Sugar Ray
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!”
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Sugar Ray Lyrics
10 Seconds Down I'm not the one to stay up all night But I…
56 Hope Rd Uh, Sugar Ray, Shaggy! And it's the new style, so…
56 Hope Road (feat. Shaggy) Uh Sugar Ray Shaggy There's a place without commotion down b…
Abra Cadabra I heat up, I can't cool down You got me spinnin' 'Round…
Aim for Me Aim for me Aim for me Aim for me Aim for me (hit it!) It's…
All Of The Time I didn't wanna know your name I didn't wanna be your…
American Pig I put my hands right through the air and close…
Answer The Phone We're on this roller coaster ride Hold on, I'll stay here…
Anyone Take, take what you want from me It's my mistake if…
Bartender (Hey sugar Ray-look at that) It's so easy It's so right …
Big Black Woman Now it's my chance for a one night stand And I'm…
Blues from a Gun I want to watch the world cry I couldn't open my…
Boardwalk Boardwalk, boardwalk When the summer is done and the heat is…
Breathe You pull my head back watch me bleed I need it…
Bring Me The Head Of... Al-right prey tell I'm in the mood for laughter We…
Burning Dog Look around Help me out I'm breakin' up I'm breakin'…
Caboose Jump out, Jump back Dare never a woman try to tell…
Can't Start There's a really nice flow in the air tonight If…
Cash Cash, I need some fucking cash I need it kind…
Chasin' You Around I woke up late again this mornin' It's just another mornin'…
Closer Love, can you feel what I feel, I feel love,…
Coconut Bay Co oh, oh oh, oh oh co oh, oh oh Down…
Cold Metal Uh I played tag in the auto graveyard I looked up at…
Dance Like No One's Watchin' Sometimes my life is smooth, it gets real tough. That's whe…
Dance Party U.S.A I'm a star fucker I'm a star Houston, Detroit, Atlanta, Mi…
Dance Party U.S.A. I'm a star fucker I'm a star Houston, Detroit, Atlanta, Miam…
Danzig Needs a Hug Oh ah Oh ah Ha ha touch the sky, won't come back…
Disasterpiece just got hit by lightning again And she went right through…
Drive Chile Taco's, may I take your order please What? Ba da da…
Escape I was tired of my lady We'd been together too long Like…
Even Though Even though She's on my mind Even though She's hard to find …
Every Morning Every morning there's a halo hangin' from the corner Of my…
Falls Apart She falls apart By herself No one there to talk or understan…
Falls Apart (Run Away) She falls apart by herself No one's there to talk or…
Fly All around the world, statues crumble for me Who knows how…
Fly (feat. Super Cat) Spread your love and fly Spread your love and fly Spread you…
Girls Were Made To Love Girls, girls, girls were made to love (? Sugar Ray: eh…
Glory It's good to see you here again I thought you…
Going Nowhere I'm lost in a world full of sound Where gravity's pullin'…
Good Good Lovin Let me give you this good, good lovin' Give me the…
Greatest The greatest The greatest It has a been a way…
Heaven Surrounded by broken hearts Promises are torn apart Ever…
High Anxiety (What it is!) (All nice and easin' from the crew) (This is…
Highest Tree I'm sitting on top of the world today Feels like things…
Hold Your Eyes I got what cha want I got what cha need See me…
I just Wanna Fly Spread your love and fly Spread your love and fly Spread…
In Through the Doggie Door Well I just got back an hour ago I don't…
Into Yesterday The sky turns to a different shade of blue, After the…
Invisible You're not alone There's no goodbye You got a written on it …
Iron Mic He was the heavyweight king at the age of 21 From…
Is She Really Going Out With Him Pretty women out walking with gorillas down my street From…
Is She Really Going Out With Him? Pretty women out walking with gorillas down my street From…
It's a Low Down Dirty Shame It's a low down dirty, low down dirty shame It's a…
Jack She's on the Ball If you beg a date She says, "You're too late" Then later,…
