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Sugar Ray |
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MEMBERS: Mark McGrath ~ Rodney
Sheppard ~ Murphy Karges ~ Stan
Frazier ~ Craig "DJ
Homicide" Bullock
BIRTHDAYS: Mark McGrath
(March 15, 1968) ~ Rodney Sheppard
(November 25, 1967) ~ Murphy Karges
(June 20, 1968) ~ Stan Frazier (April
23, 1969) ~ Craig "DJ
Homicide" Bullock (December 17,
1972)
BIGGEST
SINGLE: "Fly" (1997)
BIGGEST
LP: 14:59 (1999)
GRAMMY
AWARDS: 0
"Critics
have always hated this band. We're
having fun, we're from a 'Baywatch'
-esque town, we still like our
parents and we don't hate everybody.
We're juvenile and we're not the best
players - I think we've learnt four
chords, which is probably one too
many." - Mark McGrath, Sugar
Ray, 1998
|
 Sugar Ray formed in 1992 with
Mark McGrath on vocals, Rodney Sheppard on
guitar, Murphy Karges on bass, Craig "DJ
Homicide" Bullock, and Stan Frazier on
drums. The boys all hailed from California
with the dream of being rock n' roll stars
but had to settle for various jobs before
hitting the big time: McGrath was a truck
driver, Karges was a pizza chef, Frazier was
a paralegal, and Sheppard was a telemarketer
and actor (appearing in Land Of The Lost).
When they formed as Sugar Ray (emerging from
a cover band called "Shrinky
Dinks") they began playing around Orange
County to larger and larger crowds. The band
named Sugar Ray after the boxer Sugar Ray
Leonard, and after Milton Bradley threatened
a lawsuit over the name "Shrinky
Dinks" (taken from a plastic toy name.
Sugar Ray's sound of blended alternative-rock
with hip-hop influences began to emerge as an
eclectic sound that Sheppard describes as
"schizophrenic."
Sugar Ray signed with
Atlantic Records.
 Sugar Ray released their first
LP, Lemonade
& Brownies with the favorites
"Mean Machine" and "10 Seconds
Down" and hidden track, "One Brave
Cowboy."
The band spent the rest of the
year and most of 1996 touring in support of
their debut LP and opening for the likes of Cypress
Hill and Korn.
Sugar Ray rented a run-down
studio in New York City to begin work on
their second LP. Karges called their space
"...sketchy ...you could get Chinese
food or cocaine delivered."
 # 24
Singles Artist of the Year
 Sugar Ray hit
"mainstream" radio with the hit
"Fly" that topped the
pop and alternative charts.
Floored, was released (the
title reflected how the band felt when the LP
was finished).
The band was selected as the
Best New Band in Circus magazine's reader's
poll.
Sugar Ray toured with the Warped
Tour during the summer.
 Floored was certified gold.
Sugar Ray hit the Top 40 with
"Fly."
Sugar Ray topped the Billboard
Modern Rock Tracks chart for 8 weeks with
"Fly."
Floored was certified
platinum.
Sugar Ray hit
the Top 10 with "Fly."
 "Fly" topped the
Billboard Hot 100 Singles Airplay chart for 6
weeks.
Sugar Ray hit #1 for 3 weeks with
"Fly."
Sugar Ray had a track on the
soundtrack to Scream
2
with the track "Rivers."
 # 207
Singles Artist of the Year
 Floored was certified 2x
platinum.
Sugar Ray could be heard on The
Avengers soundtrack with "Burnin'
Dog (Don't Pet A)."
The band also won a Blockbuster
Entertainment Award for Best Modern Rock
Band.
 # 9
Singles Artist of the Year
 The 3rd LP by
Sugar Ray called 14:59 was released
with the Top 40 single "Every
Morning"
and a cover of the Steve Miller
Band's "Abracadabra."
McGrath said of the LP: "It's a totally
collaborative effort. Someone will write a
verse, someone will write a chorus. It's
amazing because we each take our influences,
what we were raised on, and then we throw it
in the mix and it just seems to come
together... We're starting to write about
what's real in our life. When we first came
to L.A., it was all about beer and chicks and
cars, that's where our mentality was. Now
we're not afraid to say 'I miss you' or 'I
love you' in a song. We've done a lot of
living in the last 4 years, and I think that
we've grown from those experiences."
 14:59 was certified gold.
Sugar Ray hit
the Top
10
with "Every
Morning"
which topped the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks
chart for 6 weeks.
As "Every
Morning"
hit #1, Sugar Ray and the Goo
Goo Dolls announced they would be teaming
up and touring together in the summer.
14:59 was certified
platinum.
 The single "Every
Morning"
was certified gold and topped the Billboard
Adult Top 40 for 10 weeks and the Billboard
Top 40 Tracks chart for 4 weeks.
Sugar hit the Top 40 with "Someday."
Sugar Ray
performed at Woodstock '99 in Rome, New York.
Sugar Ray hit
the Top
10
with "Someday."
 Sugar Ray was nominated
for a MTV Video Music
Award for Best Group Video ("Every
Morning").
McGrath was nominated for a VH1
Fashion Award for Most Fashionable Artist
(Male).
