Oh, Candy
{{short description|Song by Cheap Trick}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Oh, Candy
| cover = Cheap Trick Oh Candy 1977 Single Cover.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Cheap Trick
| album = Cheap Trick
| B-side = Daddy Should Have Stayed in High School
| released = April 1977{{cite web|url=http://www.45cat.com/record/850375 |title=Cheap Trick - Oh, Candy / Daddy Should Have Stayed In High School - Epic - USA - 8-50375 |publisher=45cat |date=2015-09-09 |access-date=2018-07-17}}
| recorded =
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = Rock
| length = 3:06
| label = Epic
| writer = Rick Nielsen
| producer = Jack Douglas
| prev_title =
| prev_year =
| next_title = I Want You to Want Me
| next_year = 1977
}}
"Oh, Candy" is the debut single by American rock band Cheap Trick, released in 1977 from their self-titled debut studio album. It was written by Rick Nielsen and produced by Jack Douglas.{{cite web|author=Stephen Thomas Erlewine |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/cheap-trick-1977-mw0000199750 |title=Cheap Trick [1977] - Cheap Trick | Songs, Reviews, Credits |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=2018-07-17}}
Background
"Oh, Candy" is based on a true story of photographer Marshall Mintz, Cheap Trick's first photographer and a friend, who committed suicide by hanging. The name Candy referred to Mintz's initials, which shared the name of the popular candy M&M's. Rather than call the song "Marshall Mintz" or "M & M", Nielsen decided to use "Candy" to make the song easier for listeners to identify with. In the 1998 Cheap Trick biography Reputation Is a Fragile Thing, Nielsen said: {{blockquote|"I thought that calling the song "Marshall Mintz" sounded pretty stupid, so I put a little twist on it and called the song "Oh, Candy". Here was a guy who committed suicide, and I was asking him why. Obviously, the song makes the story sound like it's about a young woman. Nobody wants to hear about some older guy that I knew. I just tried to tell the story in such a way that as many people as possible could identify with it."{{cite book|title=Reputation Is a Fragile Thing|author1=Hayes, Mike |author2=Sharp, Ken |name-list-style=amp |pages=36–38|year=1998|publisher=Poptastic|isbn=978-0966208108}}}}
A music video was filmed to promote the single, which was directed by Chuck Lashon, who also produced videos for several other songs from Cheap Trick's debut album, such as "He's a Whore", "ELO Kiddies", "Hot Love", and "The Ballad of T.V. Violence."
Release
"Oh, Candy" was released on 7" vinyl by Epic Records in the United States and Canada.{{cite web|url=http://www.45cat.com/record/850375ca |title=Cheap Trick - Oh, Candy / Daddy Should Have Stayed In High School - Epic - Canada - 8-50375 |publisher=45cat |access-date=2018-07-17}} For its release as a single, a new mix of the song was created, which included a different vocal take and the addition of handclaps. The single version would later appear on the band's 1996 compilation Sex, America, Cheap Trick.{{cite web|author=Cheap Trick |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/sex-america-cheap-trick-mw0000186238 |title=Sex, America, Cheap Trick - Cheap Trick | Songs, Reviews, Credits |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=2018-07-17}} "Oh, Candy" later appeared as the B-side of the band's 1979 UK single "Way of the World".{{cite web|url=http://www.45cat.com/record/epc8114 |title=Cheap Trick - Way Of The World / Oh Candy - Epic - UK - S EPC 8114 |publisher=45cat |date=1980-01-04 |access-date=2018-07-17}}
Critical reception
Upon release, Cash Box listed the single as one of their "feature picks" during April 1977. They commented: "Intelligently recycled riffs mark the debut single of this theatrical heavy pop-rock ensemble. Jack Douglas' 1977-"wall of sound" production lends character to the endlessly reverberating harmonies."Cash Box newspaper - April 23, 1977 - Singles reviews - page 20 In a review of Cheap Trick, Primo Times praised the album and listed a number of notable tracks while adding: "...the undisputable choice for single is "Oh, Candy." Listen for a cliff-hanger close on that one that should prove that fade-outs are indeed cop-outs."{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H-zjAAAAMAAJ&q=%22cheap+trick%22+%22oh+candy%22 |title=Primo Times - Google Books |date=2009-09-29 |access-date=2018-07-17}} The Pittsburgh Press described the song as an example of a "rousing rocker at [its] best" and a "single possibility".The Pittsburgh Press - Album reviews - March 15, 1977 - page 9
In a retrospective review of the album, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic said: "...Even "Oh, Candy," apparently a love song on first listen, is an affecting tribute to a friend who committed suicide. In short, Cheap Trick revel in taboo subjects with abandon, devoting themselves to the power of the hook, as well as sheer volume and gut-wrenching rock & roll." He also recommended the song by labelling it an AMG Pick Track. Billboard, in a review of the 2001 live album Silver, included the album's version of "Oh, Candy" as one of the highlights.{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6xMEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22cheap+trick%22+%22oh+candy%22&pg=PA30 |title=Billboard - Google Books |date=2001-03-10 |access-date=2018-07-17}} In a review of a 1997 Cheap Trick concert, Chris Riemenschneider of the Austin American-Statesman described the song as a "delightful poppy ditty".[https://archive.today/20130616120849/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=AASB&p_theme=aasb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EA05A0C326D8169&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM]
In the 1998 Cheap Trick biography Reputation Is a Fragile Thing, the song was described as a "gloriously commercial tune" and a "fitting debut single". Essi Berelian, in his 2005 book The Rough Guide to Heavy Metal, described the song as a "commercial tune".{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pKw7AQAAIAAJ&q=%22cheap+trick%22+%22oh+candy%22 |title=The Rough Guide to Heavy Metal - Essi Berelian - Google Books |isbn=9781843534150 |access-date=2018-07-17|last1=Berelian |first1=Essi |year=2005 |publisher=Rough Guides }} In his 2017 book Still Competition: The Listener's Guide to Cheap Trick, Robert Lawson described the song as having a "deceptively catchy chorus barely hiding the tale of suicide".{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tZM-DwAAQBAJ&q=%22oh+candy%22&pg=PA17 |title=Still Competition: The Listener's Guide to Cheap Trick - Robert Lawson - Google Books |date=2017-11-13 |isbn=9781525512261 |access-date=2018-07-17|last1=Lawson |first1=Robert |publisher=FriesenPress }} In 2015, Joe Szczechowski of AXS considered "Oh, Candy" to be one of Cheap Trick's "five most underrated songs". He described the song as a "melodic rocker", but added "perhaps many rock fans weren't ready for such a dark narrative set to an upbeat melody."{{cite web| url = https://www.axs.com/cheap-trick-s-five-most-underrated-songs-68456| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160731082115/http://www.axs.com/cheap-trick-s-five-most-underrated-songs-68456| archive-date = 2016-07-31| title = Cheap Trick's five most underrated songs - AXS}}
Track listing
;7" single
- "Oh, Candy" - 3:06
- "Daddy Should Have Stayed in High School" - 4:42
;7" Single (US promo)
- "Oh, Candy" - 3:06
- "Oh, Candy" - 3:06
Personnel
;Cheap Trick
- Robin Zander - lead vocals, rhythm guitar
- Rick Nielsen - lead guitar, backing vocals
- Tom Petersson - bass, backing vocals
- Bun E. Carlos - drums, percussion
;Additional personnel
- Jack Douglas - producer
- Jay Messina - engineer
- Sam Ginsberg - assistant engineer