"Chewy Chewy" is a song by American band

Ohio Express The Ohio Express is an American bubblegum pop band formed in Mansfield, Ohio, in 1967. Though marketed as a band, it would be more accurate to say that the name "Ohio Express" served as a brand name used by Jerry Kasenetz's and Jeffry Katz's ...

. Released in September 1968, it was written and produced by

Joey Levine Joey Levine (born May 29, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer of pop music, who has been active since 1966. Career Levine sang lead vocals on several Top 40 singles including "Run Run Run" by The Third Rail (1966), "Y ...

and Kris Resnick.

Background and composition

The 2-minute-38-second song is in the key of C major, changing later in the song to C sharp / D flat major, with a tempo of 121

beats per minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ...

. The song makes countless references to candy and sugar, and the narrator compares these two nourishments to the recipient, at some point calling her a "living box of candy wrapped up so very fine" with a "mouthful of such sweet things to say." Most of the song's remaining lyrics are

nonsense Nonsense is a communication, via speech, writing, or any other symbolic system, that lacks any coherent meaning. Sometimes in ordinary usage, nonsense is synonymous with absurdity or the ridiculous. Many poets, novelists and songwriters have u ...

. The song is among Ohio Express' three signature songs, as well as one of

bubblegum music Bubblegum (also called bubblegum pop) is pop music in a catchy and upbeat style that is considered disposable, contrived, or marketed for children and adolescents. The term also refers to a rock and pop subgenre, originating in the United States ...

's most notable staples.

Chart performance and reception

'' Billboard'' called it an "infectious, happy rhythm novelty in the vein of '

Yummy Yummy Yummy "Yummy Yummy Yummy" is a song by Arthur Resnick and Joey Levine, first recorded by Ohio Express in 1968. Their version reached No. 4 on the U.S. Pop Singles chart in June and No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart. It has since been covered by many artis ...

'", ''Cashbox'' called it a "slightly slower tongue-in-cheek rock offering that keeps in line with their bubblegum policy," and '' Record World'' called it a "cute bubble gum stick." The song debuted at number one on the

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

chart for the week of October 12, 1968, before entering the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streamin ...

at number 72, going on to peak at number 15, and spending a total of 13 weeks on the chart. It also charted in Canada, Australia and the Philippines. Clips of the song were used in the top 40 hit " Moonflight" by Vic Venus in 1969. It has also been covered by

James Last James Last (, ; born Hans Last; 17 April 1929 – 9 June 2015), also known as Hansi, was a German composer and big band leader of the James Last Orchestra. Initially a jazz bassist (Last won the award for "best bassist" in Germany in each of ...

later that year, and by The Vindictives in 1994.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

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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 ...

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, 100

References

1968 songs 1968 singles Buddah Records singles Songs written by Joey Levine