The Cryan' Shames were a big deal in Chicago in the mid- and late '60s when a bunch of their singles hit the local Top Ten; some of them were small national hits as well. The biggest of these was "Sugar and Spice," a cover of a Searchers song (itself a cover of a Drifters hit) that made the Top 50 in 1966 and was later featured in the Nuggets anthology of '60s garage bands. In their original incarnation, the Shames leaned toward the pop end of garage. Borrowing heavily from the Beatles, the Byrds, and the Yardbirds, guitarist Jim Fair wrote a clutch of energetic guitar pop/rockers with sparkling harmonies.