1910 FRUITGUM COMPANY
Then & Now!
For more picture of 1910
Fruitgum Co.:
BUBBLEGUM MUSIC PICTURE
PAGE
Personnel:
- MARK GUTKOWSKI vocals, organ, rhythm guitar
- FLOYD MARCUS drums
- PAT KARWAN lead guitar
- STEVE MORTKOWITZ bass
- FRANK JECKELL rhythm guitar
- CHUCK TRAVIS lead guitar, vocals
- RUSTY OPPENHEIMER drums, vocals
- LARRY RIPLEY bass, horns, vocals
- BRUCE SHAY percussion, vocals
- JIMMY CASAZZA drums, percussion, vocals *
- RALPH COHEN trumpet *
- JERRY ROTH sax, clarinet, flute, vocals *
- DON CHRISTOPHER guitars, vocals *
- RICHIE GOMEZ guitars, vocals *
- PAT SORIANO organ, vocals, piano *
As the story goes, the group was named by Frank Jeckell after finding an old bubble gum wrapper while going through an old trunk in the attic. It's a great story and I'll try to perpetuate it. The Fruitgums came from New Jersey and were produced by Jerry Kasenetz and Jeff Katz, who masterminded the Bubblegum movement and were behind other key acts like The Music Explosion and Ohio Express. Essentially a "singles" band they made an immediate impact with Simon Says , which has become a classic party song and, in addition to being a Top Ten hit in America, it also made No. 2 in the UK (although it was their only major hit here). They enjoyed other success in the US, particularly with 1-2-3 Red Light and Indian Giver. (*) Their Hard Ride album was by an entirely different line-up.
ALBUMS:
SIMON SAYS (Buddah BDS 5010) 1968
CHECKMATE (Buddah BDS 5015) 1968 (Sampler with Lemon Pipers)
1, 2, 3 RED LIGHT (Buddah BDS 5022) 1968
GOODY GOODY GUMDROPS (Buddah BDS 5027) 1969
INDIAN GIVER (Buddah BDS 5036) 1969
HARD RIDE (Buddah BDS 5043) 1969 *
JUCIEST FRUITGUM (Buddah BDS 5057) 1969
CDs:
GOLDEN CLASSICS (Collectables COL-CD-0534) 1994
CASTLE SPECTRUM (Castle Communications 551 219-2) 1995
THE BEST OF THE 1910 FRUITGUM CO. (Buddha Records 74465 99799 2) 2001
45s:
Simon Says/Reflections From The Looking Glass (Buddah 24) 1967
May I Take A Giant Step (Into Your Heart)/(Poor Old) Mr Jensen (Buddah 39) 1968
1, 2, 3 Red Light/Sticky Sticky (Buddah 54) 1968
Goody Goody Gumdrops/Candy Kisses (Buddah 71) 1968
Indian Giver/Pow Wow (Buddah 91) 1969
Special Delivery/No Good Annie (Buddah 114) 1969
The Train/Eternal Light (Buddah 130) 1969
When We Get Married/Baby Bret (Inst.: J. Kasenetz - J. Katz - R. Cordell) (Buddah 146) 1969
Go Away/The Track (Super K 15) 1970
Lawdy, Lawdy/The Clock (Attack 10293) 1970
Simon Says we know. But are Congratulation, A Man Without Love and
Call On Me rare 1910 Fruitgum Co. songs?Update (5/25/01): According to Manfred Gesch, European Compilation EPs were released in the 60s & 70s in this manner and the other groups would be listed on the back. So, sorry, no unknown songs. Thanks Manfred!!!
"1910 Fruitgum Co." in Norwegian?
That's easy:
"nittenhundreogti frukttyggegummikompaniet"
Thanks Tor!
More fruity gum to chew?
