Sugar Beats Bop to Pop

Insight on the News, June 7, 1999 by Robert Stacy McCain

The Sugar Beats record pop hits from the sixties and seventies on family-friendly CDs that have Kids--and their parents--singing along.

Sherry Goffin Kondor grew tired of listening to the music her toddler enjoyed, so she formed her own record company to produce music that parents and youngsters could enjoy together. Four albums later, Sugar Beats has sold more than 500,000 copies of award-winning tapes and CDs. With appearances on TV programs such as Good Morning, America, an Internet site (www.sugar beats, corn) and legions of loyal fans, Sugar Beats has become more successful than many major-label acts.

"My firstborn, Dillon, was about 2 years old" recalls Kondor, 37, who lives in New York City, "and we spent a good amount of time in the car listening to `his music.' It was driving me nuts."

Such music--what Kondor calls "audio broccoli"--is familiar to parents who have grown weary of traditional children's fare like "This Old Man" and educational music about brushing teeth. Sugar Beats' slogan is "Fresh Versions of Retro Pop for Kids." The group's most recent album, How Sweet It Is, features kid-friendly remakes of pop-rock classics of the sixties and seventies--"Sugar, Sugar" and "Land of a Thousand Dances"--as well as more recent hits such as "Walk Like an Egyptian."

"I just came up with an idea to redo parents' favorites, and do them with children singing either background or lead vocals," explains Kondor, "because my experience with my own child was that if he could hear kids' voices, he could relate to it."

The whole point of Sugar Beats is to make fun music that parents and children can enjoy together, and Kondor disavows any "educational" motive to the group's music. "I don't want to make the claim that this is educational" she says. "Educators have asked me what I think of the educational value of Sugar Beats music, and I have to say it's entertainment value and family-bonding value. I'm not going to teach kids about the alphabet with these songs. Hopefully, they'll get that somewhere else."

Kondor, the daughter of songwriter Gerry Goffin and singer Carole King, made her own recording debut at age 12 and has been a professional vocalist since 1983. Her husband, keyboardist Robbie Kondor, is a New York City studio musician who performs with artists such as Eric Clapton, Aretha Franklin, Paul Simon and Mariah Carey.

Kondor's daughter, Sophie, 8, and Dillon, now 11, are members of Sugar Beats. Other Beats have moved on to show-business careers, including Erin Rakow, 15, now performing on Broadway in Les Miserables, and Katie Mara, 16, who recently finished two movies, including Fireflies with Harrison Ford.

Choosing rock songs for Sugar Beats is tricky, concedes Kondor. "Naturally, the song topics can't be too racy" Kondor says. "If it has anything suggestive about sex and drugs, you have to ask if it's too blatant or if it's subtle and will go over children's heads."

But there are still plenty of songs that both parents and children can enjoy together, and Kondor is preparing for the fifth Sugar Beats album. "I honestly don't know how long it can go on," she says of the group's success. "I never look ahead beyond the next album. There seems to be a demand for another album.... I don't think we're going to run out of songs from the seventies and eighties real soon."