The Archies
Encyclopedia
The Archies are a garage band
founded by Archie Andrews
, Reggie Mantle
, and Jughead Jones
, a group of adolescent fictional character
s of the Archie
universe, in the context of the animated TV series, The Archie Show
. The group is perhaps best known for their real world success, through a virtual band
.
The fictional band's music was recorded by session musicians featuring Ron Dante
on vocals and released as a series of singles and albums. Their most successful song, "Sugar, Sugar
", became one of the biggest hits of the bubblegum pop
genre that flourished from 1968 to 1972.
, consistent with the era in which the comic is drawn. They seem to have a preference for rock and roll
, however.
Betty Cooper
and Veronica Lodge
later also joined the group. Every member sings vocals, with Jughead handling the bass voice on a few tracks. Though their singing voices were soft and appropriate for pop vocals, their speaking voices are much different. The roles the teens played in the fictional band were:
One distribution mode for the Archies' music was cereal boxes: a cardboard record
was embossed directly into the back of a box such that the record could be cut out and played on a turntable (although their music was also available on standard issue LPs and 45s). Though the group no longer appears in animation, they are still frequently used in stories published by Archie Comics
.
, as they also had no bass player, but there is some controversy as to whether Reggie played bass or not. In most drawings, his guitar looks identical to Archie's, making him the band's second (or co-lead) guitarist. However, a number of drawings (including the one above) clearly show the instrument to have four tuning keys, the most common bass design. Six-string bass guitars do exist, however, and the Archies' recordings regularly featured a bass player. In more than one comic strip, Reggie is described as playing bass (however, this is not necessarily canon
, as storylines and hobbies/activities in the Archie world change from story to story). Finally, in the liner notes
for 2008's The Archies Christmas Album, Reggie is listed as the guitarist.
. Several were also teenage detectives, influenced by Scooby Doo. These groups included The Groovie Goolies, The Hardy Boys, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kids
, The Banana Splits (actually live action), The Cattanooga Cats, The Chan Clan
, and The Neptunes
. Animated versions of The Jackson 5ive
, the Osmond Brothers
, the Partridge Family, and The Brady Bunch
also existed. Archie Comics
' own creation Josie and the Pussycats was successful both as an animated series
and as a comic book (and later a live action motion picture
), but The Bingoes
and The Madhouse Glads
lacked its popularity and never appeared in animation. One modern example of the "cartoon rock group" could include the British band, Gorillaz
—a musical project created in 1998 by British musician Damon Albarn and British cartoonist Jamie Hewlett.
in 1968 to perform various songs. The most famous is "Sugar, Sugar
", written by Jeff Barry
and Andy Kim
, which went to #1 on the pop chart in 1969, sold over six million copies, and was awarded a gold disc
. In Billboard
's Hot 100
, it was ranked as the number one song of that year, the only time a fictional band has ever claimed Billboard's annual Hot 100 top spot. Other Top 40 songs recorded by The Archies include "Who's Your Baby?" (U.S. #40), "Bang-Shang-A-Lang" (U.S. #22), and "Jingle Jangle" (U.S. #10). "Jingle Jangle" also sold over one million copies, garnering a second gold disc award.
Male vocals for the fictional Archies group were provided by The Cuff Links
' lead singer Ron Dante
and female duet vocals were provided by Toni Wine
. Wine, who was only paid for the recording session and quit the group when the song became a huge hit, was succeeded in 1970 by Donna Marie, who in turn was replaced on the final recordings by Merle Miller. The only Archies song not to feature Ron Dante on lead was 1971's "Love Is Living In You", sung by Richie Adams. The last single, released 1972, was "Strangers in the Morning"; its B-side song was "Plum Crazy".
Jeff Barry
, Andy Kim
, Ellie Greenwich
, Susan Morse, Joey Levine
, Maeretha Stewart, Bobby Bloom
and Leslie Miller contributed background vocals at various times, with Barry contributing his trademark bass voice (portrayed as being sung by Jughead in the cartoon) on cuts such as "Jingle Jangle", "Rock 'n' Roll Music", "A Summer Prayer For Peace" (which hit number one in South Africa and Scandinavia in 1971), and "You Little Angel, You". Musicians on Archies records included guitarist Hugh McCracken
, bassists Chuck Rainey and Joey Macho, keyboard player Ron Frangipane, and drummers Buddy Saltzman and Gary Chester
.
Most of the Archies' songs were produced, written or co-written by Neil Goldberg and Jeff Barry. The following list of thirty-one titles was all written, arranged, directed and produced in the studio, solely by Neil Brian Goldberg, who is still grateful to Jeff Barry for giving him the deal, (part of which was for Nancy Barry's name to appear on each song). Neil Goldberg played rhythm guitar and was session leader on all tracks. Goldberg also sang background on a number of these tracks.
The Archies' records were initially released on the Calendar Records label, but the name was shortly thereafter changed to Kirshner Records.
The sound engineer was Fred Weinberg, who was Jeff Barry's and Andy Kim's favorite, and who also recorded Barry's and Kim's other hits "Be My Baby", "Baby I Love You", and "Rock Me Gently". Fred Weinberg is an award-winning composer and producer in his own right. However, the music for The U.S. of Archie TV show which aired in 1975, was produced by Jackie Mills, a Hollywood producer, who also produced Bobby Sherman
and the Brady Kids. The vocalist for these shows was Tom McKenzie, who also sang on some Groovie Goolie segments, and was a regular member of the popular singing group, the Doodletown Pipers.