14:59 was certified 2x
platinum.
 # 61
Singles Artist of the Year
 Sugar Ray hit
the Top 40 with "Falls
Apart."
Sugar Ray was
nominated for a Kids' Choice Award for
Favorite Band.
Sugar Ray hit
the Top
10 for
the 4th time with with "Falls
Apart."
 Sugar Ray could
be heard on the soundtrack for The
Beach with "Spining Away."
Sugar Ray appeared on the
soundtrack for Jailbait with "Personal
Space Invader."
14:59 was certified 3x
platinum.
 # 30
Singles Artist of the Year
 Sugar Ray hit the Top 40 with
"When It's Over" which also went Top 10 by month's end.
Sugar Ray's next LP, Sugar
Ray, was released. The LP was their
first Top 10 LP, but failed to go platinum.
Sugar Ray hit the road for 5
weeks with Uncle Kracker.
 Sugar Ray could be heard on the Scooby-Doo soundtrack with
"Words To Me."
Sugar Ray
ranked # 39 on VH1: 100
Sexiest Artists.
 # 147
Singles Artist of the Year
 Sugar Ray
started touring North America with Matchbox 20.
Sugar Ray hit
the Top 40 with "Mr. Bartender (It's So
Easy)."
Sugar Ray
performed on the Today Show.
Sugar Ray
released a new LP, In
The Pursuit Of Leisure.
McGrath
contributed the remake of "Ghost In
You" to the soundtrack for 50
First Dates.
Mark McGrath
became the co-host of the syndicated
entertainment series Extra.
# 117 on the Top Pop Artists
of the Past 25 Years chart.
 Sugar Ray
released The
Best Of Sugar Ray.
VH1: 100
Greatest Songs of the 90's included "Fly" at # 52.
 Sugar Ray released Music
For Cougars.
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Lemonade & Brownies
Released: April, 1995
Tracks: "Snug
Harbor" - "Rhyme Stealer"
- "Iron Mic" - "Hold Your
Eyes" - "The Greatest" -
"Big Black Woman" - "Mean
Machine" - "Dance Party
USA" - "10 Seconds Down" -
"Danzig Needs A Hug" -
"Drive By" -
"Caboose" -
"Scuzzboots" -
"Streaker" |
|
Floored
Released: June, 1997
US: 2x Platinum
Billboard
peak:
# 12
Tracks: "RPM" -
"Breathe" - "Anyone"
- "Fly" (with Super
Cat) - "Speed Home California"
- "High Anxiety" - "Tap,
Twist, Snap" - "American
Pig" - "Stand And Deliver"
- "Cash" -
"Invisible" - "Right
Direction" - "Fly" |
|
14:59
Released: January, 1999
US: 3x Platinum
Billboard
peak:
# 17
Rolling Stone
review: 
Tracks: "New
Direction" - "Every Morning" - "Falls Apart" -
"Personal Space Invader" -
"Live & Direct" - "Someday" - "Aim
For Me" - "Ode To The Lonely
Heart" - "Burning Down" -
"Even Though" -
"Abracadabra" -
"Glory" - "New
Direction" |
|
Sugar Ray
Released: June, 2001
Billboard
peak:
# 6
Rolling Stone
review:
Tracks: "Answer The Phone" - "When It's Over" -
"Under The Sun" -
"Satellites" -
"Waiting" - "Ours" -
"Sorry Now" - "Stay
On" - "Words To Me" -
"Just A Little" -
"Disaster Peice" |
|
In The Pursuit Of
Leisure
Released: June, 2003
Billboard
peak:
# 29
Rolling Stone
review: 
Tracks: "Chasin' You
Around" - "Is She Really Going
Out With Him?" - "Heaven"
- "Bring Me The Head Of..." -
"Mr. Bartender (It's
So Easy)" - "Can't
Start" - "Photograph Of
You" - "56 Hope Rd." -
"Whatever We Are" - "She's
Different" - "In Through The
Doggie Door" - "Blues From A
Gun" |
|
The Best Of Sugar Ray
Released: June, 2005
Billboard
peak:
# 136
Tracks: "Shot Of
Laughter" - "Answer The Phone" - "Fly" (with Super
Cat) - "Someday" -
"Under The Sun" - "Every Morning" - "Mean
Machine" - "Falls Apart" -
"Life's Been Good" -
"Rhyme Stealer" - "When It's Over" -
"RPM" - "Is She Really
Going Out With Him" -
"Pychedelic Bee" -
"Chasin' You Around" |
 |
Music For Cougars
Released: July, 2009
Billboard
peak:
# 80
Rolling Stone:
Tracks: "Girls Were
Made To Love" -
"Boardwalk" - "She's Got
The (Woo-Hoo)" - "Love Is The
Answer" - "Rainbow" -
"Closer" - "When We Were
Young" - "Going Nowhere" -
"Love 101" - "Last
Days" - "Morning Sun" -
"Dance Like No One's Watchin'" |
| Note: Song title and
position links lead you to the song's Top
40 chart run (from the ARC Weekly Top
40)
and LP links take you to Amazon.com for that LP (often
including track listings and sound
samples). |
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