"Fly" is a song by American rock band

Sugar Ray Sugar Ray is an American rock band formed in Newport Beach, California, in 1986. Originally playing heavier funk metal and nu metal style music, the band achieved mainstream popularity in 1997 with their more pop-influenced single " Fly". Th ...

. It appears on their 1997 album '' Floored'' twice: one version with

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

artist Super Cat (track four) and the other without (track 13). The song was serviced to US radio in May 1997. "Fly" became the band's first hit, holding the 1 spot on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' Hot 100 Airplay chart for four consecutive weeks and spending eight weeks at No. 1 on the

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks between 1988 and 2009, and Alternative Songs between 2009 and 2020) is a music chart published in the American magazine ''Billboard'' since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...

chart. The song also reached No. 1 on Canada's ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

'' 100 Hit Tracks chart and entered the top 40 in Australia and Iceland. The song was included on

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...

's countdown of the "100 Greatest Songs of the '90s" at number 52.

Composition and music

"Fly" is an

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

reggae fusion Reggae fusion is a Music_genre#Subtypes, fusion genre of reggae that mixes reggae and/or dancehall with other genres, such as pop music, pop, rock music, rock, hip hop music, hip-hop/rap, Contemporary R&B, R&B, jazz, funk, soul music, soul, disco ...

, and

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...

song, that incorporates elements of

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots reggae, roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2 ...

and ska. Sugar Ray's lead singer Mark McGrath explained that this song had a bouncy beat, yet it was about death; 'Fly' too seemed like a bright, up-tempo song but "there is this stark imagery in there. There's loss in it. There is loss of a mother, obviously. I thought it was a good way to juxtapose the lyrics with the melody on that, similar to what Gilbert O'Sullivan did on ' Alone Again (Naturally)'." The other members wrote it without him as McGrath left during a rehearsal, and McGrath originally did not want to record the song and was downright wanting to quit the band, as he was preferring heavier music, "just wanted to scream and yell because I was scared to be onstage in the first place", and afraid his voice would not work with a mellower tune. His friend McG, who would eventually direct the video for 'Fly', convinced him otherwise, telling about the song's merits and asking "Where else you gonna go—work at Del Taco?"Behind the McMusic : McG, Director of Hip Videos for MTV and VH1, Started Rolling Credits as a Kid Back in Newport

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

Track listings

Australian, European, and UK CD single # "Fly" (edit featuring Super Cat) – 3:58 # "Tap, Twist, Snap" – 3:12 # "Fly" (rock edit) – 3:58 UK 7-inch single :A. "Fly" (edit featuring Super Cat) – 3:58 :B. "Fly" (rock edit) – 3:58

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1997 singles 1997 songs Atlantic Records singles Lava Records singles Music videos directed by McG Reggae fusion songs RPM Top Singles number-one singles Song recordings produced by David Kahne Songs about death Sugar Ray songs