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Sugar Town
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| "Sugar Town" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Norwegian 7" vinyl single cover | ||||
| Single by Nancy Sinatra | ||||
| from the album Sugar | ||||
| B-side | "Summer Wine" | |||
| Released | October 1966 | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 2:20 | |||
| Label | Reprise | |||
| Songwriter | Lee Hazlewood | |||
| Producer | Lee Hazlewood | |||
| Nancy Sinatra singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Sugar Town" is a song written by songwriter-producer Lee Hazlewood and first recorded by American singer Nancy Sinatra in 1966. As a single released under the Reprise label, it peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in December 1966, while reaching number one on the Easy Listening chart in January 1967.[1] It became a gold record. The song was included on Nancy Sinatra's LP, Sugar, also released in 1966, and was featured in her 1967 TV special Movin' with Nancy, released on home video in 2000.[2]
Background
[edit]The song is an allusion to sugar cubes laced with lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) although, like other songs Hazlewood wrote, "Sugar Town" was equivocal, speaking to a young audience able to recognize its allusion, yet outwardly tame enough to receive radio play. Hazlewood denied that he had ever used LSD, or regularly partaken in drugs in general. He explained:
You had to make the lyric dingy enough where the kids knew what you were talking about—and they did. Double entendre. But not much more if you wanted to get it played on the radio. We used to have lotsa trouble with lyrics, but I think it’s fun to keep it hidden a little bit.[3]
The B-side to "Sugar Town" was "Summer Wine", a popular duet also written by Hazlewood, and featuring Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra.[4]
Personnel
[edit]According to the AFM contract sheet, the following musicians played on the track.[5]
- Billy Strange – listed as session leader
- Don Lanier – listed as session conductor
- Roy Caton
- Ollie Mitchell
- Don Randi
- Carol Kaye
- Don Bagley
- Lou Morell
- Al Casey
- Glen Campbell
- Gary Coleman
- Hal Blaine
Cover versions
[edit]Hong Kong artist Nancy Sit covered the song, released as a single by Crane Brand Records in 1967.
Zooey Deschanel covered the song in the 2009 film 500 Days of Summer.
Swedish band Shitkid covered the song on the 2017 album Fish.
In 2022, Mariano Garcia released an adaptation of this song as a single with the name "Tucumán". The lyrics allude to the province of Tucumán, Argentina, where the music video was shot.[6]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–2001. Record Research. p. 224.
- ^ Nancy Sinatra (2000). Movin' with Nancy (Song listing). Chatsworth, CA: Image Intertainment.
- ^ Bessman, Jim (February 3, 2007). "He's The Real Deal". Billboard. p. 32.
- ^ "Nancy Sinatra – Summer Wine". Discogs. 1966. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
- ^ "Sugar Town AFM Contract" (PDF). The Wrecking Crew. American Federation of Musicians. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
- ^ tucumano, el. "Tucumán, un viaje al corazón y las entrañas de nuestra identidad". www.eltucumano.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-10-08.
Sugar Town
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Background and production
Development and songwriting
"Sugar Town" was written solely by Lee Hazlewood, who also served as its producer, with the explicit goal of creating a hit single to launch Nancy Sinatra's solo music career following her modest early recordings. In 1965, at the urging of Frank Sinatra, Hazlewood began collaborating with Nancy to revitalize her career at Reprise Records, where she had been signed since 1961 but struggled for commercial success in the U.S. This partnership marked Sinatra's shift from primarily acting roles in films like The Wild Angels to a focused musical endeavor under Hazlewood's guidance. Hazlewood composed "Sugar Town" in early 1966, integrating it into Sinatra's album Sugar, as part of this career pivot. Drawing from the burgeoning 1960s counterculture, the song subtly alludes to LSD consumption via sugar cubes—a common method of ingestion at the time—while maintaining a facade of innocent whimsy to ensure radio play. Hazlewood explained his approach in a 1999 interview, stating, "In those days they were taking sugar cubes and putting acid on ‘em. And of course that would be ‘Sugar Town,’ wouldn’t it? You had to make the lyric dingy enough where the kids knew what you were talking about—and they did. Double entendre." The title and lyrics employ this double entendre to evoke a playful, candy-coated "sugar town" on the surface, while hinting at psychedelic experiences beneath, aligning with the era's youth culture without overt references that might invite censorship. This layered songwriting reflected Hazlewood's strategy to appeal to both mainstream audiences and the countercultural underground, positioning Sinatra as a fresh voice in pop music.Recording and personnel
The recording sessions for "Sugar Town" took place at United Western Recorders in Hollywood, California, during mid-1966, with production overseen by Lee Hazlewood. The track was completed as part of the sessions for Nancy Sinatra's album Sugar, which was her fourth release of the year and marked a prolific period in her early career. The personnel for the recording drew heavily from the renowned Wrecking Crew collective of Los Angeles session musicians, as documented in the American Federation of Musicians contract. Nancy Sinatra provided lead vocals, with Billy Strange on guitar and serving as arranger and conductor. The rhythm section included Chuck Berghofer on bass, Hal Blaine on drums, and Larry Bunker on percussion. Additional contributors encompassed Carol Kaye on electric bass, Cliff Hils on bass, Jim Gordon on drums, and a full string section featuring violinists like Isabelle Daskoff, Erno Neufeld, and George Kast. Backing vocals were handled by a female ensemble, contributing to the song's layered harmonic texture. Hazlewood employed production techniques that emphasized a lush orchestral arrangement by Strange, incorporating reverb on Sinatra's vocals to evoke a hazy, ethereal quality and integrating a girl-group-style backing choir for added dreaminess. These elements blended pop and folk influences, creating the track's signature whimsical yet introspective sound through multi-tracked instrumentation and subtle spatial effects typical of mid-1960s studio practices. "Sugar Town" was paired as the A-side with the duet "Summer Wine," featuring Hazlewood, on its single release; both tracks were captured during the same 1966 sessions at United Western Recorders.Composition and lyrics
