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.
If I Had My Way
Big Sugar Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
If I had my way
If I had my way
I would tear this whole building down
Peace came to me
So I met her in the middle
I said, "Show who you really are"
Peace came to me
Like a ringing in my mind
How did I let it get this far?
If I had my way
If I had my way
I would take all your promises
And just shake 'em all
Peace came to me
So I made a little wager
In a minute she can turn you inside-out
If I had my way
If I had my way
I would take all your promises
And just shake 'em all
If I had my way
If I had my way
I would take all your promises
And just sink 'em all
You breathe, and I listen
You sleep, and I stare
You awake, and I"m already there
Already there
Peace came to me
But I pretended I was sleeping
Then I woke up and slipped into a dream
If I had my way
I would take all your promises
And just shake 'em all, shake 'em all
If I had my way
The lyrics to Big Sugar's song "If I Had My Way" appear to contain a series of reflections or meditations on the theme of peace. Immediately, the song presents itself as a meditation on the inadequacies of society and the need for transformative change, as the singer promises to "tear this whole building down" if they were in power. The song then moves on to describe a personal experience of encountering peace, or perhaps personifying it as a character that the singer is interacting with. The singer describes meeting peace "in the middle," and asking her to reveal her true self. This suggests that the experience of peace is something that involves a degree of negotiation or compromise, but also requires an openness and willingness to engage with it on a deeper level.
As the song progresses, the singer seems to view peace as something that is difficult to obtain or maintain in the face of a broken system. The line "How did I let it get this far?" suggests that the singer feels some responsibility for the current state of the world, and perhaps regrets not taking action sooner. The wager mentioned in the lyrics implies that peace is something that can be manipulated or exploited, rather than a natural state of being that we should all strive for. The singer seems to feel disillusioned or betrayed by promises made to them in the past, and expresses a desire to "shake them all" and start again.
The final verse of the song finds the singer reflecting on their personal relationship with peace, describing it as something that is intimate and all-encompassing. The repetition of the phrase "you breathe and I listen" suggests a deep sense of connection or symbiosis with another person or entity. The dream referenced in the lyrics could be interpreted as a metaphor for the disconnect between our conscious desires for peace and justice, and the harsh reality of the world we live in. Ultimately, "If I Had My Way" could be seen as a call to action or a plea for more meaningful engagement with the theme of peace, both at a personal and societal level.
Line by Line Meaning
If I had my way
Expressing a desire for control and power
If I had my way
Repeating the desire for control and power
If I had my way
Once again expressing the desire for control and power
I would tear this whole building down
Willingness to destroy and demolish what stands in the way of gaining power
Peace came to me
Reflecting on a moment of calmness amidst chaos
So I met her in the middle
Acting on the opportunity to seek peace and balance
I said, "Show who you really are"
Asking for transparency and authenticity from those involved
Peace came to me
Reflecting on another moment of calmness
Like a ringing in my mind
Describing the experience of peace as a persistent thought
How did I let it get this far?
Questioning how the situation has escalated to its current state
I would take all your promises
Referring to the false words and empty promises made by others
And just shake 'em all
Expressing the desire to expose and reveal these false promises
So I made a little wager
Taking a risk in order to prove a point
In a minute she can turn you inside-out
Believing that someone else has the ability to expose the truth and reveal one's inner self
I would take all your promises
Referring again to false promises made by others
And just shake 'em all
Repeating the desire to expose and reveal these false promises
If I had my way
Reiterating the desire for control and power
If I had my way
Once again repeating the desire for control and power
I would take all your promises
Referring yet again to false promises made by others
And just sink 'em all
Expressing the desire to completely eliminate the false promises and lies
You breathe, and I listen
Describing a moment of intense focus on another person
You sleep, and I stare
Continued focus on another person even while they rest
You awake, and I'm already there
Implying surveillance and obsession over another person
Already there
Repeating the idea of being obsessively present
But I pretended I was sleeping
Describing the experience of ignoring peace and pretending it did not exist
Then I woke up and slipped into a dream
Realizing the mistake of ignoring peace and attempting to embrace it once again
If I had my way
Concluding with the repeated desire for control and power
I would take all your promises
Final reference to false promises made by others
And just shake 'em all, shake 'em all
Final repetition of the desire to expose and reveal these false promises
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Patrick Joseph Ballantyne, Gordie Edmond Johnson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind