Burning The Ground Exclusive 1984
TOTALLY OBSCURE 80s!
“Sugar Don’t Bite”, was the debut single by Tulsa, Oklahoma native Sam Harris. The song debuted at #86 on the Billboard Hot 100 on September 15, 1984 then peaked at #36 on November 10 after spending fourteen weeks on the survey. “Sugar Don’t Bite” also became a top forty Dance hit peaking at #24 on the Billboard Dance Chart.
Harris got his start as the grand champion singer of Star Search in its premiere season in 1983. He gained acclaim and became best known for his winning rendition of the song “Over the Rainbow” on the show. “Over the Rainbow” has since become his signature song. His appearance on Star Search led to him landing a contract with Motown Records. “Sugar Don’t Bite” was taken from his self-titled debut LP.
The EXTRA SUGAR tracks were taken from the U.S. 12″ Promo.
SIDE A:
Sugar Don’t Bite (New Dance Mix) 5:49
SIDE B:
Sugar Don’t Bite (New Dance Mix – Instrumental) 2:35
EXTRA SUGAR:
Sugar Don’t Bite (Dance Mix) 5:20
Mixed By –Ralph Sutton, Sam Harris (2)
Sugar Don’t Bite (Single Version) 3:50
Mixed By – Ralph Sutton, Sam Harris (2)
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
U.S. CHART HISTORY:
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Sugar Don’t Bite | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | #36 |
| 1984 | Sugar Don’t Bite | U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs | #24 |
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Motown – 4523MG
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1984
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-op
CREDITS:
- Arranged By [Rhythm] – Bobby Sandstrom
- Engineer – Tony Peluso
- Producer – Steve Barri, Tony Peluso
- Producer, Remix – Paul Sabu, Rusty Garner
- Written-By – B. Roberts*, D. Weiss*
NOTES:
Single Version in the album “Sam Harris”
Buy the 12″ at DISCOGS
VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net
THE GEAR:
Turntable: Technics SL-1200MK7
Cartridge/Stylus: Ortofon 2M Black PnP MkII
Turntable Isolation Platform: ISO-Tone™ Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro Spin Acrylic Mat
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp: Pro-Jec Tube Box DS2
Tubes: Genalex Gold Lion 12AX7 ECC83/B759 Gold Pins Vacuum Tube – Matched Pair
DAC: Alpha Design Labs GT40a USB DAC
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner
SOFTWARE:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling/Dither: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator
RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi
**24bit FLAC Only Available For Seven Days!
Password: burningtheground
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Wow Paul that’s awesome! These are my favourite posts. I discovered Sam Harris coincidentally last year but I ignored that he was native from your home town. His debut album is just amazing. It’s great to get the original Dance mix which was not included on the digital remastered & expanded edition from 2013. Thanks a lot Paul! 🙂
That chorus still sounds a lot like “Papa Don’t Preach” which came out a year later. Too much of a coincidence to not be a source of inspiration. I remember Sam Harris, I think a lot of people thought he was gonna be a big star, I did. his record came out what felt like a million years after his win, and this is what we got, pink pants and a straight jacket. Here his range is nasal and pinched sounding like an 80’s version of Placebo. He definitely had a bit of a George Michael look. I don’t think… Read more »
Oh wow totally remember all of this his Star Search win his getting signed to Motown even though that pretty much a “black” label at the time and of course, I always love funky stuff!!!
Paul!!! I am overjoyed that this is made available again on your website!! Mr. Harris made such an impression on me. Friends and I in college would just swoon over his version of “Over the Rainbow” and I would play his “Sugar Don’t Bite” on my radio show. Meeting Karen a few years later and finding out she was a big fan too. She loved him on Star Search and got to see him perform with Rosie O’Donnell in the revival of Grease on Broadway. We both love Sam so much that we used his cover version of “Moon River”… Read more »
You’re welcome, Jeff I am so excited that you and Karen are fans of Sam Harris. His debut album is one of my guilty pleasures. 🙂
TBH, I only know him from Beavis & Butthead back in the day! Would love to explore that first album. Could you please share it?