gives the song an almost pirate-like feel (Maybe they did capture the surf/sea sound after all!).
The lyrics in comparison are a bit of a letdown. They simply deal with a guy falling in love with a girl at a place called the sugar shack, and wanting to go back there once they get married. Very poppy and quite sugary, although I give them credit for at least matching the song title with its lyrical themes.
The Fireballs would have their career eclipsed by the British Invasion although they made a chart comeback in 1968 with "Bottle Of Wine". During that same year, they also jumped on the psychedelic pop bandwagon and gave us the very bandwagonesque but enjoyable "Groovy Motions". Jimmy Gilmer would leave the band in 1969 and they called it quits soon after.
Did "Sugar Shack" deserve to be not only #1 for five weeks but also voted song of the year? I don't think so, not when we have a year that gave us "Be My Baby", "In My Room", "He's So Fine", and "Louie Louie", (Not including all of The Beatles music which hadn't found its way overseas yet). However, because of the strong musical arrangement and the fact that despite the lyrics, the song is enjoyable to listen to, I can say it deserves recognition.
Final Verdict - Not the best song of 1963, but a harmless poppier rock song with a strong music track to go along with it. I'd say it deserves a listen.
Coming Up Next - "Deep Purple" by Nino Tempo And April Stevens.
Until Next Time - I'm Dr. Rock and the rockslides -
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