Their debut album, Lemonade and Brownies, was released in 1995. It failed to produce a major hit. Their early work was strongly influenced by funk, punk, alternative rock and straight-up rhythm and blues, not a particularly fashionable combination at the time.
Sugar Ray's first mainstream hit came in the summer of 1997 with their song "Fly", which was released on the album Floored and featured notable reggae artist Super Cat. "Fly" was notable for not sounding anything at all like the rest of the tracks on the album and received frequent (some called it "constant") radio play. As a result of the success of "Fly", Floored sold extremely well and was certified double platinum. By the end of 1997, critics, skeptical that the band could put out another successful song, had labeled Sugar Ray as a one-hit wonder.
The band's sardonic reply to these accusations was given in the form of their 1999 album, 14:59; the album's title, with a "fame clock" reading 14:59, implied that their fifteen minutes of fame were not quite up. The song "Every Morning", which received widespread comparisons to "Fly", rose to similar success in late 1998, while their follow-up single, "Someday", received extensive airplay during 1999. This album, which outsold its predecessor and was certified triple platinum, proved that Sugar Ray was not a one-hit wonder after all. Though Sugar Ray was also set to play at Woodstock '99, they had to cancel due to illness.
Their 2001 self-titled album Sugar Ray produced another hit with "When It's Over" and reached the same level as their previous singles. Sugar Ray's 2003 effort In the Pursuit of Leisure, and the first single from that album, "Mr. Bartender (It's So Easy)" received a lukewarm reception. In 2005, Sugar Ray released a greatest hits album, with two new songs, including the single "Shot of Laughter".
After a five year hiatus, Sugar Ray returned with Music For Cougars, reiterating the band’s signature sound. As ever, musical styles – from dancehall to disco, punk to pure pop – are mixed and matched, resulting in a collection that is distinctively Sugar Ray, including songs such as the first single, “Boardwalk,” and the Rivers Cuomo-penned “Love Is the Answer”. “I’m not going to say we made the best record of our career,” beams singer Mark McGrath. “That’s just so clichéd. But we did!”
Since their 1995 Lemonade And Brownies debut, Sugar Ray had become stuck in a biennial cycle of touring and recording, touring and recording. 1997’s RIAA double platinum-certified sophomore effort, Floored, and its follow-up, 1999’s triple platinum 14:59 were trailed by 2001’s self-titled collection and 2003’s In The Pursuit Of Leisure. By the release of 2005’s The Best Of Sugar Ray, the band had earned a break.
Having devoted themselves to the band since its 1986 inception as The Shrinky Dinks, each member took the time to explore new creative terrain – McGrath stayed in the spotlight as co-host of the nationally syndicated entertainment news program, Extra. Craig “DJ Homicide” Bullock relocated to Florida, where became a hugely in-demand club DJ; drummer Stan Frazier worked as a songwriter and A+R exec; bassist Murphy Karges became a video director; and guitarist Rodney Sheppard taught music to neighborhood kids. Perhaps more importantly, Sheppard, Karges, and Frazier started families, with all living within a two mile radius from one another in their hometown of Newport Beach. “It was just the natural course to sort of lay back for a while,” Sheppard says, “We had a good run up to that time and we’d gotten to the point where we welcomed a break. It just ended up being a bit longer than we thought.”
Sugar Ray was quite active during their hiatus, busting out hits at private corporate events, county fairs, and countless summer festivals. By 2008, the band was itching to get back into the studio. In July, McGrath left Extra in order to devote more of his time to Sugar Ray. At the same time, the band’s longtime friend, producer Josh Abraham (Velvet Revolver, Limp Bizkit, and Linkin Park), invited them to cut a new album for his just-launched label, Pulse Recordings. “All the stars lined up for us,” Sheppard says. “We always said we would never force ourselves back on the public, but everything just fell together nicely. It was an opportunity for us to make some new music again so we grabbed it.” With Abraham at the helm, the band immediately set to work at the producer’s Pulse Recordings in Los Angeles. The producer pushed the band to reach down deep and refine their songwriting, penned, as ever, in various combinations of band members.
