Pour a little sugar on it, honey
Pour a little sugar on it, baby
Gonna make your day so sweet
(Yeah, yeah, yeah)
THE CRYAN' SHAMES
The Cryan' Shames performed a smooth,
ear pleasing blend of Pop/Garage Rock
and racked up a string of hits in
their home market of Chicago.
On a national scale the group didn't fare as well.
Only one of their singles reached the top 50,
a cover of the Searchers' hit "Sugar and Spice."
"Sugar and Spice" - The Cryan' Shames
(August 1966, highest chart position #49)
THE CAKE
The Cake was an exciting mid 60s girl group that
consisted of Jeanette Jacobs, Eleanor Barooshian
and Barbara Morillo. The New York trio was
managed and produced by Greene/Stone,
the team that handled Sonny and Cher,
Buffalo Springfield and Iron Butterfly.
In 1967 the Cake appeared on the
television special Popendipity
performing a brilliant cover
of the Charlie & Inez Foxx
hit "Mocking Bird."
"Mockingbird" - The Cake
(August 1967, B side of "Baby, That's Me"
live TV appearance on Popendipity)
Unlike many girl groups, The Cake wrote their own
material and performed in a range of styles that
included Spectorian pop, baroque psychedelia
and covers of R&B classics. "Fire Fly," one of
The Cake's own compositions, is also one of
their most interesting recordings.
"Fire Fly" - The Cake
(December 1967, B side of "Rainbow Wood"
from the 1967 debut album The Cake)
THE COOKIES
In 1958, two of the founding members of the R&B
girl group the Cookies left to form the Raelettes,
the famous backing singers for Ray Charles.
A new lineup of Cookies emerged and at
the beginning of 1963 earned a top 20 hit
with "Chains," later covered by the Beatles.
The Cookies scored their biggest hit a few
months later, breaking into the top 10
with "Don't Say Nothin' Bad."
"Don't Say Nothin' Bad" - The Cookies
(June 1963, highest chart position #7)
EARL-JEAN
In the summer of 1964 Cookies member Earl-Jean
McCrea left the group and released a solo single.
The record barely dented the top 40 and didn't
get Earl-Jean noticed, but a few months later it
became an international hit for (you guessed it)
a white English act, in this case Peter Noone
and Herman's Hermits, who gained a #1 UK
hit with their version. Written by famed Brill
Building husband and wife team Gerry Goffin
and Carole King, "I'm Into Something Good"
includes Carole herself singing background.
The blend of voices is other worldly!
"I'm into Something Good" - Earl-Jean
(August 1964, highest chart position #38)
That's the way
the cookies crumble.
Now let's have a taste of
strawberries, cherries and
an angel's kiss in spring,
all from a sweet and sassy
vanilla vixen in Sugar Town!
NANCY SINATRA
AND LEE HAZLEWOOD
"Summer Wine," a duet by Nancy Sinatra and
Lee Hazlewod, was originally released in
November 1966 as the B side of Nancy's
"Sugar Town" which became a top 5 hit.
"Sugar Town" - Nancy Sinatra
(January 1967, highest chart position #5)
"Summer Wine" is a terrible thing to waste.
As the killer bee of "Sugar Town," the
Hazlewood-Sinatra side only made it
halfway up the chart. Knowing it wasn't
a case of sour grapes, Reprise Records
let "Summer Wine" breathe again in 1968
on the collaborative album Nancy & Lee.
"Summer Wine" - Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood
(Released January 1967 as B side of "Sugar Town"
highest pos. #49/Rel. 1968 on album Nancy & Lee)
Sugar and spice and all things nice
Kisses sweeter than wine
Sugar and spice and all things nice
That concludes this little post of mine
Have a Shady day!