Producers Kasenetz and Katz wanted more profit and abandoned the bubblegum sound for more blues psychedelia which was popular in 1969.īest Song: Let us just skip the five album discography and focus simply on the singles that did best for the group. This, of course, just comes to show you that money is a driving force.

They hit amazing success again with “1-2-3 Red Light,” which is painfully catchy.Įventually the group was replaced by Super K producers and different musicians appear for the bands final two albums. The song hit #4 and was a huge success.Īfter the success of “Simon Says,” the band went on tour opening for such acts like The Beach Boys. You may know “Wooly Bully” from such movies as “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” and “Full Metal Jacket.” That is an interesting list of movies. Their first hit was “Simon Says,” written by Elliot Chiprut, and while it was originally hated by the entire band, Frank Jeckell persuaded the band to record it and while in recording the entire band worked together in tweaking the song and eventually coming to model the song after “Wooly Bully” by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs. Interestingly enough, they found immediate and noteworthy success. They were found by Buddah Records and under the instruction of the producers of Super K started playing this new Bubblegum Pop sound.

The band was formed by Frank Jeckell in New Jersey and was originally known as Jeckell and The Hydes. History: Now on to some rich, bubble-blowing history. The 1910 Fruitgum Company, along with other bands like The Ohio Express and The Lemon Pipers, were at the top of the Bubblegum heap. One must understand even while bands may be not playing the greatest, most noteworthy, type of music, they can still at the top of what they do. This is where 1910 Fruitgum Company comes in. It is class Disney, Mickey Mouse, technique. The music, at its best, is quite catchy and upbeat with sing-a-long choruses, danceable beats, riffs and hooks, and hidden sexual themes (had to put that in there. Now, just because the music is fake and manufactured does not mean that is not worth a listen. Neil Bogart, at Buddah Records, soaked up this profitable idea and Bubblegum Pop was born. They structured the analogy (not like mine above) that the music is like bubble gum music. Pioneer producers Jerry Kasenetz and Jeff Katz who formed Super K Productions, the main assembly line for Bubblegum pop music, coined the term while chewing gum and mulling over the target audience for their brand of contrived and marketable music. This bubble gum chewing reason is what sparked the title of the genre in the first place. Just as they say Marijuana is the “gateway drug” to harder drugs like acid, Bubblegum Pop, targeting pre-teen, bubble gum chewing, listeners was the initial catchy rock sound that led to harder, more complicated sounds like Psychedelic Rock. An odd and terrible analogy can be made to best describe Bubblegum Pop and Psychedelic Rock. The acid that went along with the music sure did not hurt its success. Last week we covered 13 th Floor Elevators who provided a start to Psychedelic rock and a pleasing musical genre to older teens. Bubblegum Pop Explanation and Disclaimer: In the late 1960’s to the early 1970’s a genre of music best known as Bubblegum Pop grew in popularity as its complete foil Psychedelic Rock also made its way to the ears of the youth.

1910 fruitgum company simon says song