Simon Says… NJ’s Own 1910 Fruitgum Company Moves Their Jersey Fans!
By Spotlight Central. Photos by Love Imagery
I’d like to play a game that is so much fun and it’s not so very hard to do…
~ 1910 Fruitgum Company
One of the top bubblegum bands of all time, New Jersey’s own 1910 Fruitgum Company, had the nostalgic hometown Jersey crowd up and moving on Saturday, June 4, 2016 at a live concert at the Grunin Center for the Arts, located on the campus of Ocean County College in Toms River.
The 1910 Fruitgum Company, originally known as Jeckell and The Hydes, was founded in 1965 in Linden, NJ by guitarist Frank Jeckell, but by 1967 they had signed with Buddha Records, a label which released five of their LPs and a variety of singles — including three gold records — worldwide. Over the course of the group’s nearly 50-year history, they toured and shared the stage with such well-known acts as The Vogues, The Buckinghams, Mark Lindsay of Paul Revere and the Raiders, Sly and the Family Stone, and many more.
At the Grunin Center, the 2016 edition of the 1910 Fruitgum Company took the stage and opened with the 1968 bubblegum classic, “Yummy Yummy Yummy,” originally recorded by their Buddah label-mates The Ohio Express. After that, the boys spent the next two hours entertaining an enthusiastic crowd of mainly older music lovers with nearly thirty classic 1960s hits fondly remembered by the vast majority of listeners in attendance — songs including The Grass Roots’ “Midnight Confessions,” The Monkees’ “Daydream Believer,” The Turtles’ “Happy Together,” and many, many more.
The 1910 Fruitgum Company consists of five musicians, four of whom currently reside in the Garden State. Lead singer Mick Mansueto, from Brick, made the audience feel “Glad All Over” with an enthusiastic lead vocal performance on his favorite 1960s song originally recorded by The Dave Clark Five.
Glenn Lewis, of Sparta, is the group’s bass player who also sings lead and back-up vocals. From the audience’s response, it was obvious that Glenn’s spot-on lead vocal performance of Johnny Rivers’ “Secret Agent Man” thrilled the hometown crowd packed with fans and family members who came to cheer him on.
The group’s founding member, Frank Jeckell, from Rockaway, is the group’s guitarist who also sings lead and back-up vocals. In addition, Frank is the composer of one of the 1910 Fruitgum Company’s signature songs, “Reflections from the Looking Glass,” which, in 1967, wound up in millions of music listeners’ homes as it was featured on the “B-Side” of their biggest-selling single, “Simon Says.”
During the concert, Frank also shared stories of the early days of the band when they went out on tour with such well-known groups as The Beach Boys. According to Frank, one of his favorite memories took place when — in the midst of a grueling bus trip traveling from one city to another — he became bored and started singing a Beach Boys song aloud. To his surprise, all of the actual Beach Boys, seated elsewhere on the bus with him, started singing backup harmonies to HIS lead!
To honor that legendary group at the Grunin Center, the Fruitgum Company performed their tribute version of “Surfin’ USA.” The song was arranged by the group’s current musical director, Bob Brescia, who hails from Somerset. Bob also arranged the group’s poignant tribute to Sonny Geraci of The Outsiders. In 2013, the Fruitgum Company played a benefit concert for Gerace and, ever since — “because he no longer can,” explained Mansueto — they have made it their mission to play his signature song in his honor every chance they get. The song, “Time Won’t Let Me,” featured both Mansueto on lead vocals and arranger Brescia on keyboards.
The fifth and final member of the group is Keith Crane. Crane, who resides in Monroe, NY, is the band’s energetic drummer. He did his job spending the evening laying down a solid gold beat on all of the group’s tribute cover tunes in addition to their own solid gold hits.
And speaking of hits, the audience at the Grunin Center enjoyed hearing the Fruitgum Company perform several of theirs live including 1967's “May I Take a Giant Step (Into Your Heart),” 1968’s “Goody Goody Gumdrops,” in addition to two of their original numbers which went on to become Billboard Top Ten smashes — 1968’s “1, 2, 3 Red Light” and 1969’s “Indian Giver” — each of which sold over one million copies.
For most of the members of the audience, however, the highlight of the evening was the group’s performance of their biggest hit — a song which exploded onto the charts in 1967, sold over three and a half million copies, and made them a household name — “Simon Says.” During this playful number, the group had the audience members putting their hands in the air, shaking them all about, clapping their hands double time and providing all of the participants in the theater with a wonderfully “moving” experience.
Before the band had barely begun their final number, Jerry Lee Lewis’ “Great Balls of Fire,” they already had the crowd up and moving; as such, by the time the song really heated up, they had the members of the audience literally dancing in the aisles. Perhaps more importantly, though, the selection of memorable 1960s tunes the 1910 Fruitgum Company performed throughout the course of the evening enabled them to move the audience members’ hearts as well, leaving them with smiles on their faces and a sentimental reminder of their carefree younger days.
For more on the 1910 Fruitgum Company — including their upcoming July 4th performance in Springfield, NJ with Ron Dante, lead singer of The Archies, and a show at Riley Park in Bradley Beach, NJ on July 30— go to 1910fruitgumcompany.com. For more information on the Grunin Center’s fall schedule —currently set to include shows by such artists as Broadway star Patti LuPone on Oct. 1 2016, folk singer Arlo Guthrie on Nov. 10, 2016, and country singer/songwriter Roseanne Cash on April 6, 2017— be sure to check out grunincenter.org.
