Fly

Sugar Ray, fronted by Mark McGrath, started out as a California funk metal band before they broke into the mainstream as pop rockers nearly a decade later with "Fly." The reggae fusion tune, featuring Jamaican DJ Super Cat, finds the singer wanting to fly to romantic heights to escape all the heartache in the world, including the death of his mother. Kinda dark for an upbeat-sounding summertime hit. Says McGrath: "There is this stark imagery in there. There's loss in it. There is loss of a mother, obviously. I thought it was a good way to juxtapose the lyrics with the melody on that." (McGrath's mother, however, was very much alive.)

Sugar Ray was a third-stage act on the Warped Tour when "Fly" found its wings in the summer of 1997. It gradually got added to playlists in various genres and by October, it was everywhere.

Back in the '90s, many record labels in the US didn't release popular songs as singles in order to boost album sales, but they still needed to get them on the air to entice listeners. Although "Fly" was unlike anything on the Floored album, Atlantic Records sent a promo single to radio stations. Unfortunately album cuts weren't eligible for the Hot 100 at the time, but the song hit #1 on the Hot 100 Airplay Chart for four consecutive weeks and dominated the Modern Rock Tracks chart for eight weeks. The album sold over two million copies and landed at #12 on the albums chart.