Sugar Ray is a rock band from Orange County, California. The band formed in… Read Full Bio ↴Sugar Ray is a rock band from Orange County, California. The band formed in 1992 with the name Shrinky Dinx, later changing it to Sugar Ray after the boxer Sugar Ray Leonard. They originally were a funk metal band, however later releases abandoned this genre in favour of pop rock.
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!”
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!”
Every Morning
Sugar Ray Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Every morning there's a halo hangin' from the corner
Of my girlfriend's four-post bed
I know it's not mine but I'll see if I can use it
For the weekend or a one-night stand
Couldn't understand
How to work it out
Once again as predicted, left my broken heart open
And you ripped it out
Something's got me reelin'
Stopped me from believin'
Turn me around again
Said that we can do it
You know I wanna do it again
(Sugar Ray say)
Oh
(Every morning) oh
(Every morning when I wake up)
(Shut the door, baby, don't say a word)
Oh (she always rights the wrong)
Oh (she always rights, she always rights)
(Shut the door, baby, shut the door, baby)
Every morning there's a heartache hanging from the corner
Of my girlfriend's four-post bed
I know it's not mine and I know she thinks she loves me
But I never can believe what she said
Something so deceivin'
When you stop believin'
Turn me around again
Said we couldn't do it
You know I wanna do it again
Oh
(Every morning) oh
(Every morning when I wake up)
(Shut the door, baby, don't say a word)
Oh
(Every morning) oh
(Every morning when I wake up)
(Shut the door, baby, shut the door, baby)
She always rights the wrong
For me, baby
She always rights the wrong
For me
Every morning there's a halo hangin' from the corner
Of my girlfriend's four-post bed
I know it's not mine but I'll see if I can use it
For the weekend or a one-night stand
(Shut the door, baby, don't say a word)
Every morning
Every morning when I wake up
(Shut the door, baby, shut the door, baby)
Every morning
Every morning (turn me around again)
(Shut the door, baby, don't say a word)
Every morning
(Do it again)
Every morning when I wake up
Every morning
(Shut the door, baby, shut the door)
Every morning when I wake up
Of my girlfriend's four-post bed
I know it's not mine but I'll see if I can use it
For the weekend or a one-night stand
Couldn't understand
How to work it out
Once again as predicted, left my broken heart open
Something's got me reelin'
Stopped me from believin'
Turn me around again
Said that we can do it
You know I wanna do it again
(Sugar Ray say)
Oh
(Every morning) oh
(Every morning when I wake up)
(Shut the door, baby, don't say a word)
Oh (she always rights the wrong)
Oh (she always rights, she always rights)
(Shut the door, baby, shut the door, baby)
Every morning there's a heartache hanging from the corner
Of my girlfriend's four-post bed
I know it's not mine and I know she thinks she loves me
But I never can believe what she said
Something so deceivin'
When you stop believin'
Turn me around again
Said we couldn't do it
You know I wanna do it again
Oh
(Every morning) oh
(Every morning when I wake up)
(Shut the door, baby, don't say a word)
Oh
(Every morning) oh
(Every morning when I wake up)
(Shut the door, baby, shut the door, baby)
She always rights the wrong
For me, baby
She always rights the wrong
For me
Every morning there's a halo hangin' from the corner
Of my girlfriend's four-post bed
I know it's not mine but I'll see if I can use it
For the weekend or a one-night stand
(Shut the door, baby, don't say a word)
Every morning
Every morning when I wake up
(Shut the door, baby, shut the door, baby)
Every morning
Every morning (turn me around again)
(Shut the door, baby, don't say a word)
Every morning
(Do it again)
Every morning when I wake up
Every morning
(Shut the door, baby, shut the door)
Every morning when I wake up
The lyrics of Sugar Ray's "Every Morning" describe the singer waking up next to his girlfriend and noticing a halo hanging over the bed. He knows it's not his, but entertains the idea of borrowing it for a weekend or a one-night stand. The singer then laments about his broken heart, suggesting that he's been hurt before, and is struggling to work out the intricacies of his current relationship. Despite this, he's hopeful that they can work things out and do it again.
The use of the halo imagery evokes the idea of innocence and purity, contrasting with the singer's desire for a temporary escape. The repetition of "Every morning" emphasizes the cyclical nature of the relationship as the singer wakes up next to his girlfriend repeatedly, but the uncertain lyrics suggest that the uncertainty and pain of their relationship is also a recurring theme.
The use of the phrase "She always rights the wrong" indicates that despite the singer's anxieties and doubts, he depends on his girlfriend to fix the issues in their relationship. Overall, the lyrics paint a picture of a complicated, but ultimately hopeful relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
Every morning there's a halo hangin' from the corner
Of my girlfriend's four-post bed
I wake up to see a strange hair accessory lying on my girlfriend's bed.
I know it's not mine but I'll see if I can use it
For the weekend or a one-night stand
Although I know it doesn't belong to me, I still plan to put it to use for a short period of pleasure.
Couldn't understand
How to work it out
Once again as predicted, left my broken heart open
And you ripped it out
I couldn't comprehend how to fix the relationship and as expected, she broke my heart again.
Something's got me reelin'
Stopped me from believin'
I'm feeling disoriented and not able to trust my partner.
Turn me around again
Said that we can do it
You know I wanna do it again
Despite the difficulties, I still want to give the relationship another try.
Every morning there's a heartache hanging from the corner
Of my girlfriend's four-post bed
I know it's not mine and I know she thinks she loves me
But I never can believe what she said
I feel emotional pain seeing something that doesn't belong to me and I struggle to trust my girlfriend's love and words.
Something so deceivin'
When you stop believin'
Deception is powerful when it causes someone to stop believing in what they thought was true.
She always rights the wrong
For me, baby
She always rights the wrong
For me
Despite the problems, my girlfriend always makes things right for me.
(Shut the door, baby, don't say a word)
Oh
(Every morning) oh
(Every morning when I wake up)
A plea for intimacy and silence between lovers.
(Shut the door, baby, shut the door, baby)
Every morning
Every morning (turn me around again)
A call for privacy and intimacy to deal with relationship issues.
(Do it again)
Every morning when I wake up
Every morning
(Shut the door, baby, shut the door)
Every morning when I wake up
A desire to start over and fix the problems every day, in private.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Songtrust Ave, Peermusic Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: David Martin Kahne, Matthew Murphy Karges, Mark S. McGrath, Rodney Charles Sheppard, Craig Anthony Bullock, Joseph McGinty Nichol, Richard Bean, Pablo Antonio Tellez, Abel Jesus Zarate, Charles Stanton Frazier
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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@danielslaughter9759
Who still here in the spring of 2024?
@user-co2si2mk6b
I'm hahaha
@TayDaley
Me 😅
@paulredinger5830
It’s fall in Australia. I’m American living in Australia.
@RedDynamite
I'm here feeling old as hell, about to turn 40 in June and these songs are like a life time ago it seems.
@mordecaiesther3591
I want to go back , and groundhog it in 1999 over and over and over till I die ❤
@nothing563019
Lord i pray that you take me back to being a kid full of life in 1999 again. Like most of us who grew up to this our lives are now mostly bills, work, stress and chores. ah welll atleast we always have the music to take us back :) Sending strength and good vibes to everyone.
@jaredlewis8689
I was 1/2 a year old in 1999 and my life is pretty much that now lol
@UnstoppableEmpire
I came here from Fresh off the boat tv show from the late 90s
@p.temzzss
🥺 heart breaks when we look back to the 90s 😭 the best life is there in the 90s