"Fly" is a song by American rock band Sugar Ray. It appears on their 1997 album Floored twice: one version with reggae artist Super Cat (track four) and the other without (track 13). The song was serviced to US radio in May 1997.
"Fly" became the band's first hit, holding the No. 1 spot on the US BillboardHot 100 Airplay chart for four consecutive weeks and spending eight weeks at No. 1 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. It was ineligible to chart on the Hot 100 because a physical CD single was not released commercially in the US. The song also reached No. 1 on Canada's RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart and No. 31 on Australia's ARIA Singles Chart.
As a result of the success of "Fly", Floored sold well and was certified double platinum. The song was included on VH1's countdown of the "100 Greatest Songs of the '90s" at number 52.[1]
Sugar Ray's lead singer Mark McGrath explained that this song had a bouncy beat, yet it was about death; "Fly" too seemed like a bright, up-tempo song but "there is this stark imagery in there. There's loss in it. There is loss of a mother, obviously. I thought it was a good way to juxtapose the lyrics with the melody on that, similar to what Gilbert O'Sullivan did on "Alone Again (Naturally)."[11] The other members wrote it without him as McGrath left during a rehearsal, and McGrath originally did not want to record the song and was downright wanting to quit the band, as he was preferring heavier music, "just wanted to scream and yell because I was scared to be onstage in the first place", and afraid his voice would not work with a mellower tune. His friend McG, who would eventually direct the video for "Fly", convinced him otherwise, telling about the song's merits and asking ‘Where else you gonna go--work at Del Taco?’[12]
^"The Year in Music 1998: Hot 100 Singles Airplay". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 52. December 26, 1998. p. YE-46.
^"The Year in Music 1998: Hot Adult Top 40 Singles & Tracks". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 52. December 26, 1998. p. YE-96.
^"Most Played Mainstream Top 40 Songs of 1998". Airplay Monitor. Vol. 6, no. 52. December 25, 1998. p. 45.
^"Most Played Modern Rock Songs of 1998". Airplay Monitor. Vol. 6, no. 52. December 25, 1998. p. 36.
^"Most Played Rhythmic Top 40 Songs of 1998". Airplay Monitor. Vol. 6, no. 52. December 25, 1998. p. 46.
^Reece, Doug (September 20, 1997). "Lava/Atlantic's Sugar Ray Flying High with 'Floored'". Billboard. Vol. 109, no. 38. p. 11. The label followed quickly with 'Fly,' servicing mainstream rock [...] modern rock, and AC May 16.
^"New Releases". Radio & Records. No. 1208. August 1, 1997. p. 38.
^"New Releases". Music Week. January 17, 1998. p. 35.
