Pop/Rock » Pop/Rock » Bubblegum

Bubblegum is a lightweight, catchy pop music that was a significant commercial force in the late '60s and early '70s. Bubblegum was targeted at a preteen audience whose older siblings had been raised on rock & roll. It was simple, melodic, and light as feather -- neither the lyrics or the music had much substance. Bubblegum was a manufactured music, created by record producers that often hired session musicians to play and sing the songs. Frequently, the session musicians were given a fake band name to give the illusion that they were a real group. Apart from acts like the Partridge Family and Tommy Roe, most bubblegum groups were one-hit wonders. Appropriately, the genre also had a short life span, lasting roughly five years. As those preteen bubblegum fans grew up, they left the music behind. However, the genre had a surprisingly long legacy, as musicians that grew up with bubblegum created songs that reflected the sunny, catchy simplicity of the music.