The prototypical bubblegum group, the 1910 Fruitgum Company was the brainchild of Buddah Records house producers Jerry Kasenetz and Jeff Katz, also the masterminds behind such phenoms as the Ohio Express and the Music Explosion. The Kasenetz-Katz formula was a simple one: they enlisted anonymous studio musicians (in this case, vocalistsMark... [+] Read More

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To a pre-teen generation for whom the concept of "free love" equalled unlimited hugs from mom and the notion of "getting high" meant nothing more than a breakfast cereal-induced sugar coma, the Banana Splits marked the apotheosis of such staples of late 1960s culture as psychedelia, pop art and, of course, music. Like the Archies and Josie & the... [+] Read More

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With their long tails and ears for hats, the animated trio Josie and the Pussycats represented the cartoon universe's most daring plunge into the realm of rock and roll. Debuting in the early '70s, the Pussycats broke new ground as an all-female group as well as a multi-cultural unit, a vanguard advancement not only within the realm of animation... [+] Read More

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Ohio Express and the 1910 Fruitgum Co. were two of the leading late-'60s bubblegum rock groups. Under the aegis of producers Jerry Kasenetz and Jeff Katz, both of these rather anonymous bands surfaced repeatedly on the late-'60s pop charts for Buddah Records, spearheading the bubblegum rock craze. With Joey Levine taking the vocals on their... [+] Read More

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Most '60s bubblegum groups were faceless studio concoctions, made up of hired professionals and given nominal group identities after the fact. The Archies made no pretense of being a real band in the first place -- their music, including the smash hit "Sugar, Sugar," was "performed" by the animated TV cartoon characters spun off from Archie... [+] Read More

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Besides hardcore fans, few know that everyone's favorite squeaky clean TV family of the early '70s, the Brady Bunch, issued several musical albums during the show's heyday. Expectedly, the music was either penned by professional songwriters or covers of already-established hits, and is complete lightweight fluff -- as sampled on such releases as... [+] Read More

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The real-life inspiration behind the hit television series The Partridge Family, the Cowsills -- teen siblings Bill, Bob, Barry, John, Susan, and Paul in tandem with mom Barbara -- were one of the biggest pop acts of the late '60s, scoring a series of hits including "The Rain, the Park and Other Things" and "Hair," distinguished by their angelic... [+] Read More

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The Partridge Family was the '70s successor to the Monkees. Both were totally fictional rock/pop "bands" produced by Screen Gems, the television branch of Columbia Pictures. While the Monkees (TV series and band concept) were styled as mid-'60s counter-culture zaniness à la the Beatles' film Hard Days Night, the Partridge Family was strictly... [+] Read More

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By rights, Tony Burrows should be a one-man oldies package tour -- though he never charted a record under his own name, he holds the unusual honor (you can look it up in The Guinness Book of World Records) of having four records in the British Top Ten at once, all under different names. The British session vocalist sang Edison Lighthouse's "Love... [+] Read More

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The British group White Plains had a big hit single in 1970. "My Baby Loves Lovin" was a bubblegum classic that features the ubiquitous vocals of Tony Burrows and a bouncy, happy, and decidedly British pop sound. The group formed when the the Flowerpot Men, best known for the dippy, bubble-psych hit "Let's Go to San Francisco," decided a name... [+] Read More

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