Bubblegum pop (bubblegum rock, bubblegum music, youth music, or simply bubblegum) is a genre of pop music. Some of the defining characteristics of bubblegum pop include catchy melodies, simple three chord structures, simple harmonies, danceable beats, and repetitive riffs or "hooks". Bubblegum pop is also characterized by its lightweight lyrics (which may include nursery rhymes or nonsense lyrics), often surrounding themes of romance and courtship. This style of music is primarily enjoyed by preteens and young teenagers who may also enjoy listening to it later in life for its "camp" or nostalgic qualities. Bubblegum pop is similar to Bubblegum dance (a type of eurodance) in which they both contain happy, fun subjects, and have catchy melodies. It is commonly prefabricated by a producer or record label.
The first wave of "pure" bubblegum came with Jerry Kasenetz and Jeff Katz - music producers who formed Super K Productions in 1967 and gave the world the Music Explosion's "Little Bit o' Soul" and The Ohio Express's "Beg, Borrow and Steal" (the latter being a knock-off of "Louie Louie"). However, these songs were closer to R&B garage band music, and missing the element of nursery rhyme/nonsense lyrics that would be introduced by staff songwriters Joey Levine and Elliot Chiprut. About a year later, Kasenetz and Katz released the Ohio Express's memorable "Yummy Yummy Yummy," a #4 hit in June 1968. Although the Ohio Express was a real, touring garage band in the Midwest, their hit singles were recorded by session musicians fronted by singer-songwriter Levine. The band members were handicapped attempting to reproduce Levine's distinctive nasal whine for their live performances.
Kasenetz and Katz developed a strong relationship with Buddah Records, and scored many hits on Buddah during 1968 and '69: "Indian Giver" and "Simon Says" by the 1910 Fruitgum Company, "Chewy Chewy" and "Down at Lulu's" by the Ohio Express, and one-offs such as "Quick Joey Small" by The Kasenetz-Katz Singing Orchestral Circus (another front for the same batch of Levine-fronted studio players). Kasenetz and Katz also influenced other Buddah artists not other their direct control, most notably The Lemon Pipers: their 1968 hit "Green Tambourine" was produced by Paul Leka but had a distinct Kasenetz-Katz feel.
Others joined in, including music publisher Don Kirshner and "Hanky Panky"'s co-author, Brill Building writer/producer Jeff Barry. Kirshner's 1966 creation The Monkees is often called bubblegum, due to their producer-driven career and reliance on outside songwriters and session players. Barry often contributed to the Monkees' projects as a songwriter and/or producer. Kirshner and Barry struck gold again in 1969 with the Filmation cartoon group The Archies, whose "Sugar Sugar" (written by Barry with Andy Kim) was the year's best-selling single. (Ron Dante and Toni Wine provided the Archies' singing voices.) Cartoon producers Hanna-Barbera created The Banana Splits, costumed actors miming to pre-recorded tracks for a Saturday morning cartoon show, around this same time. Other animated acts included Josie and The Pussycats (from Hanna-Barbera), The Hardy Boys (Filmation), the Groovie Goolies (Filmation), The Sugar Bears, and (in the UK) The Wombles.
The initial era of bubblegum carried on into the early '70s, with hits from The Cowsills, David Cassidy and The Partridge Family, The Jackson 5, The Osmonds, The Raspberries, The DeFranco Family and many others. Sesame Workshop, then called Children's Television Workshop, also jumped on the bubblegum bandwagon with a juvenile group called "The Short Circus" from its new series, The Electric Company, who would also double as kid cast members in various sketches in the show.
Many British acts of the first glam rock era (approximately 1971-1975) had bubblegum influences. These included Gary Glitter, Alvin Stardust, T. Rex, and such Nicky Chinn/Michael Chapman-produced acts as Sweet, Mud, and American expatriate Suzi Quatro. These acts had great success in the UK, Asia, and Europe, charting many singles. They were less successful in the US, however, due to the competition from other foreign acts such as ABBA and Olivia Newton-John, who provided a more "serious" approach to music.
Bubblegum maintained a minor presence on the US charts in the late '70s, particularly through Shaun Cassidy (David's half-brother) and Leif Garrett, both of whom also maintained television acting careers. The last big act of the '70s that featured obvious bubblegum elements were the Bay City Rollers, who charted hits through the end of the decade.
Punk rock trailblazers The Ramones did not produce bubblegum music, but their punk rock songs were highly influenced by bubblegum pop's upbeat tempos, simple chord structures and nonsense lyrics. Joey Ramone (born Jeffrey Hyman) named himself after bubblegum kingpin Joey Levine. Ramone once described his group as a "nouveau bubblegum band with teeth," and they recorded the 1910 Fruitgum Company's "Indian Giver."
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