McCormack gave songwriting credit to his aunt, Beulah Faye Voss, after asking what are "those tight pants that girls wear" to which she replied "leotards".
[3] The unusual and distinctive instrument part was played by Norman Petty on a Hammond Solovox keyboard; to be precise it is a Model L, Series A.
On November 29, 1963, "Sugar Shack" received an RIAA certification for selling over a million copies, earning gold record status.
[15] The song is featured in the films Mermaids, Dogfight, Forrest Gump, Congo, and Stealing Sinatra, and in the television show Supernatural.
In December 1965, the song was covered by Steve Brett, a singer from the Midlands area of the UK, and was released as the B-side of his single "Chains On My Heart", on the Columbia label (catalogue number DB7794).