"Sugar Shack" is a song written in 1962 by

Keith McCormack Keith McCormack (October 19, 1940 – April 10, 2015) was an American singer, guitarist and songwriter. McCormack was born in Dalhart, Texas, but was raised in Plainview. He sang and played guitar for the Patio Kids, the Rock 'n' Rollers, the ...

. McCormack gave songwriting credit to his aunt, Beulah Faye Voss, after asking what are "those tight pants that girls wear" to which she replied "leotards". The song was recorded in 1963 by

Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs The Fireballs, sometimes billed as Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs, were an American rock and roll group, particularly popular at the end of the 1950s and in the early 1960s. The original line-up consisted of George Tomsco (lead guitar), Chuck ...

Norman Petty Norman Petty (May 25, 1927 – August 15, 1984) was an American musician, record producer, publisher, radio station owner, and considered to be one of the founding fathers of early rock & roll. Biography Petty was born in the small town of Cl ...

Studios in

Clovis, New Mexico Clovis is a city in and the county seat of Curry County, New Mexico. The city had a population of 37,775 as of the 2010 census, and a 2019 estimated population of 38,319. Clovis is located in the New Mexico portion of the Llano Estacado, in the ...

. The unusual and distinctive instrument part was played by Norman Petty on a Hammond Solovox keyboard; to be precise it is a Model L, Series A. "Sugar Shack" hit No. 1 on both the ''

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 (where it spent five weeks from October 12 to November 9, 1963) and '' Cashbox'' singles charts (where it spent three weeks from October 19 to November 2, 1963). Its No. 1 run on the ''Billboard''

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

was cut short because ''Billboard'' did not publish an R&B chart from November 30, 1963 to January 23, 1965. In Canada the song was No. 1, also for six weeks, from October 14 to November 18. In the UK, "Sugar Shack" also reached No. 45 on the ''Record Retailer'' chart. Gilmer and The Fireballs were the last American band to chart before

Beatlemania Beatlemania was the fanaticism surrounding the English rock band the Beatles in the 1960s. The group's popularity grew in the United Kingdom throughout 1963, propelled by the singles "Please Please Me (song), Please Please Me", "From Me to You ...

hit. On November 29, 1963, "Sugar Shack" received an

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

certification for selling over a million copies, earning gold record status. The song was listed at No. 40 on the Hot 100 year-end chart published by ''Billboard'' in December 1963. A later revision by ''Billboard'' of its year-end rankings for 1963 placed "Sugar Shack" at No. 1, and the magazine has subsequently recognized "Sugar Shack" as the top Hot 100 song of that year. In 2018, the song was listed at number 194 on the "All Time" ''Billboard'' Hot 100 60th Anniversary list. The song is featured in the films ''

Mermaids In folklore, a mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including Europe, Asia, and Africa. Mermaids are sometimes asso ...

Dogfight A dogfight, or dog fight, is an aerial battle between fighter aircraft conducted at close range. Dogfighting first occurred in Mexico in 1913, shortly after the invention of the airplane. Until at least 1992, it was a component in every maj ...

Forrest Gump ''Forrest Gump'' is a 1994 American comedy-drama film directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Eric Roth. It is based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Winston Groom and stars Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Mykelti Williamson ...

, Congo, and

Stealing Sinatra ''Stealing Sinatra'' is a 2003 American television film directed by Ron Underwood and starring David Arquette and William H. Macy. Macy was nominated for an Emmy Award for his performance. The film tells the story of the idiosyncratic kidnapping ...

'', and in the television show ''

Supernatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...

''. In December 1965, the song was covered by Steve Brett, a singer from the

Midlands The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Mercia, Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in ...

area of the UK, and was released as the B-side of his single "Chains On My Heart", on the

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...

label (catalogue number DB7794). His backing group, The Mavericks, included

Noddy Holder Neville John "Noddy" Holder (born 15 June 1946) is an English musician. He was the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the English band Slade, one of the UK's most successful acts of the 1970s. Known for his unique and powerful voice, Holder c ...

, who eventually came to fame with

Slade Slade are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Wolverhampton in 1966. They rose to prominence during the glam rock era in the early 1970s, achieving 17 consecutive top 20 hits and six number ones on the UK Singles Chart. The ''British H ...

Certifications

References

External links

Interview with Keith McCormack in International Songwriters Association's "Songwriter Magazine"
1962 songs 1963 singles Songs written by Keith McCormack The Fireballs songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Dot Records singles {{1960s-single-stub