1910 Fruitgum Company

[sauquoit13456]

On this date in 1968 {Jan. 27th} "Simon Says" entered Billboard's Top 100 chart; it would peaked at No. 4 and spent a total of 14 weeks in the Top 100!!!

[frkaz911]

1910 Fruitgum Company was the crown jewel of the short-lived bubblegum era, and this song was my favorite. At the time it was released I was of the bubblegum generation, so I was fortunate to be in born at the right time. Now, in my 50's, I love this song just as much as I did when I first heard it.

[keithpartridge100]

That my boys!

[hebneh]

Wave your hands in the air

Like you don't care

(The predecessor of this phrase that was popular in songs decades later.)

[incolor4001]

@hebneh Strangely it was 1910 when this was released. How much further do you want to go back

[majicray2112]

Scooby doo, Scooby doo, where are you? Who copied who?

[BDM55]

@classic0812 -- very sorry for your loss and the passing of your brother.

[mosesram3]

This is capital FUN MUSIC to listen and enjoy also! There's no profanity whatsoever in the lyrics, and does NOT stress me out like today's pop JUNK music sounds!

[999YORK]

It was bubble gum music and I loved it. Just curious the Beatles songs: "I Want To Hold Your Hand" and "I Love You Yeah Yeah Yeah". What were those songs considered?

[nerole1]

This was lip-synched. Therefore, you could overdub the stereo album recording as the soundtrack.

[fazbell]

God, what a talent train wreck!!!!

[1400deadwood]

the dude to the right of the screen looked spaced out - must have had quite a lot of fun that day

:)

[jcaesar134]

I loved this song when I was little. Steve was very talented. Sorry to hear of his passing. Thanks for posting this video and bringing back such great memories,

[abbonent]

oddly enough i was sent here from wikipedia

[majicray2112]

Sounds like --Scooby Doo-stole this from the FruitGum guys. What a ripoff, cuz this song rocks!

[01Abominacion]

chinguen asu madre mejor canten rap putos parecen maricas

[GAGIRL1961]

LOVE THIS SO MUCH~~~ I my have been five!

[willywilltoo]

great old song puts a smile on your face

[SCOTTISHFILMFAN]

great post

thanks for this :)

[doowopman49]

HI, NICE TO HEAR ONCE MORE! TOM D. BRICK,NJ. {AT THE SHORE}.

[ammittei]

These guys look really happy! Peace, man!

[dondonp12004]

I remembered that tune, which indeed is among the tunes that are based on the original game of 'Simon Says'. Ah, memories! Thanks for posting.

[mrearlygold]

My Dad was a salesman at Wallace Chevrolet back in the day and if memory serves correctly, had sold a van or vans to the band. Whoever he spoke to gave him a referral to Ampeg who allowed me to go and test all the amps and instruments. Wish I remembered more but there you go.

[tlaniganschmidt]

Linden N.J has got to be the most eclectic place in the World.It inspired the "1910 FRUIT GUM COMPANY singing Simple Simon Says.& Linden is also an inpspiration for the opening car-drive-scene in the "SOPRANOS" TV show....now thats a really wide range of different-topics to come from one little-town.

[xycadium]

Ba Ba Ba Ba

[TsukiReiko]

0:38 Gee, I didn't know Bill Gates was in a band back in the day...

[veronicanbetty69]

One of the most amazing songs...brings back really wonderful memories, especially at the Osage Iowa roller rink!!!!!!!!!

[CLEVELANDBOB100]

They are just creepy, the entire band. No wonder LSD was so popular at the time. We needed it for this crap!

[1woodworker54]

Great song! God Bless these performers for bringing such joy to so many people in the worldwith their music.

[teresadoyle]

This is when music was really fun, the words made sense AND you could understand what they were saying and were not full of curse words, Need I say more : ) Loved it then and still do!

[isuckaman]

Sing it!

[CLEVELANDBOB100]

Now I remember why we did so much drugs back then.

[TheEdwinaMay]

@classic0812 Sorry to hear about that. Surely bubblegum music played its part when I was growing up and 1901 Fruitgum Co. is one of the best.

[sparkie119]

I really dig their sound-who cares if its bubblegum.

[duffnationusa]

Will the dooshes in front please sit down!

[A7B7]

If that drummer doesn't smarten himself up a bit, he'll soon be looking for another gig. A tie appears to be optional, but he still needs to make a bit more of an effort. Dude - this ain't Woodstock. It's Bubblegum.

[pingtran]

The bass player is Austin Powers!

[scbachan47]

Love this song, I should bring out all my old 45's!

[popeye152]

Its Mike and Tom Servo!

