Big Sugar officially formed in 1988 in Toronto, Ontario, consisting of vocalist and guitarist Gordie Johnson, bassist Terry Wilkins, and drummer Al Cross, though the three musicians had already played together for several years as a supporting band for Molly Johnson's jazz performances and as an informal jam band with members of the Bourbon Tabernacle Choir. After Molly Johnson returned to rock music with Infidels, she helped her former bandmates to secure a record deal; their eponymous debut album was released in 1991 on Hypnotic Records.
After Wilkins left the band in 1993, Big Sugar recorded the album Five Hundred Pounds with the help of guest musicians, including harmonica and tenor saxophonist Kelly Hoppe, also known as Mr. Chill. Hoppe brought a blues and old-school r'n'b influence into the band's sound. Hoppe would become an official member of the band in September 1994. He would later add keyboards and melodica to his sideman responsibilities. In July 1994, bassist Garry Lowe joined the band. Lowe had moved to Canada in the mid-1970s from Kingston, Jamaica. Soon after arriving in Toronto, he became an in-demand bass player for touring reggae recording artists. He often accompanied them at Toronto's famed Bamboo club on Queen St.W., among other venues. Lowe was a founding member of "Culture Shock", a popular Toronto reggae band. Johnson, an avid reggae maven (and one-time bass player), had been a fan of Lowe's and was overjoyed when he agreed to join Big Sugar as a full-time member.
Big Sugar had slowly built a reputation as an outstanding live band, and Five Hundred Pounds consolidated it; the album sold 10,000 copies in Canada on the strength of their live shows without any real publicity or radio airplay. During this time, Gordie Johnson also recorded an album as Don't Talk Dance, with Tyler Stewart of Barenaked Ladies and Chris Brown of the Bourbon Tabernacle Choir.
In 1995, the band released two EPs; Dear M.F., which featured a cover version of Traffic's "Dear Mr. Fantasy"; and Ride Like Hell. Following the release of these EPs, Stich Wynston left the band and was replaced by Walter "Crash" Morgan. During the band's tour that year, however, Morgan suffered a heart attack, collapsed, and died on stage during a show in Iowa. Longtime band associate Raffa Dean was enlisted to finish the tour, and former Odds member Paul Brennan subsequently joined as the band's new drummer, appearing on one of their most commercially successful albums, 1996's Hemi-Vision.
Hemi-Vision's single "Opem Up Baby" was a notable first for the band, who recorded a French version of that song, "Ouvres-Toi Bébé", for radio stations in Quebec. The song gained widespread airplay in the province, and for their next album, 1998's Platinum-selling Heated, the band recorded a French version of each single they released; the French songs were collected on the 1999 EP Chauffe à bloc. Also that year, Johnson and Hoppe performed several acoustic shows as a duo under the names "Little Sugar" or "Two Fools on Stools".
Cross returned as drummer in 1999. The band also added a new rhythm guitarist, Mojah. In July of that year the band performed at Woodstock 1999.
In 2000, the band released a dub album, Extra Long Life, under the stage name Alkaline.
In 2001, Big Sugar released Brothers and Sisters, Are You Ready? Taking their abilities in writing and performing French material to its logical conclusion, a complete track-for-track French version, Brothers and Sisters, Êtes Vous Ready?, was released the same year. Only the English album concluded with a blistering rendition of "O Canada".
The two-CD compilation Hit & Run, featuring a greatest hits disc that included a special edition, limited run live concert performance disc, was released in 2003.
Big Sugar, known for its thundering rock shows performed without set lists, played their last concert before splitting up on December 31, 2003, at the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, Alberta. Gordie "Grady" Johnson immediately formed the Austin, Texas-based band Grady and later joined Wide Mouth Mason as their full-time bassist, and also started the gospel dub duo Sit Down, Servant!! when he began playing steel guitar. Kelly Hoppe formed Mr. Chill & The Witnesses, a roots music group. Mojah and Garry Lowe went on to form Truth and Rights Revue, a reggae band, and have released one album to date.
The band reunited in 2010, playing their first show since 2003 at Telus World Ski & Snowboard Festival in Whistler, B.C. on April 23, with tour dates through summer 2010. A new studio album evolved and was released in June 2011, titled Revolution Per Minute. This recording included Stephane Beaudin "Bodean" on drums and new full-time band member "DJ Friendlyness" as the fifth member of Big Sugar. Revolution Per Minute was released on both cd and vinyl with the vinyl album containing bonus "Alkaline" dub remixes and additional songs. 2012 was the first ever DVD release when Eliminate Ya! Live!, a double CD/DVD set that included a new single covering Al Tuck's "Eliminate Ya!" was released.