Perhaps more importantly, Abraham hooked Sugar Ray up with Pulse in-house producer/songwriter Luke Walker (The Deftones, Alkaline Trio, Filter, Elliot Yamin, and From First to Last), whom the band enthusiastically credits for helping to both energize and focus the album. “The guy’s a genius,” McGrath enthuses. “He’s an amazing songwriter and he really infused a new attitude, a new creativity, a new way to get songs done and get ‘em done quickly. Luke is the MVP of the whole project.” “We really clicked with Luke,” Sheppard says, “separately and together. A lot of time in the past, the band would come up with a song and get it three-quarters of the way there. With Luke, we were able to realize all our ideas. He was an important ingredient in the song-crafting.”
The sessions spanned close to a year, a leisurely process that enabled Sugar Ray to take their time with both songs and sonics. “Being the underdog again really frees up your creativity,” McGrath explains. “We had so much fun making the record. There was no pressure. It was purely about the love of songwriting and getting into the studio.”
Music For Cougars sees the band ping-ponging though pop’s innumerable permutations. “Love 101” is classic El Lay harmony pop a la Ricky Nelson, while “She’s Got The…” recalls the days when rock giants like Kiss and the Kinks dared to dip a toe into disco’s forbidden waters. Elsewhere, the band displays their mastery of cross-pollinated island rhythms and raps with the delightful “Girls Were Made To Love.” The track – built upon a sample from the 1962 hit, “(Girls, Girls, Girls) Made To Love,” written by Phil Everly and performed by child star Eddie Hodges – was an instant favorite among the bandmates, though they all sensed it needed something more to push it into classic status. McGrath suggested reaching out to Bermuda-based dancehall star Collie Buddz. The band sent the unfinished track to their friend Native Wayne, host of Indie 103.1’s “Native Wayne’s Reggae Smoke-In,” and within days, Buddz had promised to record his parts at the next earliest convenience. True to his word, Collie spent an April afternoon at Pulse, laying down his rapid-fire rhymes. “It’s amazing that when you reach out to people they sometimes actually say yes,” Sheppard says, “To have him on the record, it’s an honor. I think it’s the best song on the record now. The guy just came through big time.” “It’s something people would expect to hear from us,” McGrath says of the track, “but updated. I know there are people who are gonna say, ‘Oh great, Sugar Ray is doing dancehall again. Whatever.’ But to me, you can never have enough songs that sound like ‘Fly.’”
Sugar Ray has always reveled in teaming with fellow artists spanning a wide swath of genres, counting hip-hop heroes like Run DMC and KRS-One, reggae/dancehall superstars Shaggy and Super Cat, alternative rock musician Nick Hexum from 311, and pop royalty The Wilson Sisters. Along with the aforementioned Collie Buddz, Music For Cougars features a number of new alliances, including “Going Nowhere,” co-written with Tim Pagnotta of Sugarcult, and “Dance Like No One's Watchin',” a collaboration with surfing singer/songwriter Donavon Frankenreiter – an old friend of the band’s and Sheppard’s cousin by marriage. Perhaps the album’s most striking partnership is “Love Is The Answer,” an original song gifted to the band by Weezer honcho Rivers Cuomo.
Sugar Ray can claim credit for some of the most indelible pop hits of the previous decade, including the unforgettable #1 smashes, “Fly” and “Every Morning”. McGrath is proud of the band’s body of work. “I’ll be self-deprecating about myself and about the band,” he says, “but we wrote some fucking amazing songs. We wrote songs that people fell in love to, that people got married to, that people had sex to for the first time. The songs became bigger than the band. They’re the world’s property now and we need to be humbled by that.”
Sugar Ray are now getting set to take their classic songs – both new and old – on the road for their first full-scale tour in years. Music For Cougars allows the band to live up to its mission statement from the very beginning – to hang out together and make high-energy rock ‘n’ roll. “We have no misconceptions about what this record may do,” McGrath says. “It was strictly about making another record because we had great new material and the fact that we still enjoy playing together. “This is my life’s work,” he notes. “People say, ‘You’re still in the band?’ This is what I do! I’m gonna be in Sugar Ray till I die! I’ve been lucky enough to fit a uniform, I’m gonna wear it till the wheels fall off!”
