The Alternative Number Ones: Sugar Ray’s “Fly”

In The Alternative Number Ones, I’m reviewing every #1 single in the history of the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks/Alternative Songs, starting with the moment that the chart launched in 1988. This column is a companion piece to The Number Ones. The column is now biweekly, alternating with The Number Ones on Mondays.

Sometimes, a band needs to sell out. Sometimes, selling out is the only option that makes sense. Sometimes, the concept of "selling out" loses all meaning because the band's entire history is a series of ineffective sellout moves, all setting the table for the one time when they actually figure out how to give the people exactly what they want. That's the story of Sugar Ray before "Fly."

A version of Sugar Ray did exist before "Fly." I had some friends who even liked them. None of their songs sounded anything like "Fly." They made bottom-heavy riff-churn funk-metal with some fast parts and some rappy parts. I had a lot of time for that kind of music in the mid-'90s, and Sugar Ray fit in alongside other California bands like Rage Against The Machine, Korn, and Downset. The problem was that Sugar Ray didn't know what the fuck they were doing.