[Corrigan61]

Groovy~!~!~

[maps1982]

I am 47 seven years old and my brother is 7 years older....AND I JUST LOVE ALL THESE SONGS......

[tmc102464]

Where is their lead singer Mark today? What's he doing?

[bobbyshermanfan]

@tmc102464 He owns the Great American Piano Company in Parsippany, NJ.

[rarsy80]

Just discovered this song and I can't stop listening it! Love it!

[jimmygb64]

Real nice fun group i remember dancing to them a nice bunch of lads.....

[DAUROIS1]

French version by Claude François.

[MrMegaFredzeppelin]

LiKe WoW mAn!!!!!!

[colindaleradiosutch]

Great little number, love it. ITS FUN. and thats how music should be ?. Colin Dale Radio Sutch.

[133JD]

This might not be to everyone's taste but it brings back great memories and they look like such a decent bunch of guys.

[61Slughi]

Lead singer look very uncomfortable in front of the camera and I swear he crossed is eyes @ :11 mark. The guitarist on the far right is making weird faces at the camera @:45. Totally hilarious!

[bobbyshermanfan]

@61Slughi Guitarist making faces is a very young Pat Karwan. He is an amazing guitarist and has current vids posted.

[KREEPNASTY1]

@61Slughi I'm Assuming that the funny Faces and Crossed eyes you're reffering to , were Probably done to show Lack of seriousness...I mean Cmon, The song is called "Simon Says" by the 1910 fruitgum company.

[hunkyo]

Your Bro is a hero.. don't let anyone tell you otherwise... this is way cool and they seem all like great guys !!

[classic0812]

Bass player 's name was Steve Mortkowitz - he passed away 7 years ago.  He was my brother and an excellent musician. The band was what it was - very popular in the bubble gum era of music.

[snoopy61259]

@classic0812 My condolences on the death of your brother. Regardless of what others may think or say I enjoyed the music they made. They helped me smile at a time when sometimes smiling wasnt easy.

[tmc102464]

@classic0812 - What happened to Steve after 1910? Did he try staying in music? I heard that he was depressed and that his passing was untimely. What a terrible waste - I am so sorry.

I have been a professional musician for 30 years, classically trained, and brought up on some very serious music composed by some very serious musicians. That being said, I am here to tell you that the 1910 Fruitgum Company were absolutely fantastic!

[Juliaflo]

@classic0812 May your gifted brother rest in peace and sing this to the angels. I sang this with my children's group when it first came out.

Don't try to figure out my age, LOLOLOL.

[Salineddi]

@classic0812 My family and I have fond memories of this band, and it's one of my favorite band names EVER.

We had a lot of their singles. <3 They look like they were having goofy fun making this video!

[31wst]

@classic0812 He looks very young here, barely out of high school!

[phildirt3]

@classic0812 he was in a group that had a good catchy song i couldnt say that its all very cool be proud

[planetery]

@classic0812 Have you ever known or heard of a man named Preston Nichols?

[lotrat]

if you think it sucks, why are you watching???????

[olddude521]

This song sucked then and it sucks now!

[folz208]

Austin Powers playing Bass...LOLOLOL...Ha Ha

[gorrionalvuelo]

IS LIONEL MESSI PLAYING GUITAR OR WHAT??!!!

[starlight56789]

this is a song that they should play now

[windsorbear]

I would rather archeologists unearth this video than videos of current Top 40 music to base their conclusions on.

[Yermak29]

This proves that all things of yesteryear are not always fond memories.

This is NOT the music we want archeologists unearthing in 5,000 years, and drawing conclusions about the society in which we lived. I demand all copies of this group be burned immediately.

[sleddawg]

Richimpala:

Actually, I think the bass player's name is Larry Ripley.

[theplanez]

the guitar player @ 0:47 looks wierd as hell!

[nickatnoon61]

@theplanez it's called DRUGS!!! lol

[bobbyshermanfan]

@theplanez ...It's the amazing Pat Karwan. He was probably bored having to play music that didn't match his skill level.

[olmecbones]

That singer looks annoyed having to sing this crap, like, sorry he sold his soul for rock and roll.

[rgsrobertg]

The skating rink always played this.

[buckley54]

fuckin bollocks

[mocus1]

Why do all the guys in this band look like some dude that would kidnap your kid?

[CatsEyes1717]

Great memories!

[taxman9922]

Someone needs to dub a stereo version.

[bobbyshermanfan]

That adorable floppy-haired guitar player is Pat Karwan. He is an absolutely amazing guitarist and you can find some current videos of his work here on youtube....he will take your breath away!

[mocus1]

There's actually 2 douchebags in the audience doing Simple Simon shit during this nursery rhyme

[misy49]

Scooby dooby doo

[1560438]

Great ties!

