Monocled Alchemist

The 1910 Fruitgum Company “Simon Says”

Five singles from my collection, both A and B sides makes up this podcast mix:

Featured songs in order of appearance:

• Ban Deodorant advert – sky-diving
• May I Take A Giant Step (Into Your Heart)
• Reflections From The Looking Glass
• The Box Tops – Coke spot #2
• The Track
• Indian Giver
• Donna Loren & Dick Clark – Dr. Pepper radio spot
• Simon Says
• Go Away
• Joni Mitchell – ‘Ladies Of The Canyon’ LP promo spot
• Goody Goody Gumdrops
• Eternal Light
• The Lively Set – Coffee promo
• Three’s A Crowd – promo spot #2
• (Poor Old) Mr Jensen
• The Train

Exploring the Bubblegum sounds of the Fruitgum Company

The 1910 Fruitgum Company “Simon Says”: was the brainchild of Buddah Records house producers Jerry Kasenetz and Jeff Katz. With the 1910 Fruitgum Company, the Kasenetz-Katz team scored their first major hit, the smash “Simon Says,” launching the bubblegum craze.

In this post I delve into my 60s music press archives. Here’s what I found!

“Simon Says”

1910 Fruitgum Company, whose British debut single, “Simon Says,” was this week at 14 in the chart, were named by their rhythm guitarist Frank Jeckell.

Sorting through a trunk, Frank discovered an old bubble-gum wrapper and the American quintet formed in January 1967 were as good as named.

The Company consists of 19-year-olds Floyd Marcus on drums; “Scaramouche – Quackenbush” Karwan, organ; Steve Mortkowitz, bass guitar and 21-year-old Frank Jeckell, rhythm guitar. They share the vocals. (Disc & Music Echo, 06/04/68)

“May I Take A Giant Step (Into Your Heart)”

I’m surprised they didn’t call this one “Son Of Simon” – because it’s very similar in style to the Fruitgum Co’s first hit. There’s the same sparkling finger-clicking beat, emphasised by walloping drums, and the organ is again prominent in the backing.

Lead singer handles to vocal, with chanting support from the other boys. The song itself is not unlike “Simon” – it has the same chord structure, but the melody isn’t quite as catchy, nor the lyric as gimmicky.

It’s the old case of the duplicate never quite being up to the standard of the original. But still sufficiently appealing for the Chart. (NME, 08/06/68)

They can do what they want to as far as I’m concerned. I hated and still hate “Simon Says” and this isn’t much better. It has an insistency and a lot of clapping and certainly doesn’t give up for a moment, but I found the whole thing boring, and so it will doubtless be a hit. Oh well. (Disc & Music Echo, 08/06/68)

Isn’t this an old number? It sounds about three years old. It’s the 1910 Fruitgum Co. This is the same sort of thing as their last one and I don’t think it will do half as well. I don’t like it personally. But then I often didn’t like the other one at all at first and it grew on me. But this one sounds old. (Steve Ellis, Blind Date, Melody Maker, 08/06/68)

As one might expect, similar in vein to “Simon Says”. This formula of making the follow-up the same as the hit, works every time in the States, but has been happening with increasing lack of success over here.

Has a lot of the sparkle of the first record, but lacks the cute lyric idea. But it has a good strong chorus line and that decisive sort of sound about it that is the best part of many American records.

Somehow I don’t see it as being quite as big a hit as the last one, ‘cos it’s so similar. (Top Pops, 08/06/68)

“1,2,3, Red Light”

I have never exactly seen the possibilities or the direction this group are going in – veering as they do from all sorts of odd songs. Be that it may, they obviously have enough problems of their own without me adding to them.

For example here we have the sad tale of a boy whose girl friend keeps putting on the freeze and he is, naturally, getting a bit fed up with it. I feel the whole thing may end in disaster, but they sing it with such solid thumping it’s hard to tell.

It’s a very stylised sound with a great deal of “la-la’ing” going on and it just might be catchy enough on the chorus to do something. (Disc & Music Echo, 03/08/68)

The 1910 Fruitgum Co.’s last single passed almost unnoticed – but this latest one is so totally different in conception from “Simon Says” that it probably stands a much better chance.

It has an irresistible bouncy beat, with thumping omm-pah sound that’s almost a march – and the jingle pipe-organ gives it a pronounced carnival flavour.

The lead singer is supported by la-la chanting, and the overall effect is one of gaiety and light-heartedness. The group’s vocal blend is very attractive indeed, and the song itself – while not sensational – is still catchy enough for the youngsters to latch on to.

