Bubblegum Classics Volume One

This whole series are gold..Ed...I guess pink

BUBBLEGUM CLASSICS VOL. 1: Probably the tastiest of the many bubblegum packs on the market, this includes one savory chew apiece from genre kings OHIO EXPRESS, 1910 FRUITGUM CO., TOMMY ROE and THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY, featuring the perfectly shagged DAVID CASSIDY. Fans can also sink their teeth into relative rarities like PEPPERMINT RAINBOW's glorious one shot WILL YOU BE STAYING AFTER SUNDAY, THE DEFRANCO FAMILY's ABRA-CA-DABRA (their follow-up to HEARTBEAT, IT'S A LOVE BEAT), and COME AND TAKE A RIDE IN MY BOAT by RARE BREED, which is better known as COME ON DOWN TO MY BOAT by EVERY MOTHERS SON. THE FIFTH ESTATE's euphoric Land of Oz chant DING DONG! THE WITCH IS DEAD, DAWN's earnest plea KNOCK THREE TIMES and BOBBY SHERMAN's wistful JULIE, DO YA LOVE ME? add to the carefee "pop perfect" atmosphere. Although THE CUFF LINKS' TRACY is present, session singer RON DANTE's other "group" THE ARCHIES' chart topping SUGAR SUGAR is saved for another volume of BUBBLEGUM CLASSICS (there are five in all); about the only other thing missing from BUBBLEGUM CLASSICS is a free comic strip inside the package.RATING: FOUR GUMBALLS

I bought this just to get a clean copy of the Edison Lighthouse's "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Grows)." It's one of a number of 1970- 71 songs that form the foundation of my real entry to top-40 radio listenership, and my original 45 was just about gone.I already had several of the other tracks on this compilation - some of which have been anthologized or made available on reissues or artist compilations. Some of the easier-to-find tracks include the Ohio Express' "Yummy, Yummy, Yummy", Boyce & Hart's "Alice Long (You're Still My Favorite Girlfriend)", The Cuff Links' "Tracy", The Fifth Estate's "Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead", Tommy Roe's "Jam Up and Jelly Tight", Dawn's "Knock Three Times", 1910 Fruitgum Company's "Indian Giver", Bobby Sherman's "Julie, Do Ya Love Me?" and The Partridge Family's "I Think I Love You."Even with all those duplicate tracks, they add together with the less familiar entries to make a very listenable compilation. On top of the musical selection, the chart and group info, plus the anecdotes in the liner notes make this a really worthwhile disc. I was especially interested to find out who the lead vocalist is on a lot of the studio-band tracks. E.g., I knew that The Cuff Links' "Tracy" was sung by Ron Dante (of Archies' fame), but I didn't realize that Dante had also fronted The Detergents on their single "Leader of the Laundromat." Similarly, I had never made the connection of Tony Burrows singing lead on the Edison Lighthouse cut, as well as The Pipkins "Gimme Dat Ding", White Plains' "My Baby Loves Lovin'" and Brotherhood of Man's "United We Stand."The interconnections between writers, producers, singers and groups is really fascinating. According to the liner notes, Rupert Holmes took over as lead vocalist of the Cuff Links on their second album, and the tracks were simultaneously licensed to Decca (as the Cuff Links) and to Musicor (as Street People). It's surprising to find out that a few talented songwriters and producers churned out so many hit singles under so many different artist or band names.Also included are an early Hudson Brothers' track, "Laugh, Funny Funny", under the name of Everyday Hudson, Keith's debut single "Ain't Gonna Lie" (it's no "98.6", that's for sure!), The Peppermint Rainbow's "Will You Be Staying After Sunday" (sounding an awful lot like Spanky & Our Gang), a really soulful-garage version of "Come and Take a Ride in My Boat" by Rare Breed (later a top-10 hit for Every Mother's Son), and Shannon's "Abergavenny" (most notable to me as having a lead vocal by Marty Wilde - father of Ricki "Teen Wave" Wilde and Kim "Kids in America" Wilde).

Bubblegum Classics, Volume 1 is Fifty-two minutes and twenty seconds and was released on May 9, 1995. Only three of the Bubblegum Classics did not chart and only two hit #1. You get a wide range of artists on this CD; from The Partridge Family to Ohio Express and from Street People to Captain Groovy & His Bubblegum Army. Most of the songs are known while a few are unknown and made the charts. Bubblegum Classics, Volume 1 gets an AAA+++.Yummy, Yummy, Yummy-Ohio Express#4 U.S. Billboard Pop SinglesAlice Long (You're Still My Favorite Girlfriend)-Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart#27 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Singles#16 CashboxTracy-The Cuff Links#9 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 SinglesDing Dong! The Witch Is Dead-The Fifth Estate#11 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 SinglesAbra-ca-dabra-The DeFranco Family Featuring Tony DeFranco#32 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 SinglesJennifer Tomkins-Street People#36 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 SinglesJam Up and Jelly Tight-Tommy Roe#8 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 SinglesLove Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)-Edison Lighthouse#5 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 SinglesLaugh, Funny Funny-Everyday HudsonKnock Three Times-Dawn#1 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Singles#2 U.S. Billboard Easy ListeningSunshine Games-Music Explosion#63 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 SinglesAin't Gonna Lie-Keith#39 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 SinglesIndian Giver-1910 Fruitgum Company#5 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 SinglesWill You Be Staying After Sunday?-The Peppermint Rainbow#32 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 SinglesBaby, Take Me In Your Arms-Jefferson#23 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 SinglesCome and Take a Ride in My Boat-Rare BreedJulie, Do You Love Me?-Bobby Sherman#5 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 SinglesI Think I Love You-The Partridge Family#1 U.S. Billboard Pop SinglesAbergavenny-Shannon#47 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 SinglesCaptain Groovy & His Bubblegum Army- Captain Groovy & His Bubblegum Army

This CD describes itself as "the ultimate collection of pure pop music". That description is more accurate than the title "Bubblegum Classics". The compilers of this collection seem to have catagorized any lightweight pop song as "bubblegum". To me, "bubblegum" specifically refers to the productions of Jerry Kasenetz & Jeff Katz, plus a few other songs that imitate their signature sound. Having said that, this is a good collection of lightweight pop songs. The super rare "Capt. Groovy and his Bubblegum Army" is worth the price of the CD by itself. Recommended for fans of pure pop music.