Songfacts®:

• This high-energy offering from Sugar Ray is a celebration of life at the bar and on the dance floor. They give thanks to the folks that keep the party going: the bartender and the DJ.
• The guitar riff is a sample of "Love Is Like Oxygen," a 1978 glam rock classic from the British band Sweet. The "It's so easy, it's so right" hook comes from a 1983 song from the funk band Midnight Star called "No Parking (On the Dance Floor)." The writers of both songs are credited on "Mr. Bartender" along with the members of Sugar Ray, their producer David Kahne, and ProHoeZak, who guests on the song doing the rap.
• "Mr. Bartender" was the first single from Sugar Ray's fifth album, In The Pursuit Of Leisure. Loaded with scratches, beats, and a rap interlude, it marked a shift for the band away from the melodic pop found on their early hits like "Fly" and "Every Morning." It didn't get much attention, as fans seemed to prefer their more mellow tunes.
• The band released a video for this song where they play slackers working at a car wash. It opens with them listening to their cover of "Is She Really Going Out With Him?" when the boss comes to put them to work. The video doesn't appear on the group's YouTube channel, possibly due to rights issues.