Rivers by Sugar Ray

Album: Scream 2 Soundtrack (1997)

License This Song

artistfacts

Songfacts®:

This song is paying homage to Weezer, and their lead singer, Rivers Cuomo. Sugar Ray were big fans of the alt-rock band's eponymous 1994 debut album (aka The Blue Album) and wrote the tune in the style of its quirky lead single, "Undone - The Sweater Song." In the lyrics, Sugar Ray frontman Mark McGrath is searching for the girl who got away.

"It sort of felt like a Weezer song without the genius," he told Rock Cellar Magazine in 2015, "so we named it 'Rivers' and got a lot of love for that."
This plays during part of the end credits to Scream 2 and is featured on the 1997 horror movie's soundtrack album. The band's popularity exploded earlier that year with their hit single "Fly" from their sophomore album, Floored, which was originally supposed to include "Rivers" on the tracklist but it didn't make the cut.

McGrath already shared a somewhat embarrassing connection to Neve Campbell, the star of the original Scream films and the TV drama Party Of Five. Outside of his Sugar Ray duties, McGrath tried to break into acting but his confidence was shaky.

"I went on a Party Of Five audition and ran out of there grabbing my boobs, I was so scared," he told Rolling Stone in 1999. "[I was] this guy wearing a hat who worked in the cafeteria with Neve Campbell at Stanford. I was mumbling through the lines and pretty much passed out and started crying. It was so embarrassing. It seems like there are much better ways to make yourself feel like a loser."

McGrath didn't get the part, but he did eventually make it to the big screen in movies like Fathers' Day (1997), Scooby-Doo (2002) and Uptown Girls (2003).
The band's admiration for Rivers Cuomo turned out to be mutual. The singer offered Weezer's previously unreleased track "Love is the Answer" for Sugar Ray's 2009 Music For Cougars album and played a guitar solo on the tune.
Scream 2's album fared better than the first movie's soundtrack, which failed to chart in the US. With songs from Collective Soul ("She Said"), Less Than Jake ("I Think I Love You), Foo Fighters ("Dear Lover"), Everclear ("The Swing"), Dave Matthews Band ("Help Myself"), and, of course, Sugar Ray - the sequel's soundtrack went to #50 on the albums chart and was certified Gold for 500,000 copies sold.

Comments: 2

Jennifer from Kalamazoo, MiThe bass player for Sugar Ray, Murphy Karges, was involved in a side project called "The Special Goodness" that included Pat Wilson from Weezer.
Pat from Las Vegas, NvSugar Ray is much better in concert than they are in the studio. Their live music has a rougher and grittier feel than the pop hits as played on the radio. Well worth seeing in concert.

see more comments

More Songfacts:

JeopardyGreg Kihn Band

"Jeopardy" by The Greg Kihn Band got the Weird Al treatment with "I Lost On Jeopardy." Kihn and Jeopardy game show announcer Art Fleming both appear in the video.

Crocodile RockElton John

Elton John's "Crocodile Rock" borrows a bit from Don McLean's "American Pie." Both songs feature a Chevy, and are about young people who are heartbroken when their music "dies."

Islands In The StreamKenny Rogers and Dolly Parton

"Islands in the Stream" was originally written by The Bee Gees as an R&B song. It was originally written by the brothers for Marvin Gaye, however it was recorded instead as a duet by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton with the Gibb Brothers also contributing vocals.

Every Breath You TakeThe Police

Sting wrote "Every Breath You Take" at the same desk in Jamaica where Ian Fleming wrote his James Bond novels.

Open Your HeartMadonna

The kid in Madonna's "Open Your Heart" video became a successful songwriter. His songs include Amy Winehouse's "You Sent Me Flying" and James Blunt's "1973."

All Through The NightCyndi Lauper

Cyndi Lauper's hit "All Through The Night" was written and originally recorded by Jules Shear, who also wrote "If She Knew What She Wants" by the Bangles.