Bubblegum is pop music in a catchy and upbeat style that is marketed for children and adolescents. The term also refers to a more specific rock and pop subgenre, originating in the United States in the late 1960s, that evolved from garage rock, novelty songs, and the Brill Building sound, and which was also defined by its target demographic of preteens and young teenagers. The Archies' 1969 hit "Sugar, Sugar" was a representative example that led to cartoon rock, a short-lived trend of Saturday-morning cartoon series that heavily featured pop rock songs in the bubblegum vein.
Super K Productions was a 1960s American recording production company under Buddah Records, headed by producers Jerry Kasenetz and Jeffry Katz, whose groups specialized in bubblegum pop. Their biggest successes were The Ohio Express, The 1910 Fruitgum Company, Crazy Elephant and The Music Explosion. Super K also had its own label of the same name in 1969, operated under Buddah Records, but it did not last as the bubblegum genre had already started to decline in popularity.
The Ohio Express is an American bubblegum pop band formed in Mansfield, Ohio, in 1967. Though marketed as a band, it would be more accurate to say that the name "Ohio Express" served as a brand name used by Jerry Kasenetz's and Jeffry Katz's Super K Productions to release the music of a number of different musicians and acts. The best known songs of Ohio Express were actually the work of an assemblage of studio musicians working in New York, including singer/songwriter Joey Levine. Other recorded "Ohio Express" work included material recorded by an early group of Joe Walsh, as well as a later single written and sung by Graham Gouldman.
Blue Thumb Records was an American record label founded in 1968 by Bob Krasnow and former A&M Records executives Tommy LiPuma and Don Graham. Blue Thumb's last record was released in 1978. In 1995, the label was revived and remained active until 2005.
Kama Sutra Records was started in 1964 by Arthur "Artie" Ripp, Hy Mizrahi and Phil Steinberg as Kama Sutra Productions, a production house. The "Kama Sutra" is an ancient Sanskrit text.
The Lemon Pipers were a short-lived 1960s American rock band from Oxford, Ohio, United States, known chiefly for their song "Green Tambourine", which reached No. 1 in the United States in 1968. The song has been credited as being the first bubblegum pop chart-topper.
The Five Stairsteps, known as "The First Family of Soul" and later "The Invisible Man's Band", were an American Chicago soul group made up of five of Betty and Clarence Burke Sr.'s six children: Alohe Jean, Clarence Jr., James, Dennis, and Kenneth "Keni", and briefly, Cubie. They are best known for the 1970 song "O-o-h Child", listed at number 402 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
The 1910 Fruitgum Company is an American bubblegum pop band of the 1960s. The group's Billboard Hot 100 hits were "Simon Says", "May I Take a Giant Step", "1, 2, 3, Red Light", "Goody Goody Gumdrops", "Indian Giver", "Special Delivery", and "The Train".
Robert Bloom was an American singer-songwriter. He is known best for the upbeat 1970 hit, "Montego Bay", which was co-written with and produced by Jeff Barry.
Edwin Reuben Hawkins was an American gospel musician, pianist, vocalist, choir master, composer, and arranger. He was one of the originators of the urban contemporary gospel sound. As the leader of the Edwin Hawkins Singers, he was probably best known for his arrangement of "Oh Happy Day" (1968–69), which was included on the "Songs of the Century" list. In 1970, the Edwin Hawkins Singers made a second foray into the charts, backing folk singer Melanie on "Lay Down ".
The Kasenetz-Katz Singing Orchestral Circus was a bubblegum "supergroup" created by record producers Jerry Kasenetz and Jeffry Katz, consisting of various Super K Production groups.
Cecil Holmes is a record executive who was a co-founder of Casablanca Records and a founder of Chocolate City Records. Born in New York, New York, Holmes began his career in the music businesses as member of a Brooklyn "doo-wop" group in the early 1950s before transitioning to record promotion with Colpix Records, a division of Columbia Pictures. Holmes began a long-term relationship with Neil Bogart while working together at Cameo-Parkway Records, Kama Sutra Records, and Buddah Records before co-founding Casablanca. After the sales of Casablanca, Holmes moved to Columbia/CBS Records as Vice President of East Coast A&R and Executive Producer.
Jeffry Katz is an American music producer, one of the first exponents of bubblegum pop.
Jerry Kasenetz is an American bubblegum pop producer who worked with Jeffry Katz, the two working together as the Super K Productions company, to manufacture and produce bands such as Kasenetz-Katz Singing Orchestral Circus, The Music Explosion, 1910 Fruitgum Company, Crazy Elephant, and The Ohio Express.
Simon Says is the debut album by the American bubblegum pop group the 1910 Fruitgum Company on the Buddah Records label. Released in 1968, it included two songs that appeared on the Billboard Hot 100—the most from any of the group's albums—although it was not their highest-charting album. It's been debated whether or not the members of the band actually played on the album since the Ohio Express, another band put together by Super K Productions, actually consisted of two groups: one that produced the records and another that toured and promoted the name. This claim is disputed by original drummer Floyd Marcus, who has stated that all five men listed really were behind the instruments.
"Simon Says" is a bubblegum pop song written by Elliot Chiprut and originally recorded in 1967 by the 1910 Fruitgum Company, becoming their most successful chart hit.
Indian Giver, the fourth studio album by American bubblegum pop group the 1910 Fruitgum Company, was released in 1969. The title song written by Bobby Bloom, Ritchie Cordell, and Bo Gentry peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song "Special Delivery" went to #38 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album went to 147 on the Billboard 200.
"Indian Giver" is a song written by Bobby Bloom, Ritchie Cordell, and Bo Gentry. It was first recorded by 1910 Fruitgum Company for their 1969 album, Indian Giver. Its B-Side, "Pow Wow", was actually a song called "Bring Back Howdy Doody" deliberately pressed backwards as a way of deterring radio stations from playing the B-Side, which was later recorded by another Buddah bubblegum music group produced by Jerry Kasenetz and Jeffry Katz called Flying Giraffe.
Arthur Marcus "Artie" Ripp is an American music industry executive and record producer.
"Moonflight" is a song written and originally recorded by Vik Venus in 1969. It is a 'break-in' song, with popular hits of the day interspersed at humorous points throughout the song in response to spoken-word prompts, in the style of Dickie Goodman, who had many such hits. "Moonflight" became a hit during the summer of '69, reaching #38 U.S. Billboard and #23 Cash Box. It also charted in Canada, where it reached #20. It did best in South Africa, however, where it reached #7.
