Sugar Ray

Sugar Ray formed in Newport Beach, California, in 1986 as Shrinky Dinx. After they landed a contract with Atlantic Records, they were forced to change their name under the threat of a lawsuit from Milton Bradley, the company behind the Shrinky Dinks toys. They adopted the moniker Sugar Ray in honor of boxer Sugar Ray Leonard.

According to Sugar Ray frontman Mark McGrath, the band's success is built on a lie. Back when they were still playing covers as Shrinky Dinks at sporadic gigs around Orange County, they told Atlantic Records they had a huge following in Southern California and an extensive catalog of original songs. "We totally lied to Atlantic," he said. "There was no social media or way for them to check though. We told them we had 100 songs, and we only had two!"

Because a lot of record labels wouldn't accept unsolicited demos, the band had to get creative to get their music heard. They made a two-song video and sent out copies hidden in pizza boxes.