1910 Fruitgum Company

US pop band April 2025 1910 Fruitgum Company 1910Fruitgum2007.jpg The 1910 Fruitgum Company performing live on November 17, 2007 Linden, New Jersey, US Bubblegum pop rock 1965–1970, 1999–present Buddah Frank Jeckell Glenn Lewis Keith Crane Eric Lipper John Roginski Mark Gutkowski Floyd Marcus Steve Mortkowitz Richie Gomez Pat Karwan Rusty Oppenheimer Way 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".http://www.classicbands.com/1910FruitgumCompanyInterview.html Interview With The 1910 Fruitgum Company Classicbands.com August 19, 2015 Background Bubblegum pop was marketed to preteens as the evolving genre of rock music was beginning to target older adolescents and adults with darker lyrics and heavier rhythms.Simpson, Kim. Early '70s Radio: The American Format Revolution. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2011, p.25–26 The simple structure of the songs and non-political content of bubblegum pop appealed to a younger audience.Doggett, Peter. Electric Shock: From the Gramophone to the IPhone – 125 Years of Pop Music. Random House, 2015. p.427 Many of the songs in the bubblegum pop genre like "1, 2, 3 Red Light" were intended to be singles within the budget of that younger preteen audience. "1, 2, 3 Red Light" became one of the biggest hits of the genre. Career The band began as Jeckell and the Hydes in New Jersey in 1966. The original members were Frank Jeckell, Mark Gutkowski, Floyd Marcus, Pat Karwan and Steve Mortkowitz – all from Linden, New Jersey.Voger, Mark. "1910 Fruitgum Company: From Linden to the Top 10", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, February 28, 2014, updated March 29, 2019. Accessed November 25, 2019. "Jeckell's fellow founding members were Mark Gutkowski (lead vocals, keyboards), Pat Karwan (guitar), Steve Mortkowitz (bass), and Floyd Marcus (drums).... And so five young men from Linden with aspirations to be the next Vanilla Fudge scored a Top 10 hit ... with a bubblegum song." During 1967, they were signed to Buddah Records, where they released five LPs under their own name and a variety of singles, as well as appearing on the LP The Kasenetz-Katz Singing Orchestral Circus.January 2022 Their first hit single, "Simon Says", reached number 4 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and peaked at number 2 on the UK Singles Chart.David Roberts 2006 British Hit Singles & Albums 19th Guinness World Records Limited London 1-904994-10-5 395 thumb|200px|right|The original five members of the 1910 Fruitgum Company 1966; photo taken at the home of Floyd Marcus. Shown on top from the left are Floyd and Steve. On the bottom are Pat, Frank and Mark. The band started touring, opening for major acts such as the Beach Boys.http://www.songfacts.com/int/2007/12/floyd-marcus-1910-fruitgum-co.html Floyd Marcus of 1910 Fruitgum Co : Songwriter Interviews Songfacts.com August 19, 2015 They also released these other chart hits: "May I Take a Giant Step" (U.S. number 63), "1, 2, 3, Red Light" (U.S. number 5), "Special Delivery" (U.S. number 38), "Goody, Goody Gumdrops" (U.S. number 37), "Indian Giver" (U.S. number 5) and "The Train" (U.S. number 57).The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music Colin Larkin Colin Larkin (writer) Virgin Books 1997 Concise 1-85227-745-9 904 The original group disbanded in 1970.Bower Carolyn Remembering 1968: The Music of 50 Years Ago! https://www.boomermagazine.com/remembering-1968/ Boomermagazine.com April 19, 2019 thumb|Late 1970s Fruit gum Co. In 1999, original member Frank Jeckell and Mick Mansueto put the act back