I would think it stands a better chance that the Co.’s last release. (NME, 03/08/68)

“Goody Goody Gumdrops”

Sounds like the boys in ‘Hair’. goody Goody Gumdrops! That’s about the standard of the songs in ‘Hair’, which were all bloody rubbish. It’s hard to tell with this kind of music, if it’s English or American. is it the Ohio Express?

The 1320 Fruitgum Company? Oh! 1910! Awful. In Ireland the showbands drove me mad singing “Simon Says” all night. Well I enjoyed Blind Date. Ask me again soon. Don’t wait a whole year next time. (Long John Baldry, Blind Date, Melody Maker, 23/11/68)

“Special Delivery”

Well they are getting better. From being merely abominable, they are progressing into Foul Rock, with overtones of bilge ‘n’ boogie.

Over to Foul-Up Smith, my record producing adviser. “Yeah, it’s pretty bad, but it could be so much worse. Now if they’d let me get in that control room, you’ve have seen the balderdash fly.” (Melody Maker, 15/06/69)

UK Discography:

“Simon Says” / “Reflections From The Looking Glass” (Pye International 7N 25447) February 1968
“May I Take A Giant Step (Into Your Heart)” / “(Poor Old) Mr Jenson” (Pye International 7N 25458) June 1968
“1,2,3, Red Light” / “Sticky, Sticky” (Pye International 7N 25468) August 1968
“Goody Goody Gumdrops” / “Candy Kisses” (Buddah 201 025) November 1968
“Pop Goes The Weasel” / “The Year 2001” (Pye International 7N 25478) November 1968
“Indian Giver” / “Liza” (Buddah 201 037) March 1969
“Special Delivery” / “No Good Annie” (Buddah 201 049) June 1969
“Go Away” / “The Track” (Buddah 2011 031) July 1970

“Simon Says” LP (Pye International NPL 28115) May 1968
“Goody Goody Gumdrops” LP (Buddah 203 114) 1968

Music Press Articles

1910 Fruitgum Co aim for teeny boppers

A crumpled chewing gum wrapper found in the pocket of an old suit jacket inspired the name of the 1910 Fruit Gum Company whose record “Simon Says” based on a children’s action game, is in the MM Top Ten.

“We were looking for old clothes to wear on stage and we found this old suit with the wrapper in the pocket,” explained the group’s leader, singer and rhythm guitarist, Frank Jeckell, over the transatlantic telephone.

With 21-year-old Frank in the Company are Pat Karwan (19), vocalist and lead guitar, Mark Gutkowski (18), vocals and organ, and 19-year-old drummer and singer, Floyd Marcus.

“We formed about one and a half years ago and are all hometown boys from Lynden, New Jersey, going to the same high school and, well, we just got together” continued Frank.

“The band was semi-professional before the record happened and we had a number of names before we were the 1910 Fruit Gum Company. We were called Jeckell and Hyde, the Odyssey and the Lower Road. We went through a lot of names until we came up this one.”

The song is an Elliott Chipuit composition, and the arrangement is a collaboration between the group and their record producers, “It’s a teeny-bopper kind of thing, and they are the kind of audience we play to at the moment,” Frank said. “But we hope to change that.”

The group are currently working “teenage night clubs” along the American East Coast with the occasional visits to the West Coast and other parts of America.

The 1910 Fruitgum Co “Simon Says”

“On stage we wear wild clothes. We don’t go for uniforms,” said Frank. “We buy a lot of stuff. Recently, one of the boys bought a suit with velvet designs all over it. And we use a strobe light, We like doing Hendrix and Cream things, and we all like the Beatles. It depends on the audience.”

As well as using other people’s songs, the group are active as songwriters themselves. “There are five of our own songs on our first album. Like everyone else, we try to create our own style. There are four of us who write, and no two of us write the same,” said Frank.

“There are five of our songs on our first album. The songs on the album, though, have unfortunately not been chosen by us. They have been chosen to go along with ‘Simon Says’ which is a commercial thing. If the kids like them, then the older people will like them too, but there is nothing for the people between.”

Georgie Fame

The group are very happy with the success of “Simon Says” in the British chart. “We want to come over but we have no definite plans, I ran into Georgie Fame and he was talking about some of the British groups, I’ve heard that you’re turning “back to rock ’n’ roll,” Frank said.

“But we are looking forward to coming over. I’ve never heard anyone who has been over come back and say they didn’t like it.”

The follow up to “Simon Says” is another Elliott Chipuit song, “May I Take A Giant Step,” which has been in the States. “It’s a thing that’s sort of the same idea,” said Frank. “We think it should do well.”

