The Sugar Shoppe was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

sunshine pop Sunshine pop (originally known as soft pop) is a subgenre of pop music that originated in Southern California in the mid-1960s. Rooted in easy listening and advertising jingles, sunshine pop acts combined nostalgic or anxious moods with "an appre ...

vocal group A vocal group is a performing ensemble of vocalists who sing and harmonize together. The first well-known vocals groups emerged in the 19th century, and the style had reached widespread popularity by the 1940s. Types Vocal groups can come in s ...

who recorded in the late 1960s and featured actor

Victor Garber Victor Joseph Garber (born March 16, 1949) is a Canadian-American actor and singer. Known for his work in film, television, and theatre, he has been nominated for three Gemini Awards, four Tony Awards, and six Primetime Emmy Awards. He has also ...

History

The group was formed in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

by lead singer, songwriter and pianist Peter Mann. Born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, he grew up in

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, before working as an arranger and relocating to Canada in 1965. There, he met

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

School of Music student and singer Laurie Hood, and singers Lee Harris and

, an actor and singer who was also studying in Toronto as well as singing in the city's clubs. The Sugar Shoppe, ''The Canadian Pop Encyclopedia'', 7 December 2004
Retrieved 18 August 2013
Retrieved 18 August 2013 With two male singers (Mann and Garber) and two female (Hood and Harris), they modeled themselves on

the Mamas & the Papas The Mamas & the Papas were a folk rock vocal group formed in Los Angeles, California, which recorded and performed from 1965 to 1968. The group was a defining force in the music scene of the counterculture of the 1960s. The group consisted of Am ...

and began working in the studio on a project to mark the

Canadian Centennial The Canadian Centennial was a yearlong celebration held in 1967 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation. Celebrations in Canada occurred throughout the year but culminated on Dominion Day, July 1, 1967. Commemorative coins ...

in 1967. The group's first single was Mann's arrangement of Bobby Gimby's song "

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

"; released on the Yorkville label, it reached no.40 on the ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'' Canadian singles chart. The follow-up, "The Attitude", was less successful, reaching no.77. ''Dreams Fantasies & Nightmares'', Borderline Books
However, the group won a recording deal with Capitol Records in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, and recorded an album, ''The Sugar Shoppe'', released in 1968. It was produced by Al De Lory and arranged by

Mort Garson Morton Sanford Garson (20 July 1924 – 4 January 2008) was a Canadian composer, arranger, songwriter, and pioneer of electronic music. He is best known for his albums in the 1960s and 1970s, such as '' Mother Earth's Plantasia'' (1976), He also ...

, with session musicians including " The Wrecking Crew" of

Hal Blaine Hal Blaine (born Harold Simon Belsky; February 5, 1929 – March 11, 2019) was an American drummer and session musician, thought to be among the most recorded studio drummers in the music industry, claiming over 35,000 sessions and 6,000 singles. ...

, Carol Kaye,

Larry Knechtel Lawrence William Knechtel (August 4, 1940 – August 20, 2009) was an American keyboard player and bassist who was a member of the Wrecking Crew, a collection of Los Angeles-based session musicians who worked with such renowned artists as Simon & ...

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Mike Deasy Michael William Deasy (born February 4, 1941) is an American rock and jazz guitarist. As a session musician, he played on numerous hit singles and albums recorded in Los Angeles in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. He is sometimes credited as Mike De ...

, and

Plas Johnson Plas John Johnson Jr. (born July 21, 1931) is an American soul-jazz and hard bop tenor saxophonist, probably most widely known as the tenor saxophone soloist on Henry Mancini’s "The Pink Panther Theme". He also performs on alto and baritone sa ...

. Tracks included versions of Donovan's "Skip-a-Long Sam", which was also released as a single, reaching no. 73 on the Canadian chart;

Bobbie Gentry Bobbie Gentry (born Roberta Lee Streeter; July 27, 1942) is a retired American singer-songwriter, who was one of the first female artists in America to compose and produce her own material. Gentry rose to international fame in 1967 with her Sou ...

's "Papa, Won’t You Let Me Go to Town";

Mike Leander Michael George Farr (30 June 1941 – 18 April 1996), known professionally as Mike Leander, was a British arranger, songwriter and record producer. He worked variously with The Beatles, David McWilliams ("Days of Pearly Spencer"), Gary Gli ...

's theme song for the movie '' Privilege'' (#93); and a re-recorded version of "The Attitude". Review of ''The Sugar Shoppe'' by Joe Marchese at TheSecondDisc.com
Retrieved 18 August 2013 However, despite appearances on both Ed Sullivan's and Johnny Carson's TV shows, the group's commercial success was limited. The Sugar Shoppe then joined Epic Records, and in 1969 released a version of

Laura Nyro Laura Nyro ( ; born Laura Nigro; October 18, 1947 – April 8, 1997) was an American songwriter, singer, and pianist. She achieved critical acclaim with her own recordings, particularly the albums ''Eli and the Thirteenth Confession'' (1968 ...

's "

Save the Country "Save the Country" is a song written by Laura Nyro, first released by her as a single in 1968. Nyro released another version of the song on her 1969 album '' New York Tendaberry''. Background Nyro was inspired to write the song after the June 5, 1 ...

", and performed it on the Ed Sullivan Show July 6, 1969, which used an arrangement later borrowed by

the 5th Dimension The 5th Dimension is an American popular music vocal group, whose repertoire includes pop, R&B, soul, jazz, light opera, and Broadway. Formed as the Versatiles in late 1965, the group changed its name to "the 5th Dimension" by 1966. Betwe ...

. However, it was not a commercial success. The group continued to perform, mainly in Canada, before Mann and Harris left in 1970. Garber and Hood then formed The Shoppe with Sandy Crawley. They recorded the soundtrack for a TV series based on

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities ...

in 1971, and recorded several tracks issued on anthologies. By 1973, the group had finally disbanded. Garber became a leading film, stage and television actor. Mann remained active in recording sessions in Canada, and later worked mainly in television. Mann passed away at home in Toronto, Ontario December 7, 2021 at the age of 80. Hood and Harris later worked as session singers and were both part of another group, Shooter, Myles and Lenny, in the 1970s. Hood was the female singer in Klaatu's "California Jam". Harris developed multiple sclerosis, leading to her death in the 1990s. Lee Harris was the sister of Peter Harris, head of the guitar program at Humber College in Toronto, Ontario, for 22 years until September, 1994, when he discovered he had cancer. He died of cancer January 13, 1995, at the age of 49 ''The Sugar Shoppe'' was reissued on CD with bonus tracks by Now Sounds/ Cherry Red Records in April 2013.

Members

* Peter Mann * Laurie Hood * Lee Harris

References

External links

* *
Entry at canadianbands.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sugar Shoppe, The Canadian pop music groups Sunshine pop