Fly (Sugar Ray song)
Encyclopedia
"Fly" is a song by rock band Sugar Ray
. It appears on their 1997 album
Floored twice: one version with reggae
artist Super Cat
(Track 4) and the other without (Track 13).
The song became the band's first hit, holding the #1 spot on the Billboard
Hot 100 Airplay
chart for four consecutive weeks and spending eight weeks at the #1 spot on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart. (A single was not released commercially in the US, thus preventing it from charting on the Billboard Hot 100
at the time). The song also reached #1 on Canada's Singles Chart. "Fly" did not sound anything at all like the rest of the tracks on the album, being the only reggae fusion track. As a result of the success of "Fly", Floored sold extremely well and was certified double platinum. However, by the end of 1997, critics skeptical that Sugar Ray could put out another successful song labeled them a one-hit wonder. This assumption was noted and accepted by the band, who in playful defiance, named their next album 14:59
in a reference to Andy Warhol
's "15 minutes of fame
"; that album became certified triple-platinum and outsold its predecessor.
The song was included on VH1
's countdown of the "100 Greatest Songs of the '90s" at number 52.
A cover version was recorded by the band Pinmonkey
on their 2002 self-titled album
. Four Year Strong
also covered the song on their 1990s cover album, Explains It All
, featuring Travis McCoy from the band Gym Class Heroes
.
The song was featured in the trailer of the 2000 science fiction film "Supernova."
Sugar Ray
Sugar Ray is a band from Orange County, California. The band, starting off more as an alternative metal band, first gained fame in 1997 with their release of the song "Fly". This song's success, coupled with its pop rock sound that was quite different from the rest of their material at the time,...
. It appears on their 1997 album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
Floored twice: one version with reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
artist Super Cat
Super Cat
Super Cat is a deejay most popular during the late 1980s and early 1990s dancehall movement. Super Cat was born in Jamaica and was nicknamed Wild Apache. His nickname, the "Wild Apache" was given to him by his mentor Early B...
(Track 4) and the other without (Track 13).
The song became the band's first hit, holding the #1 spot on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Hot 100 Airplay
Hot 100 Airplay
The Hot 100 Airplay chart is a chart released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States. It measures radio airplay, and is one of the three component charts, along with the Hot Singles Sales and the Hot Digital Songs charts, that determine the chart positions of singles on the Billboard...
chart for four consecutive weeks and spending eight weeks at the #1 spot on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart. (A single was not released commercially in the US, thus preventing it from charting on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
at the time). The song also reached #1 on Canada's Singles Chart. "Fly" did not sound anything at all like the rest of the tracks on the album, being the only reggae fusion track. As a result of the success of "Fly", Floored sold extremely well and was certified double platinum. However, by the end of 1997, critics skeptical that Sugar Ray could put out another successful song labeled them a one-hit wonder. This assumption was noted and accepted by the band, who in playful defiance, named their next album 14:59
14:59
14:59 is the third album by the band Sugar Ray, released on January 12, 1999. It entered the top 20 on the Billboard 200, peaking at #17 and certified triple-platinum by the RIAA. The album shows the band moving into a more adult contemporary style, away from their earlier alternative metal...
in a reference to Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
's "15 minutes of fame
15 minutes of fame
15 minutes of fame is short-lived, often ephemeral, media publicity or celebrity of an individual or phenomenon. The expression was coined by Andy Warhol, who said in 1968 that "In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes." The phenomenon is often used in reference to...
"; that album became certified triple-platinum and outsold its predecessor.
The song was included on VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
's countdown of the "100 Greatest Songs of the '90s" at number 52.
A cover version was recorded by the band Pinmonkey
Pinmonkey
Pinmonkey is an American country music group formed in 1998 by Michael Reynolds , brothers Michael and Chad Jeffers , and former Pure Prairie League member Rick Shell . Their first album, Speak No Evil, was released independently in 2002...
on their 2002 self-titled album
Pinmonkey (album)
Pinmonkey is a self-titled album released by the American country music group Pinmonkey. It was issued in late 2002 on BNA Records. The album peaked at #17 on the Top Country Albums charts and produced two Top 40 country singles: "Barbed Wire and Roses" and "I Drove All Night"...
. Four Year Strong
Four Year Strong
Four Year Strong is an American pop punk band from Worcester, Massachusetts, formed in 2001. The group consists of vocalists and guitarists Dan O'Connor and Alan Day, bassist Joe Weiss, and drummer Jackson Massucco...
also covered the song on their 1990s cover album, Explains It All
Explains It All
-Notes:The end of the song, "Spiderwebs" is taken from the song, "This Love" by Pantera.-External links:*...
, featuring Travis McCoy from the band Gym Class Heroes
Gym Class Heroes
Gym Class Heroes is an American hip hop rock band from Geneva, New York. They have collaborated with Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump on numerous occasions, notably for providing backing vocals on the song "Cupid's Chokehold." Stump also produced the majority of their album The Quilt.The group formed...
.
The song was featured in the trailer of the 2000 science fiction film "Supernova."
Chart positions
| Chart (1997) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian RPM Alternative 30 | 1 |
| Dutch Top 40 | 64 |
| UK Singles Chart | 58 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 Airplay | 1 |
| US Billboard Mainstream Top 40 | 1 |
| US Billboard Adult Top 40 Tracks | 2 |
| US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks | 1 |
See also
- List of RPM number-one singles of 1997
- List of RPM Rock/Alternative number-one singles
- List of Mainstream Top 40 number-one hits of 1997 (U.S.)
- Number one modern rock hits of 1997Number one modern rock hits of 1997These are the Billboard magazine Modern Rock Tracks number one hits of 1997....