Just a Little You made her, persuade her But still she's miles away She cr…
Last Days There's no one to blame here, there's no one to…
Little Saint Nick Oh Merry christmas saint nick Oh Well the way up north whe…
Live & Direct Live and direct Live and direct We can go out Love what we…
Live & Direct (feat. KRS-One) Live and direct! we can go out.. love's what we be about lov…
Live and Direct Live and direct Live and direct We can go out Love what we…
Love 101 Treat her like you wanna be treated, give her everything…
Love Is The Answer There will come a day When we transcend our pain Until that…
Love Life and Money Life has made me Pay an awful price I try and gamble…
make it easy I love the way you are and what you do I…
Mean Machine The only good thing that's creepin in the city Elvis had…
Morning Sun Who loves the morning sun Creeping up right behind me When t…
Mr Bartender (Hey sugar Ray-look at that) It's so easy It's so right (ba…
Mr. Bartender (It's So Easy) it's so easy its so right (mr bartneder, its so easy) its…
Mr.Bartender (Hey sugar Ray-look at that) It's so easy It's so right …
New Direction OK boys and girls We're gonna listen to things for…
New Direction I OK boys and girls We're gonna listen to things for…
Ode to the Lonely Hearted Please stay awake till the end of the night When nothing's…
Ours Check it out [Chorus] She was your woman, but she was my…
Perfect Mornings Sudden change without a warning Seein' double up ahead Hear …
Personal Space Invader Sometimes I just want to be left alone Move your big…
Photograph of You Where are you goin'? I never heard you say goodbye…
Psychedelic Bee Drop me, a certain kind of thing That you've always wanted…
Rainbow I know that time are right now But every struggle…
Rhyme Stealer (Now it's time for guitar center stage) Hey Hey Well It don…
Right Direction Stop Cause your by yourself come on Your someone else no tim…
Rivers She's gone and I'm gonna find her (It's been so…
RPM I am Yeah You will recover when you discover baby There…
Satellites Easy I'm gonna fade away I'm gonna find my way…
Scuzzboots Yeah, sit right on down People can talk all day Yeah.. So…
She's Different She was a crazy girl She's from a different world…
She's Got The Hey hey hey hey She's got the woo hoo She's got the…
Shot of Laughter Summer, summer, summer Wanna endless summer Every Monday it…
Silver Bells City sidewalks, busy sidewalks Dressed in holiday style In …
Snug Harbor Hey, get up Have some fun tonight Have some fun tonight Hav…
Someday Someday, when my life has passed me by I'll lay around…
Sorry Now I let you go, let you go, like a dozen…
Speed Home California Hay no lugar como en la casa Hay no lugar como…
Spinning Away Up on a hill, as the day dissolves With my pencil…
Stand and Deliver I'm the dandy highwayman who you're too scared to mention I…
Stay On My mind is spinning Don't you know That I'm outta control I …
Story Of My Life If my mother had not died and my father left…
Streaker Your throwin' sticks and stones And your breakin' my bones m…
Sunday Love (Whoo, Listen) Up in the mornin', feelin' fine Nothin' to d…
Take It Easy I love the way you are and what you do I…
Tap Twist Snap A thousand u.s. dollars He's on a mountain of speed No need…
The Greatest The greatest The greatest It has a been a way…
Time After Time Lying in my bed I hear the clock tickin And think…
Trouble I've been thinking about you Where would I be without you? T…
Under the Sun Now this is somethin' from back in the day I'll always…
Waiting Waiting for the night to start Waiting for the night…
What The World Needs What the world needs is love What the world needs is…
Whatever We Are So hard sometimes Gets so hard sometimes with you Whatever…
When It When it's over That's the time I fall in love again And…
When We Were Young When we were young We all lived for fun We thought we…
Words to Me Get up! Get up! Get up! Yeah Get up! Get up! Get up! Get up!…