[AuntThebe]

Why do I get the feeling that the whole group would much rather be playing something else? lol.

[dekkreankrean]

that's look like very old

[TajMikel]

Every time I hear this it gets stuck in my head XD

[Dbalx]

here is the greek version of the song The Charms - Trelokoritso (Simon says)

[Dbalx]

thats a greek song..hehe

[jongie99]

we used to call all this music bubble gum music.

[thebabelizer]

damn hipsters.

[zer1010]

You said it the simple way

[VincesVinyl]

Life was somewhat simpler then.

[Manwithjeep]

Haha! Bass player looks like Greg Hawkes of The Cars @ 1:52

[bhinderbinder]

This was one of the first 'rock and roll' songs I heard on the radio, my brother's, that is. Big brothers are good for SOME things, hey?

[sirpa100]

Wohoo, had forget this. Oh, my youth came back.

[TajMikel]

Why doesn't the drummer actually roll at about 0:27?

[clintonearlwalker]

@TajMikel I was thinking exactly the same thing. The audio must be over dubbed.

[TajMikel]

@clintonearlwalker Yep I think you're right :p

[clintonearlwalker]

@TajMikel "Early during the 21st century, original group members Frank Jeckell and Floyd Marcus recruited five new members and 1910 Fruitgum Company started touring again."--Wikipedia

[TajMikel]

Haha! Look at his face at 1:58

[buzzrom]

Hey that is Danny Partridge on bass!!!!

[KarinaSings]

... this is so much fun !

[archie977]

nice:}

[rollerman22]

i love this song so much

[TEMPmichaelhansen]

do I hear extranious sounds in the background

[OPOCHKA]

This video has been dubbed over  >> missing drum roll at 0:27

From the days when everything was up front, honest and simple.

( Except the politicians )

[minnela]

Omg did these guys make the Scooby Doo theme? Scooby dooby doo where are you?

[LastTree]

The two dancers in the front are killing me. LOL!!

[NtheH]

They actually had an audience of 1,500 for this recording, but only two people were really into it...and that includes the band!

[TheTheRay]

My name is Simon!

I say....!

Jump !

[8thRRFS]

In the history of Rock, these guys are as musically important as The Beatles, The Stones, Eric Clapton and The Byrds...(just kidding).

[Dolphindream15]

correct me if Im wrong BUT in the video is that young mike meyers and a young jeff danials,,,

[8thRRFS]

@Dolphindream15 You're wrong.

[ANDUARSYLVIA]

MY MOM WHOSE 80yrs.young,LOVES THIS SONG! I think i'm going to buy a hula-hoop. THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES!

[Druffmaul]

Guitarist on the right looks like he's gonna snap if they don't get the camera out of his face.

[morovenezia1]

I remember the italian version titled IL BALLO DI SIMONE...very nice.

[GigiAO28]

@morovenezia1 grandissimi Giuliano e in Notturni..ogni tanto quando mi capita fra le mani il 45 giri de il ballo di Simone di mia mamma lo ascolto volentieri..e poi vado su 'F' e metto sul piatto quello dei Fruitgum che era di mio padre!!

Invece ai miei figli dovrei lasciare 'poker face'..mah!!

[eklizbeth]

haa haa hhaa OMG memories :)

[rwlt]

Saw these guys live when they warmed up for The Beach Boys in Greenville, SC USA. Must have been around 1972.

[vva4844]

More great Bubble Gum Tracks.Thank you.

[djhot1]

Letting all fans know. the following is from a New Jersey paper. " The group produced three gold records, starting in 1968 with the first single release "Simon Says," "1-2-3 Red Light" and "Indian Giver." The 1910 Fruitgum Company was reunited in 2001 by the originators of the group, Frank Jeckell, and Mick Mansueto."

Mansueto is not an originator of the group. You can use your imagination as to why this has been added to the band bio.

Sincerely,

F Marcus (Original drummer and member)

[rbernie29]

0:27, drum fill, but he doesn't play one...heh, heh!

[mistapipe]

This is my favorite of all of the instructional songs. Rules of games were never so much fun to read, but in bubblegum rock format...? Great Stuff!

[alexisnihon1]

I LOVE THAT FARFISA COMPACT ORGAN..

[croberts1]

Very MST3k.

[diegonasdaq]

"THE LIONEL MESSIS BAND"

[Kirke182]

I think this was the original band which was a real band and hated doing this crap. By the time 123 Redlight came out the personnel had changed with only Mark Gutkowski the organist being the same. Indian Giver, I think, didn't even have Gutkowski on it--it was an entirely different band.

