Friday August 19, 2022 “Sugar & Spice” The Cryan Shames
So you know my fascination with band names. Upon learning that another band was already using their band name Hinsdale IL group “Tommy and the Travelers”, needed to find another name. Band founder Jim Pilster (J.C. Hooke) was familiar with the Tommy of that band, and he invited Tommy to join their band; when Tommy Krein (last name pronounced Cryan) declined, JC remarked that it was "a cryan' shame," thus naming the band. I guess there have been better stories but there have also been worse.
Pilster was nicknamed J.C. Hooke because he was born without a left hand and wore a hook. Am guessing he wasn’t their guitar player…but that could have been interesting.
The original hit version of “Sugar & Spice” was in 1963 and was done by British group The Searchers, named after the John Wayne movie of the same name and it was written by Tony Hatch who was responsible for so many songs but perhaps most notably for Petula Clark hits.. Hatch wrote “Downtown”, “I Know a Place”, “Round Every Corner” and with Petula Clark wrote “You’re the One” which would be a top ten hit for the Vogues
Stay safe and well…and the Cryan Shames only had but one hit but over the course of their short ‘career’ but they had more than twenty different band members.