"Every Morning" is a song by American rock band Sugar Ray, released as the lead single from their third studio album, 14:59 (1999). The track is an alternative rock and flamenco pop song that references Malo's "Suavecito" and Hugh Masekela's "Grazing in the Grass". Serviced to US radio in December 1998, "Every Morning" was physically released in Japan in January 1999 and in the United States that March, making it Sugar Ray's first commercially available single in the US.
"Every Morning" reached number one on both the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and the Canadian RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart, becoming Canada's second-most successful single of 1999. The song also reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 10 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the band's highest-charting single on both rankings.
Composition "Every Morning" is an alternative rock and flamenco pop song. It is written in common time with a key of A major and proceeds at a moderate tempo, played mezzo-forte. The song has a chord progression of A–D–A–D–E5. The chorus of the song references "Suavecito" by the Chicano music group Malo, as well as Hugh Masekela's 1968 hit "Grazing in the Grass". Lead vocalist Mark McGrath explained, "We referenced 'Suavecito' because growing up in California, you know, that was just like the low rider anthem. Any car show or swap meet you'd ever go by, you'd always hear that [song] and that just stuck in your mind." He added, "We actually came up with that part, and it was very similar to Malo's part. We were sort of imitating it, and then we said, 'Let's just leave it, we're gonna change it later.' It really makes the song – we think – so we just left it."
Accolades The track was ranked number 98th on the Triple J Hottest 100 of 1999, Australia's largest annual music poll which is run by the Triple J station. It also ranked 162nd on Australian radio station Triple M's list of the top 400 greatest songs of all time. In 2019, Billboard placed it 58th on a list of the "99 Greatest Songs of 1999". In 2023, American Songwriter ranked it second on their list of Sugar Ray's top 10 songs, behind only "Fly".
Track listings US 7-inch, CD, and cassette single "Every Morning" – 3:39 "Even Though" – 2:35
UK, European, Australian, and Japanese CD single "Every Morning" – 3:39 "Rivers" – 2:50 "Aim for Me" (main version) – 2:29
Credits and personnel Credits are taken from the liner notes of the CD singles.
Studios Recorded at Swing House, Sunset Sound Studio, Ocean Way Recording, and Studio 56 (Los Angeles) Mixed at Scream House (Los Angeles) Mastered at Precision (Los Angeles)
Personnel Sugar Ray – writing, vocals David Kahne – additional writing, production, programming, engineering, mixing, mastering Richard Bean – additional writing Abel Zarate – additional writing Pablo Tellez – additional writing John Travis – engineering, mixing Steve Gallagher – additional engineering
Charts
Weekly charts Chart (1999)Peakposition Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) 37 Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40) 21
Year-end charts Chart (1999)Position Australia (ARIA) 62 Canada Top Singles (RPM) 2 Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM) 23 UK Singles (OCC) 163 UK Airplay (Music Week) 16 US Billboard Hot 100 8 US Adult Top 40 (Billboard) 4 US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard) 4 US Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard) 5 US Triple-A (Billboard) 8
Certifications
Release history RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)United StatesDecember 1, 1998Alternative radioDecember 15, 1998Contemporary hit radioJapanJanuary 25, 1999CDUnited StatesMarch 16, 1999United KingdomMay 17, 1999
References