together. As of 2019, Fruitgum currently performs its own hits, in addition to other songs from the 1960s.Price Robert '60s return to Newton Theatre https://www.njherald.com/story/24727751/60s-return-to-newton-theatre# New Jersey Herald April 19, 2019February 2021 InternetArchiveBot yes Million sellers "Simon Says" sold three and a half million. "1, 2, 3, Red Light" and "Indian Giver" each sold over one million copies. All three were awarded gold discs. Joseph Murrells 1978 The Book of Golden Discs 2nd Barrie and Jenkins Ltd London 244 & 264 0-214-20512-6 registration https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/244 Band members October 2023 Current lineup Floyd Marcus (Original founding member, drummer) Mick Mansueto (Lead vocals) Frank Jeckell (Original Member, Guitar and Vocals) Glenn Lewis (Bass and Vocals) Keith Crane (Drums) Eric Lipper (Keyboards and Vocals) John Roginski (Guitar, Keyboards and Vocals) Former members Mark Gutkowski (Original Member, Lead Singer on all the hits, and Hammond B3 Organist) Pat Karwan (Original Member, Lead Guitarist and Vocals) Steve Mortkowitz (Original Member, Bass Player and Vocals) Jerry Roth (Tenor Sax) Bob Brescia (Keyboards, Vocals and music director) Thomas "Bart" Bartleson (Drums) Mike Edell (Keyboards and Vocals) John Korba-Guitar/Vocals Ralph Cohen (Douglas) (Trumpet) Pat Soriano (Hammond B3 Organist) Bruce Shay (Bass and Vocals) Rusty Oppenheimer (Drums and Vocals) Larry Ripley (Bass, Woodwinds and Vocals) Chuck Travis (Guitar and Vocals) Richie Gomez (Guitar and Vocals) Michael Stoppiello (Guitar and Vocals) Philip Thorstenson (Drums and Vocals) Chuck Allen (Bass and Vocals) 1980s road band members Randy Monaco (Lead Vocals) Jim Bulkowski (Lead Guitar) Russ Hoffmaster (Drums & Vocals) Rick Gainor (Bass & Vocals) John Siroky (Keyboards) Mark Maroni 1982-1985 (Lead Guitar Scott Vogt 1982-1985 (Bass Guitar) Discography Singles YearTitlePeak chart positions Record LabelB-sideFrom same album as A-side except where indicatedAlbum US UK AUS CAN 1967 "Simon Says" 4 2 2 1 Buddah Records "Reflections from the Looking Glass" (Non-LP track) Simon Says 1968 "May I Take a Giant Step (Into Your Heart)" 63 – 42 21 "(Poor Old) Mr. Jensen" "1, 2, 3, Red Light" 5 – 8 1 "Sticky, Sticky" (Non-LP track) 1, 2, 3, Red Light "Goody Goody Gumdrops" 37 – 29 26 "Candy Kisses" (Non-LP track) Goody Goody Gumdrops 1969 "Indian Giver" 5 – 5 1 "Pow Wow" (Non-LP track) Indian Giver "Special Delivery" 38 – 47 17 "No Good Annie" "The Train" 57 – 68 34 "Eternal Light" (Non-LP track) Hard Ride "When We Get Married" 118 – 76 – "Baby Bret" (Non-LP track) Juiciest Fruitgum 1970 "Go Away" – – 77 – Super K Records "The Track"Non-LP tracks Albums YearAlbumBillboard 200Record Label 1968 Simon Says 162 Buddah Records 1, 2, 3, Red Light 163 Goody Goody Gumdrops – 1969 Indian Giver 147 Hard Ride – 1970 Juiciest Fruitgum – 1993 Juiciest Hits – 1994 Bubblegum Goodies – Victor Entertainment A Golden Classics Edition – Collectables Records 2001 The Best of the 1910 Fruitgum Company: Simon Says – Buddah Records 2007 Bubblegum Christmas – Collectables Records Further reading Greene, D. (2012). Teens, TV and Tunes: The Manufacturing of American Adolescent Culture, McFarland & Co., 978-0786466429 References External links Official website Group biography by Tom Simon 1910 Fruitgum Company 5086296 Category:Musical groups established in 1965 Category:Musical groups from Union County, New Jersey Category:Buddah Records artists Category:American pop music groups Category:Bubblegum pop groups Category:1965 establishments in New Jersey