[scrapplepig]

Scooby Doo

[Mcosscilator]

Brilliant. Well done jdkcmiller :-)

[kyannos]

Hey thats Ernie Douglas !

[CatherineBellFan1]

I've had the 45 of this song for like 40 years and this is the first time I've ever seen the group! Thanks for putting faces to the song. :)

[hangemhigh2000]

This is dedicated to you.

[blackmajor1]

motr to the point is that ray davis from the kinks @ 0.36 lol

[chipmano]

IS that Austin Powers playing bass ?????

[TheTitodave]

0:47 Chuki!  XDDD

[zapple100]

This video is so weird I keep watching it.

[MrBizzarobrian]

Groovy!!

[DebiCarr1]

brings back memories

[Richimpala66SS]

IS that Austin Powers playing bass ?????

[b2rcco]

@Richimpala66SS

Nah, It's Bill Gates

[ManFromMars50]

@Richimpala66SS As a point of contention, that man was around WAY before Austin Powers.

[plasticsman10]

@Richimpala66SS haha class :-)

[likesspice73]

@Richimpala66SS that was clever the first time it was said

[crassyfrake]

@Richimpala66SS hahaha the resemblance is uncanny

[HUTINAK]

@Richimpala66SS Oh My Gawd!! Spot on!!

[bumperu]

@Richimpala66SS oh yeah, baby.

[ManFromMars50]

@Richimpala66SS

Funny, but Austin Powers looked like Steve (bassist), not the other way around.

[ricardo12341234]

@Richimpala66SS that's a good one, austin powers lolololol

[prisoncop1860]

@Richimpala66SS No tha'ts his cousin Gotno Powers! LOL

[romere430]

OMG!!!! I work with Frank Jeckell (Second Guy from the right)...  He still plays!!!

[newall7]

what did he say about those days when this first came out

[YKHinna]

今日初めて You Tube に登録して、さっきメリー・ホプキンを聴いて、そいでここに！！

中学の頃にラジオで聞いていた音を、これから探りたいと思います­！！

動画が見れるなんて、感動です！！！

[jjkoekemoer]

Excelent tune, thanks for sharing

[dakotahstr]

Thanks for posting this...I remember when the song came out on the radio....!.What a blast!!!

[junioorcool]

I very like its!!!

[rasputin63]

Looks like Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich grooving in the audience!

[trossachs2003]

heeey Bill Gates on Bass. In fact they all look like IT nerds (though the drummer looks quite cool).

Crazy name, great song. Thanks for posting.

[gmaxinet]

hip & alternative in their era!!!!..love 1910 fruitgum co..:D

[hadoenough]

Deceptively simple and fun---that's the genius of this song!

[Carycomic]

@hadoenough

Amen! Even the band's name is deliciously "fun-usual."

[elvenwishes]

We had this at a primary school dance and Il ost my shoe.....Love this song

[Disneydanny]

this sounds alot like the "Scooby Doo Where Are You" Theme

[Arrixaca1]

Me encanta la canción

[Knugabug]

I wonder how badly Neil Bogart ripped these guys off in royalties? The label became totally mobbed up later on.

[solantra999]

I've got to brag a little on this one. My husband, Elliot Chiprut, wrote and co-produced this hit! Another great 60's tune of his is Dedications to All We Know sung by the Spice of Life. Also on youtube. Enjoy!

[newall7]

@solantra999 hey how about that !!

i loved this record at school still do lol

thank your hubby for a fab song

[HonkyCat90]

@solantra999 Then your husband is a genius! This is a 60s masterpiece that my dad loved when he was my age and he showed me this song and I love it to.

[BrooklynBabe]

@solantra999 Yes he wrote some wonderful songs for "The Groove" too!

I also just managed to buy A Girl's Prayer by Elliot and John Eugene Stabile. You should be very proud of him.

[atfatw]

the bubblegum band still going strong playing at venues for middle  aged teenagers. at least they don't stink. like the archies band

[monkeylad44]

Aw, the Archies band was intended to please Archie fans only, not really be a successful band. lol

[scorpiuss10]

the writer of shrunk the kids as well as this band were all from my town linden,nj

went to hs with most of these guys

[vegas5569]

Saw the Fruitgum Co. this fall at the Cannery in Vegas. The principals of the group are still going at it. They interestingly explained that they started off wanting to be the next great psychedelic band, but somehow heard a demo of this song and decided to record it, thus charting their course over the following few years. BTW, they sounded great; I was really glad I tore myself away from a video poker machine to hear them!

[GeorgeVreelandHill]

What a cool classic this is.

I love it.

George Vreeland Hill

[regbird1]

@GeorgeVreelandHill omg,my first concert ,1910 fruitgum co ,ohio exspress and the lemon pipers