On this week’s Runka Punka Go Go, we examine the height of the bubblegum music era, from roughly 1968 to 1972, and tie it to a recent column by Bob Lefsetz about the song Yummy Yummy Yummy. Though bubblegum music was mostly a commercial venture tied to products other than music, (Saturday morning cartoons like The Banana Splits and The Archies, and breakfast cereals and toys) the simplification of the songs and the lightness of the themes, created a style that not only bled into genres that followed (glam, punk) but generated some monster hits that span generations.
I was raised on bubblegum music. Because this subject is so dear to my heart, it was difficult making decisions on what to NOT include in my short playlist for the show. It’s all great. I will mention one thing; when my guest host, Kevin Michael Grace, suggested this as a topic, the first thing I did was go looking for lists to get a really good bead on the genre, when I came upon a Spotify top 100 of supposed Bubblegum songs. It was a pretty wide ranging list; there was “Don’t Walk Away Renee”, and Marmalade’s “Reflections of My Life,” and I thought, wait a second, those ain’t bubblegum. Then I saw “I Can See Clearly Now” by Johnny Nash, and then it hit me, this stupid algorithm doesn’t have a clue what this bubblegum thing is all about. It just wants to find stuff that will keep you hanging in there, keep you listening. So it will pick anything. I picked bubblegum songs that I love, also a bubblegum adjacent song (Monkees), and one that I completely missed during my youth (“Dancing on a Saturday Night”), but include here near the end.
SHOW NOTES
RPGG Ep. 20 – A Bubblegum Banquet
The Lefsetz Letter, Aug 2, 2026: Yummy Yummy Yummy
Chosic: Top and Trending bubblegum pop Songs
The Downtown Pop Underground: New York Punk’s Bubblegum Roots
Tyler Golsen in Far Out Magazine, Oct 27, 2023: The Ramones song inspired by bubblegum pop
Discogs: 25 All-Time Greatest Bubblegum Hits – The Ultimate Collection
Discogs: Saturday Morning (Cartoons’ Greatest Hits)
Charlie Perez on YouTube, posted Oct 19, 2022: Ohio Express – Yummy Yummy Yummy (Buddah Records 1968 HD 1080p)
Bruno Vojnić on YouTube, posted Jun 6, 2018: Simon Says – 1910 Fruitgum Company
Monte Carlo Music on YouTube, posted Feb 3, 2023: The Monkees – Last Train To Clarksville (1966/HD)
Fuzzy Legends Archives on YouTube, posted Jul 17, 2023: Mary Lou Lord & Semisonic – Sugar Sugar (The Archies) [HD]
Music Selection on YouTube, posted Apr 11, 2018: The Banana Splits – The Tra La La Song ( One Banana, Two Banana) HD
exumedcat on YouTube, posted Feb 25, 2007: The Dickies – Banana Splits
CBC, Aug 4, 2026: Whatever your pick is for song of the summer, the odds are it’s probably a bummer
Tommy James on YouTube, Apr 24, 2019: Tommy James & The Shondells – I Think We`re Alone Now Live on Village Square 1967
Independent Obit, Apr 30, 2026: Ritchie Cordell – Songwriter and producer of bubblegum pop
rock-box on YouTube, posted Mar 1, 2025: Barry Blue – Dancing On A Saturday Night [ Remastered Audio ]
Official Sweet Channel, posted Nov 21, 2014: Sweet – Little Willy – Top Of The Pops/Disco 1972 (OFFICIAL)
Culture Sonar, Nov 27, 2023: Chapman & Chinn: A “Knack” for Making Hits