50 Years Ago Jimmy Gilmer’s ‘Sugar Shack’ at Number One

It's the fall of 1963. Some of the most popular television shows are  My Favorite Martian, The Andy Griffith Show, The Lucy Show, The Beverly Hillbillies, and The Dick Van Dyke Show. At the box office, It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, and Elvis Presley's Fun in Acapulco are soon to be released. And on the Billboard Charts the top songs for the year were He's So Fine, by the Chiffons, Rhythm of the Rain, by the Cascades, the Beach Boys' Surfin' U.S.A., and Sugar Shack by Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs.Not only was Sugar Shack #1 this week in 1963, it was the #1 song for the entire year. The song spend 5 week on top of the charts.

Sugar Shack was the band's fifth chart hit following Torquay, Bulldog, Vaquero, and Quite A Party. The Fireball's would go on to chart a few more hits like Daisy Petal Pickin' and the top 10 hit Bottle of Wine, but nothing would compare to Sugar Shack.

The Fireballs got their start in Raton, New Mexico, and were the first rock and roll recording band from New Mexico to become internationally known. In fact, they remain New Mexico's most successful rock and roll band. Music by the Fireballs can be heard on the soundtracks of movies such as Forrest Gump, Mermaids, and many others.