Recorded - January 1969
Released - May 1969
#1 for weeks of September 20 and 27 & October 4 and 11, 1969.
Hoo boy...here we go. I've been foreshadowing this song in several of my previous blog entries, dreading the day I'd have to tackle it. But here we are, one of the most corporate and manufactured pop songs of the era. It's the point of no return, shall we cross the threshold into...THE BUBBLEGUM ZONE!!
There have already been numerous bubblegum songs I have reviewed such as "Judy In Disguise" and "Dizzy". However, both of these songs are atypical of most late '60's bubblegum pop as they were fully written by their respective bands/singers. Most bubblegum pop was written by corporate songwriters, and put out under non-existent band names. In the case of many of these "groups" such as The Ohio Express and the 1910 Fruitgum Company, groups of musicians would be assembled to specifically play these songs live for fans. Then we have even more extreme levels...
To truly appease the non-serious pop music crowd, especially the kids, many cartoon and kids shows suddenly had pop singles out. So now, we had not only fake bands releasing songs, but they were bands that couldn't even exist in the first place! It got so out of control that there were pop singles by "Lancelot Link": A kids show featuring live action talking chimps. Oh Lawdy...On a slightly less ridiculous level, we we have a single, released under the name of a cartoon show, based on the Archie comic strip
Well, there's no beating around the bush, "Sugar, Sugar" is one of the most accurately titled songs ever. The lyrics are among the most saccharine ever written, with an overdose of "Love", "Candy", "Sugar", and "Honey". Lyrically, it makes "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" seem like punk rock in comparison. I'm surprised that former Brill Building songwriter Jeff Barry co-wrote this song. This is the same guy who co-wrote the 1963 pop masterpiece "Be My Baby"?!? My how the times change.
The sad part is, the music is just simple inoffensive pop-rock. I'll even go as far as to say that there are, moments: Select parts of the song that sound interesting. Unfortunately, the song as a whole is rather repetitive. Just a simple chug-a-chug rhythm and an endlessly repeated hook. Still, "Sugar, Sugar" was never a song meant to be taken this seriously, but the fact that it occupied the top of the charts for a whole month means that quite a few people thought otherwise.
The biggest problem I have with "Sugar, Sugar" is that it was voted the top song of 1969 by Billboard. Really? This is the same year that brought us "Something", "You Can't Always Get What You Want", "Dazed And Confused", "Suite Judy Blue Eyes", "Both Sides Now", "Pinball Wizard"...UGG...you get my picture. I know that these charts weren't an indicator of what was popular, but how could Billboard make such a blunder? Well, it wouldn't be the last time.
Final Verdict - Under normal circumstances, "Sugar, Sugar" would have been a simple inoffensive bubblegum pop song. As it stands, I feel it is a vapid and repetitive number that happened to compete chart-wise with more worthy material. Perhaps this song may be your guilty pleasure, but for me, I'd find it pleasurable to listen to something more complex instead.
Coming Up Next - "I Can't Get Next To You" by The Temptations.
Until Next Time, I'm Dr. Rock, and I'm craving something sour as I've had a sugar overdose -
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