I heard a DJ on an oldies station the other night describle yummy Yummy by Ohio Express as a bubblegum hit,
Anyone know who coined that phrase in the 60’s and what criteria a song had to meet to be labeled bubblegum music?
Of course that’s just my opinion I could be wrong.
Dennis Miller
I have no idea who came up with the term, or when, but I have a vague understanding of its applications.
Bubblegum music is the opposite of meaty music. Try to follow me here:
“Meaty” music showcases musicianship, innovation, thoughtful/though-provoking lyrics, or any combination of the above.
“Bubblegum” music is made purely for enjoyment.
Britney Spears: Bubblegum
Sarah MacLaughlin (sp?): Meaty
N’Sync: Bubblegum
Metallica: Meaty
Vanilla Ice (First CD): Bubblegum
Master P: Meaty
You get the idea.
Basically it referred to the intended audience: bubblegum-chewing middle-school/junior-high girls. (That isn’t to say that it can’t be enjoyed by anyone else. There is a lot of enjoyable froth in the world.)
Tom~
I’ve understood “bubblegum pop” to refer to bands that were tailored for a teenage audience. Some of the marketing techniques used for this would be selling bubblegum cards.
I would think the term would date back to the time of the Monkees or the Archies.
Argh, I hate bubble gum music. It’s driving me crazy, my head is spinning, like a whirlpool which never ends and it’s you girl makin’ it spin, you’re drivin…
help me
Traditional bubblegum music was created in ancient Rome, where Nero played the sousaphone.
The 60s version was a collective term for a bunch of uptempo “bouncy” top 40 songs with silly lyrics that his around 1968. Top pure bubblegum groups were The Ohio Express (“Yummy Yummy Yummy” “Chewy Chewy”) and the 1910 Fruitgum Company (The most succesful, chartwise, with “Simon Says”, “1-2-3- Red Light,” and “Indian Giver”). Most recorded on Buddah Records, owned by Kazenetz/Katz (one reason why the Stone Ponies – Linda Ronstadt’s first band – is sometimes classified). Kazenetz and Katz even put an act together – the Kazenetz-Katz Singing Orchestral Circus – made up of their bubblegum acts (according to Lillian Roxon’s ROCK ENCYCLOPEDIA, this included the 1920 Fruitgum Company, the Ohio Express, the Music Explosion, and several other more obscure groups). The Archies came a bit later.
The music was aimed squarely at preteen girls. The title came either from the concept of mindless chewing, or from the name “1910 Fruitgum Company” (though the Ohio Express was first).
“East is east and west is west and if you take cranberries and stew them like applesauce they taste much more like prunes than rhubarb does.” – Marx
Read “Sundials” in the new issue of Aboriginal Science Fiction. www.sff.net/people/rothman
Say it ain’t so R.C. My home girl Linda a bubble gummer? <sigh>
I lay my head on the railroad tracks
Waiting on the double E…
They don’t call me the colonel because I’m some dumbass army guy.
Well, “Different Drum” by the Stone Ponies was recorded by the same record label, but doesn’t have the same bubblegum sound. (It was written by Mike Nesmith of the Monkees, BTW).
And the lyrics you quoted are Warren Zevon, who does the better version.
“East is east and west is west and if you take cranberries and stew them like applesauce they taste much more like prunes than rhubarb does.” – Marx
Read “Sundials” in the new issue of Aboriginal Science Fiction. www.sff.net/people/rothman
I’m a fan of 60’s bubblegum music and I have a CD entitled “Best of the Bubblegum Years” put by Buddah Records in 1988. In the booklet, Neil Bogart, Vice President of Buddah Records in 1968, described bubblegum music this way:
“Bubble gum music is pure entertainment. It’s about sunshine and going places, and falling in love…and dancing for the fun of it. It’s not about war and poverty and disease and rioting, and frustration and making money and lying and all the things that “really” matter. It’s not about these things and that is why it’s so popular. It’s about the good things in life…that sometimes (you) lose sight of…but can find again.”
Ahhhh, the sixties!
“Yummy, yummy, yummy, I’ve got love in my tummy…”
Oddly enough, may punk?new wave bands were strongly influenced by 60s bubble gum. The Cars are a good example (“Just What I Needed” begins with the opening riff of “Yummy Yummy Yummy” by the Ohio Express"). Bands like the Talking Heads (who used to play “1 2 3 Red Light” in concert), Blondie and Roxy Music also sounded a lot like bubble gum groups early in their careers.