And if “Simon Says” is anything to go by, there is no reason why it shouldn’t. (Melody Maker, 20/04/68)

1910 Fruitgum Company “Simon Says”

SINCE they hit the chart with “Simon Says,” the 1910 Fruitgum Company, now at No. 2 for the second week running, have had a group change. “They are a bass player, Bruce Shaw, and a drummer, Dave Peck,” said Pat Karwan, singer and lead guitarist, when he spoke to MM over the transatlantic telephone link last week. “They have been travelling with us for two weeks now.”

And travelling is what the 1910 Fruitgum Company have been doing recently. “We have been averaging about a 1,000 miles a week lately,” Pat reckoned. “We have just completed a mid-Western tour with five other groups and we play a lot of places on the East: Coast.”

In June the Company and seven other groups, in all 46 musicians, join together to form an “orchestra” in concert at the Carnegie Hall and there will be an album to commemorate the event, issued to coincide with the concert. Tracks: include “Hey,Joe,” “Yesterday” and “Simon Says.”

“I find we are influenced by British groups, particularly the Cream,” said Pat. “Although I am more influenced by blues groups and guitarists like Mike Bloomfield and Jimi Hendrix. But we try to find our own ideas. If you put all these groups together you come out with something new — you’ve got to come out with something new.”

1910 Fruitgum Company “Simon Says”

When the group appear in concert or at a club they do a lot of their own songs. “We do stuff with a lot of different vocal things, five part harmony, lead singer with a vocal backing, we don’t stick to one sound,” said Pat.

The influx of British groups to America doesn’t worry the Company. “If we didn’t have the competition we’d stay the same,” Pat commented. “It makes everyone else better.”

As yet the States is not experiencing the Rock Revival. “Every group around New York sounds like the Vanilla Fudge, on the West Coast they sound like the Jefferson Airplane, and in the mid-West and Florida, they sound like the Cream and Jimi Hendrix,” said Pat.

Electric Flag

“We have a lot of blues groups using horns, like the Electric Flag, Mike Bloomfield’s group, and Blood, Sweat and Tears. I like that quite a bit. They’re not like soul bands. There were quite a few soul bands around but it doesn’t sound like soul music, they use more blues and jazz. Soul is commercialised blues. What the blues bands are playing is more of a thing from B. B. King.”

As yet there are no plans to bring the 1910 Fruitgum Company to Britain. “We haven’t heard anything yet but we are looking forward to coming. We’ve been talking to Spanky and Our Gang who had a two-week tour there. They said it. was just great.”

And the group’s reaction to the success of “Simon Says”? Said Pat, “Everybody in the group is really very glad!” (Melody Maker, 11/05/68)

Rock With The Fruitgum Co

ONE week, not so long ago, there were five semi-professional musicians from New Jersey and they made a record which was based on a children’s party-game song, though it was dressed up in such a way as to make it clearly part of the current rock revival movement.

Within a month, the record broke big in the States. “Simon Says” was the song; the 1910 Fruitgum Company, the group. Even Eric Burdon, not the easiest man to please when it comes to routine pop, returned briefly to London to shout loud about the record:

“It’s not MY kind of music but for what it is, it is well done. In a sense, it’s folk music. Today’s folk music . . . ”

And everybody scrabbled to find out more about this curiously-titled five-strong group. Certainly it took record company executives here all unawares. Nobody had any pictures; nobody had any information. But a phone call to the States put the situation right—the boys are exceptionally talkative, putting in full value verbiage for the quid-a-minute such a call costs!

What emerged initially is that they don’t want to be judged as a group by the sounds on their first hit . . . its sold nearly four million copies and it was aimed directly at the teen and sub-teen market. Now all groups who have a “freak” hit of this type tend to say that they REALLY want to play much more progressive music!

The 1910 Fruitgum Company “Simon Says”

Says lead singer Mark Gutkowski: “Trouble with making a big single is that you get categorised in that particular bag. It takes time to make a switch. Our new single, for instance, is “May I Take A Giant Step”. Sure it’s rock ’n’ roll again, but is more adult and has a more sophisticated sound”.

Let’s briefly line-up the rest of the group, before going on. Mark is 18; Frank Jeckwell is 21, plays rhythm; drummer Floyd Marcus is 19; lead guitarist is Pat Karwan, aged 19, and often answering to the name of ‘“‘Scaramuche Quackenbush”, though his colleagues have no explanation why; and on bass is Steve Mortkowitz, also 19. Mark also plays organ.

Says Mark: “We all took turns on ‘Simon Says’, handling the vocal line. But we split the duties more when on personal appearances. We got one album out, which has five or six of our own songs on it, but we were a shade disappointed because we didn’t really get the chance to make the final selection.

Right now, we’re involved in a second album which we figure will give a truer picture of what we can do, musically”.