Chasin' You Around
Sugar Ray Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's just another mornin' Lyin' there for me
In your mind you're always runnin'
Keep on runnin', run away from me
I spend all my time chasin' you around
It's that way now I found out for sure
I spend all my time chasin' you around
Said you'd stay and make it better
We'd stay together
Is what you said to me
But you left without a warnin'
Now another mornin' is lyin there for me
I spend all my time chasin' you around
It's that way now I found out for sure
I spend all my time chasin' you around
It's that way now I found out for sure
And everytime that I try to get to you
There's nothin' I can say
We tried but it seems there's nothin' left to do
But I'll wait anyway
I spend all my time chasin' you around
It's that way now I found out for sure
I spend all my time chasin' you around
It's that way now I found out for sure
I know I know I know
Whatever it takes now
I'll make no mistakes now
Whatever it takes now
I know I know I know
Whatever it takes
I'll make no mistakes now
Whatever it takes now
I spend all my time chasin' you around
It's that way now I found out for sure
I spend all my time chasin' you around
It's that way now I found out for sure
I spend all my time chasin' you around
I know I know I know
I spend all my time chasin' you around
I know I know I know
The lyrics of Sugar Ray's song "Chasin' You Around" express the sentiment of a person attempting to chase their loved one and regain their lost love. The first verse paints the picture of the person waking up alone, with their loved one running away from them in their mind. There is a sense of desperation and urgency in the lyrics as the singer spends all their time chasing their partner around, trying to make things better, even though they keep running away. The chorus repeats the assertion that the singer spends all their time chasing their partner around and that they know that this is the case now for sure.
The second verse reveals that the partner had promised to stick around and work on the relationship, but then left without warning. The third verse suggests that despite trying several times to approach the partner, there is nothing left to do but wait, and the singer vows to do whatever it takes to rectify the situation. The reassurances, "I'll make no mistakes now, whatever it takes" convey the determination of the singer, but there is a note of resignation in the repetition of the chorus.
Overall, the song captures the essence of the complex emotions associated with a relationship on the brink of collapse. The singer is portraying the feelings of hurt, frustration, and confusion that come with somebody they love no longer returning that love. There is a sense of helplessness, as they spend all their time chasing their partner with no clear resolution in sight.
Line by Line Meaning
I woke up late again this mornin'
I woke up late this morning and started my day later than usual.
It's just another mornin' Lyin' there for me
It's just like any other day, and I feel alone and tired.
In your mind you're always runnin'
In your mind, you are always trying to escape from me or from something else.
Keep on runnin', run away from me
Even if I try to pursue you, you keep avoiding me and running away.
I spend all my time chasin' you around
I spend most of my time trying to catch up with you and get your attention.
It's that way now I found out for sure
I have realized that this is my current situation and I cannot change it.
Said you'd stay and make it better
You promised to stay with me and improve our situation together.
We'd stay together Is what you said to me
You promised that we would overcome our problems and stay together as a couple.
But you left without a warnin'
You suddenly left me without any notice or explanation.
Now another mornin' is lyin there for me
Now I wake up to another day feeling lost and without you.
And everytime that I try to get to you
Whenever I try to reach out to you or make things right, there seems to be no progress.
There's nothin' I can say
I feel helpless and unable to express myself effectively to you.
We tried but it seems there's nothin' left to do
We have done our best to make things work, but it seems like there is no solution.
But I'll wait anyway
Even though it seems hopeless, I will continue to wait for you and hope for a change.
I know I know I know Whatever it takes now
I am determined to do whatever it takes to fix our relationship.
I'll make no mistakes now
I will try my best to not make any more mistakes in our relationship.
I spend all my time chasin' you around I know I know I know
I am fully aware that I am spending all my time trying to get your attention, and it is not working.
I spend all my time chasin' you around
Once again, I am acknowledging that I am fixated on following you and trying to fix our relationship.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: MARK MCGRATH, STAN FRAZIER, MURPHY KARGES, RODNEY SHEPPARD, CRAIG BULLOCK, DAVID KAHNE, CALEB QUAYE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind