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.
I'm A Ram
Big Sugar Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Until I get there
I got to drive on
Until I get there
The ram caught in a bush
Needs to be free
Won't somebody
Come on and see about me
I'm a ram
Bet your life I do
I'm a ram
I wanna get next to you
Drive on
Until I get there
I got to drive on
Until I get there
I'm a ram, yes I am
You are what I like
I keep on pushing baby
You keep on pushing me back
I'm a ram
Bet your life I do
I'm a ram
Wanna get next to you
Look out, here I come
Drive on
Until I get there
I got to drive on
Until I get there
'Cause a ram caught in a bush
Needs to be free
Won't somebody
Come on, see about me
I'm a ram
Bet your life I do
I'm a ram
I wanna get next to you
The song "I'm A Ram" by Big Sugar is a classic blues rock song that features a repeating chorus emphasizing the singer's identity as a ram. The main theme of the song is the desire for freedom, similar to how a ram is caught in a bush and longs to be free. The lyrics suggest that the persona (the ram) will keep pushing until he gets what he wants, which in this case is to get closer to someone. The chorus and the repetition of "drive on" emphasize the idea that the persona will keep trying until he reaches his goal.
The ram in the song can be seen as a metaphor for the persona's wild and free spirit. He is unapologetic about who he is and what he wants. The line "You keep on pushing me back" could suggest that the persona is facing resistance from the person he wants to get closer to, but he is determined to keep trying. Overall, the song's message is about staying true to oneself and being persistent in pursuing what one wants.
Line by Line Meaning
Drive on
Continue moving forward in my journey
Until I get there
Until I reach my destination, I will keep driving
I got to drive on
It is necessary for me to keep driving, no matter how challenging it may be
The ram caught in a bush
Referring to oneself as a ram that is trapped and unable to free oneself
Needs to be free
The artist desires to be liberated from their current struggles
Won't somebody
A plea for assistance from another person
Come on and see about me
An invitation to others to help remedy the singer's situation
I'm a ram
The artist is assertively stating their identity as a strong and determined individual
Bet your life I do
I am confident and certain of my own strength and abilities
I wanna get next to you
The artist desires to be close to the person they are addressing
You are what I like
The singer is expressing their attraction to the person they are addressing
I keep on pushing baby
The artist is persistent and will keep trying to approach this person
You keep on pushing me back
The person they are addressing is not receptive to the singer's advances
Look out, here I come
I am coming to pursue this person regardless of any obstacles
‘Cause a ram caught in a bush
Reiterating the earlier metaphor of feeling stuck and unable to move on
Won't somebody
Repeating the artist's request for help, emphasizing the urgency of their situation
Come on, see about me
Reiterating the artist's plea for assistance
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Al L. Green, Mabon Hodges
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jason Hayward
Love all the riffs in this tune, especially that sweet baritone sax riff at 2:24!
Kristopher Krueger
Great album. Power Blues!
Brian Z
Did anyone see Big Sugar in those small bars in the 90's cranked out at 130db with no earplugs?
P.S. This was/is my favourite song by the band and it turned me on to Al Green.
Henry Manning
Lakehead University in thunder bay Ontario monster space couldn't hear for 3 days at least
DrPsychedelic
Brian Z Pardon...?
Ada Lee
Hey handle it Big Sugar😗❤👍
Phillip Murillo
Nice jam
imari2305
Nice Sean Costello with Al Green undertones cover.