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!”
drive
Sugar Ray Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
What?
Ba da da da da, Ba da la da da
Chile's Taco, may I take your order please or would you like to try
Uh, no thanks, uh can I get two
Pull over to the window so I can see you
Pull over to the window so I can see you
Okay, can I take your order please?
Yeah, I said two soft taco's with sour cream
Whatever
Get me one, getta shake
What kinda shake? Chocolate or vanilla?
Chocolate
A large, a large chocolate shake
Large chocolate shake
Two green burritos
Two green burritos
yeah, two green with extra sauce
Okay
And ah want to quesa chicken quesadilla
Okay, it's a deal
Combo burrito
Okay, and a combo burrito
Do you have enough money?
I got all the money, can you read that back please?
Yes, you'd like two big-macs, quarter-pounder with cheese,
No! No! did not, did not say hamburger
Would you like a twinkie?
Fuck! Burritos!
$4.50 at the window, thank you!
The lyrics to Sugar Ray's song "Drive By" are a transcription of a conversation between the singer and the drive-thru attendant at a fast-food restaurant. The singer orders a variety of items, including tacos, burritos, and a large chocolate shake. The conversation is disjointed and the singer seems confused at times, misunderstanding the attendant and correcting themselves. The repetition of the line "Chile's Taco, may I take your order please" creates a hypnotic effect, mimicking the repetitive nature of fast-food ordering.
The lyrics can be interpreted as a commentary on the mindless consumption of fast-food and the impersonal nature of fast-food transactions. The sterile, automated environment of the drive-thru sits in contrast with the singer's incoherent rambling and the attendant's robotic recitation of the menu. By emphasizing the banality of the interaction, the song draws attention to the artificiality of the fast-food experience and critiques the superficiality of consumer culture.
Line by Line Meaning
Chile Taco's, may I take your order please
Welcome to Chile Taco's, can I take your order?
What?
I didn't hear you, could you repeat that?
Ba da da da da, Ba da la da da
Musical interlude
Chile's Taco, may I take your order please or would you like to try
I apologize, could you please place your order or would you like to try something else?
Uh, no thanks, uh can I get two
No, thank you. Can I have two of something?
Pull over to the window so I can see you
Please drive to the window so I can take your order in person.
Wait, can I get two soft taco's with sour cream?
Hold on, can I please add two soft tacos with sour cream to my order?
Okay, can I take your order please?
Sure, what else would you like to order?
Yeah, I said two soft taco's with sour cream
Just to confirm, I wanted to order two soft tacos with sour cream.
Whatever
Sure, as you wish. That's fine.
Get me one, getta shake
I would also like a shake, please.
What kinda shake? Chocolate or vanilla?
Would you prefer a chocolate shake or a vanilla shake?
Chocolate
I would like a chocolate shake, please.
A large, a large chocolate shake
Can I please have a large chocolate shake?
Two green burritos
I also want to order two green burritos.
Two green with extra sauce
I would like those green burritos with extra sauce, please.
Okay
Sure, I'll add that to your order.
And ah want to quesa chicken quesadilla
Lastly, can I please have a quesa chicken quesadilla?
Okay, it's a deal
Alright, that is part of your order.
Combo burrito
I almost forgot the combo burrito.
Okay, and a combo burrito
I would like to add your combo burrito, please.
Do you have enough money?
Do you have sufficient funds to pay for your order?
I got all the money, can you read that back please?
Yes, I have enough money. Can you please repeat my order?
Yes, you'd like two big-macs, quarter-pounder with cheese
No, that's not my order. Please listen carefully.
No! No! did not, did not say hamburger
Please double-check that you heard me correctly. I did not order a hamburger.
Would you like a twinkie?
Would you like to add a twinkie to your order?
Fuck! Burritos!
Frustration and annoyance that order was not taken correctly.
$4.50 at the window, thank you!
Your total comes to $4.50, please pay at the window.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: STAN FRAZIER, MURPHY KARGES, MARK MCGRATH, RODNEY SHEPPARD, JOSEPH MCGINTY "MCG" NICHOL, LEOR DIMANT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Fredrick Rhakang
Absolutely killing me with this. Thank you.
Murphy Karges
You're welcome! Thank you for listening along..
Davey
love this song, the instrumental is really good.
Murphy Karges
Thank you. It's my dad's favorite SR song lol
claude 1789
Oh, I get what you’re saying, before the chatter. That works.
Davey
@claude 1789 I know, what Im saying is the loop is very short for this song and it plays before there is any talking, theres no official instrumental release as far as I know.
claude 1789
It’s the music I’ve been trying to find, not the talking. The music is the want, ya dig? It’s just one of those things on a wish list.
Davey
@claude 1789 Well you could just loop it yourself
SoilentGr33n
I mean apart from the fact that it's just a good ass beat, the high frequencies on that drum beat are crisp as fuck and totally not shrill or anything grating at all. It sounds massive without a ridiculous amount of low end. It is a very good drum sound and your dad is right on the money about it.
Murphy Karges
I agree with you. Jason was/is a genius. I'd love to track him down and do a video about it with him. He was a behind the scenes secret weapon for a bunch of great sounding tracks in the 90's