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!”
Under The Sun
Sugar Ray Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'll always remember Run DMC
And all the good times
That we had on the beach
Stealing sips from a paper cup
And making out in the sand
Maybe I'm dreaming
Can you tell me
Do you remember
The summers that lasted so long
June 'til September
Was our time to sing all the songs
Do you remember
All of us together
As we grew up under the sun (Back in the day, back back in the day)
I'll always remember everything we do
Rockin' the eighties blastin' K-R-O-Q
I remember Culture Club
The Clash, and Men Without Hats
Seems kind of funny right now
But it's taking me back
We'd always sing along
And laugh out loud at ourselves
Don't want to stop dreaming
Can you tell me
Do you remember
The summers that lasted so long
June 'til September
Was our time to sing all the songs
Do you remember
All of us together
As we grew up under the sun (Back in the day, back back in the day)
I want to rewind every time
'Cause the words have so much meaning
They were there when nobody cared
Always knew what I was feeling
Stay tonight don't leave me reminiscing
All I do is wind up missing you
Are you missing me
Na na na na na na
Na na na na na na
Na na na na na na
Are you missing me (Na na na na na na)
Na na na na na na
Na na na na na na
Na na na na na na
Na na na na na na
Do you remember
The summers that lasted so long
(Back back in the day, back back in the day)
Do you remember
All of us together
As we grew up under the sun
The lyrics of Sugar Ray's song "Under the Sun" talk about nostalgia and the good memories of the past. The singer reminisces about the summers "back in the day" when he was young, hanging out on the beach with his friends, stealing sips, making out in the sand, and listening to Run DMC, Culture Club, The Clash, and Men Without Hats. He also talks about the songs they used to sing together and the fun times they had.
The chorus of the song emphasizes the importance of the memories that the singer has of those summers. He asks the listener to recall those times, and he sings "Are you missing me?" in a nostalgic tone, indicating his longing to return to those times when everything seemed perfect. The lyrics express a yearning for a simpler time when life was more carefree and full of possibilities.
Overall, the song has a wistful and sentimental tone, touching on themes of friendship, youth, and the passage of time. It celebrates the power of music to bring people together and create lasting memories.
Line by Line Meaning
Now this is somethin' from back in the day
This song is a throwback to old memories
I'll always remember Run DMC
Run DMC had a big impact on my life, and I will never forget them
And all the good times
I have fond memories of the past
That we had on the beach
We spent a lot of time together at the beach
Stealing sips from a paper cup
We used to sneak drinks from paper cups
And making out in the sand
We were young and in love, and we enjoyed kissing on the beach
Maybe I'm dreaming
It seems like a dream when I think back on those times
Can you tell me
Can you remember the details of those days too?
Do you remember
Do you have memories of the same events?
The summers that lasted so long
Those summers felt like they would never end
June 'til September
We spent the whole summer together singing songs and having fun
Was our time to sing all the songs
We loved to sing and listen to music during the summer months
All of us together
Everyone was included, and we were all friends
As we grew up under the sun
We had many experiences together as we grew up in the sun
I want to rewind every time
I wish I could go back in time and experience those moments again
'Cause the words have so much meaning
The words of the songs we used to sing together still hold a lot of emotion and meaning for me
They were there when nobody cared
The songs were there for me when I felt like no one else was
Always knew what I was feeling
The songs helped me express my emotions and understand them better
Stay tonight don't leave me reminiscing
I don't want to be left alone to think about the past
All I do is wind up missing you
When I think about the past, I miss the people who were there with me
Are you missing me
Do you feel the same way I do?
Na na na na na na
This is just a catchy refrain
Do you remember
Do you have the same memories as me?
The summers that lasted so long
Those summers felt endless, and we had so much fun
Do you remember
Do you recall those wonderful times?
All of us together
We were a group of friends who loved to spend time together
As we grew up under the sun
We had many shared experiences as we grew up in the sun
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: CHARLES STANTON FRAZIER, CRAIG BULLOCK, CRAIG ANTHONY BULLOCK, DON GILMORE, GEORGE DON GILMORE, MARK MCGRATH, MARK SAYERS MCGRATH, MATTHEW MURPHY KARGES, MURPHY KARGES, RODNEY SHEPPARD, STAN FRAZIER, TERRY LEE KARGES, TERRY LEE, JR. KARGES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Stigmaphobia777
Feels weird being nostalgic over a song about nostalgia.
@danoxjeani
The circle of life?
@alexandre3478
pour sûr
@austinvon96
And how
@MsDeathwish2
...and yet the best part is you can get in on both of them.
@smokemadcrack
attacked
@gwikeh
For a band with a bubblegum reputation, Sugar Ray has some absolute jams
@SaintZombie1
June 2001. Chicago just cruising without a care in the world. Played this CD over and over. Loved this song in particular.
@MrTroncoso63
All the songs from sugar ray reminds me of summer.
@andrewmasc3174
Not all but a lot for me