Musical structure
"Sugar Town" employs a standard verse-chorus form, consisting of an instrumental intro, three verses, repeating choruses, a bridge, and a fade-out ending, with the full track lasting 2:26.[3] Composed in G major, the song maintains a moderate tempo of 108 BPM and a 4/4 time signature, creating a light, danceable rhythm that evokes a gentle sway despite its straightforward meter.[4] The instrumentation features prominent strumming on acoustic guitar, likely contributed by session musician Glen Campbell, alongside subtle harpsichord accents, atmospheric strings for added depth arranged by Marty Paich, and layered vocal harmonies during the choruses.[5][6][7] This arrangement fuses folk-pop sensibilities with orchestral flourishes, incorporating 1960s girl-group influences via the harmonious backing vocals and Lee Hazlewood's signature country-tinged production approach.Lyrical themes
The lyrics of "Sugar Town" present a core narrative of an idyllic, candy-coated town as a metaphor for escapist fantasy, where the narrator sheds real-world burdens in favor of effortless bliss. Lines such as "I got some troubles, but they won't last / I'm gonna lay right down here in the grass / And pretty soon, all my troubles will pass" evoke a serene retreat into nature and simplicity, transforming everyday struggles into transient concerns. The chorus reinforces this utopia with "Sugar Town, where the good life is so easy to find / Sugar Town, got heaven almost all the time," portraying a realm of perpetual contentment accessible without complexity or cost.[8][9] Beneath the innocent surface lie subtle drug references, with "sugar" serving as a coded allusion to LSD dosed on sugar cubes, a common 1960s method of psychedelic ingestion. Songwriter Lee Hazlewood drew inspiration from witnessing young people at a folk club using eyedroppers to apply LSD to cubes, later stating, "It was LSD and one of the kids said, 'You know, it's kinda Sugar Town.'" This imagery balances overt romance and whimsy to evade censorship, allowing the song's euphoric haze—intensified senses, emotional highs, and carefree joy—to mirror the drug's effects while maintaining radio-friendly ambiguity through double entendres. Nancy Sinatra herself was unaware of this subtext until years later, highlighting how the lyrics' layered intent aligned with her feminine, wide-eyed persona of uncomplicated romance.[9][10] Thematically, the song explores consumerism and femininity through the narrator's modest yearnings in a materialistic era, emphasizing simple pleasures over excess: "I don't have much money, but boy do I feel fine." This reflects a woman's unpretentious desires for joy amid societal pressures, embodying Sinatra's image as a symbol of approachable allure and escapist femininity, where heaven arrives not through wealth but innate ease. Poetic devices amplify these elements, including chorus repetition for hypnotic catchiness and an AABB rhyme scheme that underscores the lyrics' straightforward charm. Vivid sensory imagery, like the tactile grass and implied sweetness of "Sugar Town," draws listeners into the fantasy, while the nonsensical "shu shu shu" refrain adds playful rhythm, enhancing the song's dreamlike allure without overt complexity.[8][10][9]Release and commercial performance
Singles release
"Sugar Town" was issued as a single by Reprise Records in October 1966, with catalog number 0527 and "Summer Wine" as the B-side.[11] The release came in the standard 7-inch vinyl format, typical for pop singles of the era, and marked a key early hit in Nancy Sinatra's catalog under the label founded by her father, Frank Sinatra.[12] Producer Lee Hazlewood orchestrated the promotion with a focus on establishing Sinatra as a bold pop icon, leveraging distinctive, cinematic arrangements to drive radio play and align with her burgeoning film roles in projects like The Wild Angels (1966).[13] This strategy included targeted pushes to DJs for airtime, emphasizing the song's quirky, seductive vibe to differentiate it in the competitive 1960s pop landscape, while tying into Sinatra's on-screen persona as a modern, independent female figure. The track received further exposure through Sinatra's live performance in the NBC television special Movin' with Nancy, which aired on December 11, 1967, and featured guest appearances by Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., and her father.[14] Although absent from the original 1967 album Sugar, "Sugar Town" has appeared on later compilations, including The Essential Nancy Sinatra (2006) and the expanded reissue of Sugar (2024).[15][16]Chart performance and certifications
"Sugar Town" peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in December 1966.[17] It also reached number one on the Billboard Easy Listening chart in January 1967. In Canada, the single peaked at number five on the RPM Top 100 Singles chart.[18] Internationally, "Sugar Town" entered the UK Singles Chart and peaked at number eight, spending ten weeks in the top 40.[19] The song achieved a peak of number five on Australia's Go-Set National Top 40 chart in March 1967.[20] The single received a gold certification from the RIAA in 1967, denoting sales of one million units in the United States.[21] By 2025, "Sugar Town" had amassed over 26 million streams on Spotify, reflecting a resurgence in popularity partly driven by its use in advertisements, including a Google Pixel 10 commercial.[22][23]| Chart (1966–1967) | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 5 |
| US Billboard Easy Listening | 1 |
| Canada RPM Top 100 | 5 |
| UK Singles (OCC) | 8 |
| Australia Go-Set National Top 40 | 5 |