For Britain, though, they’re not so sure. “What’s this rock and roll revival you have in Britain?”, asked Frank. “Is this for older artists, say Haley, or are you digging up new ones? Our single is right there in the rock field.

Jimi Hendrix Experience

Maybe we’d better stick to that formula for a time. But here we do a light show more often than not—we include numbers by the Cream and Jimi Hendrix Experience, all depending on the age of the audience and the way things are going.

So far, our singles have been written by Elliot Chipuit, but maybe soon we’ll get the confidence to push out our own material”.

About that group title: there are different stories pushed out about them finding it from a chewing-gum wrapper found in (a) the trouser pocket of a 1930 suit they bought for their stage act; (b) in a chest in a cobwebby attic; (c) in the gutter outside a Club they’d visited.

Version (c) is currently favourite with the boys. But they admit: “It could be that the group name has already outlived its usefulness.

The 1910 Fruitgum Co “Simon Says”

“At first, it helped to get us noticed. But later on it’s no help if you want to be taken seriously for your music and find only that a lot of people look on you as some kinda circus outfit, some crazy comedy band”.

Be that as it may, it’s probably better than some of the early names the boys, as semi-pros, worked under like Jeckyll and Hyde (adapted to suit the rhythm guitarist’s name), or Odyssey and the Lower Road!

Capitalise

Will the boys make it to Britain to capitalise on their success? Says Frank, “We’re kinda caught in our own trap. We had no idea the disc would take off your side. We’re very busy working teenage clubs right along the East Coast—and every few weeks or so we take off on a flying visit to the West Coast.

We’d like to visit London, maybe the Continent, right now, but it’ll be the fall before we can really make a move. We can’t complain, but maybe we shouldn’t have have got so booked up . . . ”

The Beatles influence

The group has been going for 18 months they all went to the same high school and rehearsed after music lessons. They admit to their being influenced a lot by the Beatles, especially the earlier Beatles.

They also own a massive collection of LP’s by the British biggies . . . Hendrix, Fame, Cream, Traffic, etc., etc. Funnily enough, their personal listening tastes run well away from the “Simon Says” type of material!

Last word to Mark: “Really it’s all happened a bit too fast for us to keep tabs on which direction we’re going. But if rock and roll really IS in, and we’re still not too sure about this, well . . . we gotta lot of rock to sell”.

And I’m happy to tell you they do NOT chew gum on stage!

Album Reviews:

“Simon Says” LP (Pye International NPL 28115)

Fruitgum Co: feeble mixture

If it were not for their current hit, this would be an insignificant new album. The music is the sort of group noise that you sometimes hear in clubs: you can hear it, but it’s not really there!

There’s a feeble mixture of imitation soul and straight beat pop. Altogether, this group’s claim to fame still remains their single hit and they appear to have a long way to go to stay in the news. (Disc & Music Echo, 11/05/68)

These five American boys. who have a big single hit with “Simon Says” (included here), put over their vocals with great energy and give them a rock-steady backing. They show their imaginative prowess with “Pop Goes The Weasel,” which they turn into a rocking tune; and they rave on “Soul Struttin’,” “May I Take A Giant Step,” and went for a deep guitar sound in “Bubble Gum World.”

Behind the group are two 23-year-old producers, Jerry Kasenetz and Jeff Katz, known as the Super-K boys. (NME, 25/05/68)

Unpretentious

1910 FRUITGUM CO. “Simon Says” (Pye). A happy unpretentious American group, currently high in the chart with their hit “Simon Says,” achieve a “good time” sound on an interesting programme of varied material. They are like a less inventive Lovin’ Spoonful with a touch of the New Vaudeville Band.

All the group share vocal duties and one of the boys manages to sound like Paddy Roberts on “The Story Of Flipper,” the best track, with a honky tonk beat and amusing lyrics. “The Magic Windmill” is a trifle cut, and “Happy Little Teardrops” sounds a good deal like “Puff The Magic Dragon.”

“The Year 2000” takes a look back at the 20th century and doesn’t like what it sees. “Soul Struttin’” is the old favourite given a bright treatment, even if the guitar sounds a bit out of tune on occasions. “Pop Goes The Weasel” sounds pretty awful whether played by Count Basie or the London Philharmonic, but the group do their best.

Don’t expect miracles from the Fruit Gums, but if you take them as a light-hearted, fun group, a good deal of pleasure can be extracted. The line-up is Floyd Marcus (drums), Pat Karwan (lead guitar). Mark Gutkowski (organ), Steve Mortkowitz (bass guitar), and Frank Jeckell (rhythm guitar). (Melody Maker, 11/05/68)

More bubblegum with the Lemon Pipers