Bubblegum Pick

As a boy, before I ever even thought of collecting records, I started getting records. Mostly because they came in cereal boxes. I started listening to all the early morning and afternoon cartoons. And because I did, I came across the latest sounds from the latest bands. How did I know that they were mostly manufactured hit machines that didn't exist in real life. The Banana Splits, The Archies, Josie and the Pussycats, The Partridge Family, The Monkees. I believed they were real. They sounded real. The songs were real. And they were perfect for me, a dumb boy in suburbia to learn and sing over and over again. As I grew older and discovered a whole other world of music, I realized that much of it that I loved derived from those old manufactured bands. Garage bands, jangly psychedelic, glam, punk and even funk and disco got some of what they called "Bubblegum" stuck on them. Maybe just on the bottom of their shoe, where they pretended it didn't exist and some more blatantly like the punk bands that covered some of these hits. Either way it was a genre that persisted long after its demise.  

When Butterboy posted his amazing collection Bubblegum Festival, and I compared it to the compilation I had made some time ago, I realized that he had used almost all of the songs I had, but I had a few left to make one more companion pick. I offer it here to you. Make sure to look the BB version as it has all the songs you know that make up the genre.

Adding such bubblegum favorites as the Banana Splits (which had great cartoons, Danger Island as well as the great songs in between each episode). The Banana Splits are not only one of our favorites, but also famed LA punk rockers: The Dickies who covered the theme song (look for it on yellow vinyl 45 for some real fun). But matching the original compilation's DeFranco Family hit, I added both the Jackson Five (who had a fun cartoon to match) and The Sylvers who had both bubblegum and later disco hits that bordered on the bubblegum. Some of these tracks could be on the cusp of other genres. Is it Glam? Or is it Bubblegum? The Sweet certainly crossed the barrier. They ended with bubblegum, glam, rock, hard rock and prog hits. Bay City Rollers straddled the fence with their big hit. You'll also notice from Riverdale, both the other hit from the Archies and a couple by their neighbors: Josie and the Pussycats. The latter famous for having a future Charlie's Angel in the band (Cheryl Ladd aka Cherie Moor, even though she was Cheryl Jean Stoppelmoor then and played regular tennis with my cousin - I never got to meet her, darnn.) They had several songs that did quite well, including the title theme. The reboot on the live-action movie did not do that great, but the song was brought into a rock feel with another chance with a hidden behind the scenes band, this time Letters To Cleo (and the soundtrack again did well) just to show you these songs all have some staying power. Anyway, enjoy this adjunct collection and make sure you look for the track by the Rock & Roll Dubble Bubble Trading Company. See. Bubblegum is everywhere!

Bubblegum Pick

01 Josie and the Pussycats - Every Beat Of My Heart

02 Partridge Family - I Can Feel Your Heartbeat

03 Jackson Five - I Want You Back

04 Sylvers - Cotton Candy

05 Lancelot Link And The Evolution - Sha-La-Love You

06 The Archies - Bang-Shang-A-Lang

07 Tommy Roe - Jam Up Jelly Tight

08 The Banana Splits - I Enjoy Being A Boy

09 Daniel Boone - Beautiful Sunday

10 The Street People - Jennifer Tompkins

11 Dawn - Knock Three Times

12 Barry Blue - Dancing On A Saturday Night

13 The Sweet - Little Willy

14 Sugar Bears - You Are The One

15 The Sweet - Funny Funny

16 1910 Fruitgum Company - Indian Giver

17 Tommy James And The Shondells - I Think We're Alone Now

18 The Banana Splits - Wait Til Tomorrow

19 Mac & Katie Kissoon - Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep

20 Salt Water Taffy - Finders Keepers

21 The Wombles - Remember You're A Womble

22 Bay City Rollers - Saturday Night

23 Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart - Alice Long (You're Still My Favorite Girlfriend)

24 The Monkees - Theme From The Monkees

25 Josie and the Pussycats - Josie and the Pussycats (Long single version)

26 The Banana Splits - The Tra La La Song (One Banana, Two Banana)

27 The Rock & Roll Dubble Bubble Trading Card Co. of Philadelphia - Bubble Gum Music