In 2014, Big Sugar released an album called "Yard Style" which contains uplugged versions of nine of their original songs, plus four previously unreleased songs.
The song "Police Bway A Vampire" appeared as a reworked electric version under the name "Universal Vampire" on their next studio album "Calling All The Youth", which was released in 2015 on Bread & Butter Records.
In May, 2017, two long time members, Kelly Hoppe and DJ Friendliness, left Big Sugar. Hoppe is now a freelancer, frequently performing live and in-studio with various artists, while Friendliness likes to concentrate full-time on his other band Human Rights. They were replaced by Ray Arteaga and Gordie Johnson's wife Alex.
Garry Lowe died of cancer on July 7, 2018.
How many times
Big Sugar Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Are you gonna treat me like you do?
Well how many times
Are you gonna treat me like you do?
You've got all of my hugging
All of my love to you
Am I gonna let you dog me around?
How many times
Am I gonna let you dog me around?
See, I'd as soon rather be dead
Sleeping six feet under ground
Well, how many times
Bail house all night long?
Well, how many times
Bail house all night long?
Swear, since I've known you, baby
Swear you'd do me wrong
Well, when I'm old and gray
And I got nowhere to go
Well, when I'm and gray
And I got nowhere to go
You're gonna find yourself a younger man, baby
You can't stand it no more
Well, I'm going to the stairs
I'm gonna beggar for my clothes
You know I'm going to the stairs
I'm gonna beggar just for my clothes, baby
And then where I go
Nobody knows
The song "How Many Times" by Big Sugar is a classic blues song in which an unhappy lover is questioning how many times they will continue to be mistreated by their partner. The lyrics suggest that the singer has given everything to their partner and yet continues to be treated poorly. The opening lines, "Well, how many times / Are you gonna treat me like you do?" set the tone for the rest of the song which is filled with frustration and hurt feelings. The repeated questioning of "How many times?" emphasizes the singer's exasperation with their partner's behavior.
Throughout the song, the singer describes how they have been treated badly by their partner. They have given all their hugging and love to their partner, and yet they continue to be mistreated. The singer admits that they have allowed themselves to be "dogged around" by their partner and that they would rather be dead than continue to be treated this way. The lyrics also suggest that the singer's partner has been unfaithful, having spent nights out at bail houses and swearing that they would do the singer wrong.
The final verse of the song is particularly poignant. The singer imagines a future in which they are old and alone, and their partner has moved on with a younger man. The song ends with the singer suggesting that they are about to leave, though they don't know where they are going. This suggests that they are ready to move on from their unhappy relationship, even if they don't know what the future holds.
Overall, "How Many Times" is a classic blues song that explores themes of love, loss, and mistreatment. Through its powerful lyrics and distinctive sound, it continues to resonate with listeners to this day.
Line by Line Meaning
Well, how many times
Are you gonna treat me like you do?
Asking how many times the person is going to treat the singer poorly
You've got all of my hugging
All of my love to you
The singer has given all their love and affection to the person
How many times
Am I gonna let you dog me around?
Questioning how many more times the singer will allow the person to mistreat them
See, I'd as soon rather be dead
Sleeping six feet under ground
The artist would rather be dead than continue to be treated poorly
Well, how many times
Bail house all night long?
Questioning how many more times the person will make the artist bail them out of trouble
Swear, since I've known you, baby
Swear you'd do me wrong
The person has been mistreating the singer since they've known each other
Well, when I'm old and gray
And I got nowhere to go
When the singer is old and has nowhere to go in life
You're gonna find yourself a younger man, baby
You can't stand it no more
The person will leave the artist for a younger man when they cannot handle their mistreatment anymore
Well, I'm going to the stairs
I'm gonna beggar for my clothes
The artist is going to the stairs to beg for clothes
You know I'm going to the stairs
I'm gonna beggar just for my clothes, baby
Repeating that the artist is going to the stairs to beg for clothes
And then where I go
Nobody knows
Uncertain of where the singer will end up
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: GORDIE EDMOND JOHNSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
slugg63
Gotta love Big Sugar! Great upload! :)