In addition, singer Ron Dante is credited with writing/co-writing several of the groups album tracks.
Contrary to popular belief, although the verses of Jingle Jangle are supposedly sung by either Betty
or Veronica
(the only two female members of the fictional group), in reality, it was not performed by any female vocalist, rather it was Dante using a falsetto voice as evidenced by the lyrics "It's my true heart I'm showin'/or my nose would be growin'/you know that it gets longer when I lie".
Dante returned for a 2008 Archies album, The Archies Christmas Party, with singers Danielle van Zyl and Kelly-Lynn
.
/ Ride Ride Ride / Hide & Seek
Everything's Archie (1969): Feelin' So Good (S.K.O.O.B.Y.-D.O.O.) / Melody Hill / Rock 'n' Roll Music / Kissin' / Don't Touch My Guitar / Circle of Blue / Sugar, Sugar / You Little Angel You / Bicycles, Roller Skates and You / Hot Dog / Inside Out, Upside Down / Love Light
Jingle Jangle and Sugar Sugar (1969): Jingle Jangle / Everything's Alright / She's Putting Me Thru Changes / Justine / Whoopee Tie Ai A / Nursery Rhyme / Get on the Line / You Know I Love You / Senorita Rita / Look Before You Leap / Sugar and Spice / Archies Party
Sunshine (1970): Sunshine / Who's Gonna Love Me / Mr. Factory / Love and Rock and Roll Music / Over and Over / Waldo P. Emerson Jones / A Summer Prayer for Peace / Dance Dance Dance / Comes the Sun / Suddenly Susan / One Big Family / It's the Summertime
The Archies Greatest Hits (1970): Sugar, Sugar / Jingle Jangle / Get on the Line / Sunshine / Bang-Shang-A-Lang / Who's Your Baby? / Feelin' So Good (S.K.O.O.B.Y. D.O.O.) / Over and Over / Seventeen Ain't Young / Waldo P. Emerson Jones / Everything's Alright
This Is Love (1971): This is Love / Don't Need No Bad Girl / Should Anybody Ask / Easy Guy / Maybe I'm Wrong / What Goes On / Carousel Man / Hold On to Lovin' / This is the Night / Little Green Jacket / Together We Two / Throw a Little Love My Way
The Archies Christmas Album (2008): Here Comes Santa Claus / Up on the Housetop / Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree / Holly Jolly Christmas / Jingle Bell Rock / I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus / Run Rudolph Run / Santa Claus is Coming to Town / Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas / Sleigh Ride / Archies Christmas Party / Christmas in Riverdale
The Archies (1977 RCA Special Products DVL 2-0221 / Laurie House LH-8016):
Garage band
The term garage band can refer to:* A band that performs garage rock* GarageBand, audio production software published by Apple Inc.* GarageBand.com, a website that helps publicize emerging bands...
founded by Archie Andrews
Archie Andrews (comics)
Archie Andrews, created in 1941 by Vic Bloom and Bob Montana, is a fictional character in an American comic book series published by Archie Comics, as well as the long-running Archie Andrews radio series, a syndicated comic strip, The Archie Show, and Archie's Weird Mysteries.-Character and...
, Reggie Mantle
Reggie Mantle
Reggie Mantle is a fictional character in the Archie Comics book. His full name is given as Reginald Mantle, but he is usually called by his nickname Reggie, and sometimes refers to himself as "Mantle, The Magnificent." The character was introduced in 1942...
, and Jughead Jones
Jughead Jones
Jughead Jones is a fictional character in Archie Comics who first appeared in the comic in December 1941. He is the son of Forsythe II; although in one of the early Archie newspaper comic strips, he himself is identified as Forsythe Van Jones II...
, a group of adolescent fictional character
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
s of the Archie
Archie Comics
Archie Comics is an American comic book publisher headquartered in the Village of Mamaroneck, Town of Mamaroneck, New York, known for its many series featuring the fictional teenagers Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Reggie Mantle and Jughead Jones. The characters were created by...
universe, in the context of the animated TV series, The Archie Show
The Archie Show
The Archie Show is a Saturday morning cartoon animated series produced by Filmation. Based on the Archie comic books, created by Bob Montana in 1941, The Archie Show debuted on CBS in September 1968 and lasted for one season. A total of 17 half-hour shows, each containing two 11 minute segments,...
. The group is perhaps best known for their real world success, through a virtual band
Virtual band
In music, a virtual band is any group whose members are not corporeal musicians, but animated characters...
.
The fictional band's music was recorded by session musicians featuring Ron Dante
Ron Dante
Ron Dante is an American singer, songwriter, session vocalist, and record producer...
on vocals and released as a series of singles and albums. Their most successful song, "Sugar, Sugar
Sugar, Sugar
"Sugar, Sugar" is a pop song written by Jeff Barry and Andy Kim. It was a four-week 1969 number-one hit single by fictional characters The Archies. Produced by Jeff Barry, the song was originally released on the album Everything's Archie. The album is the product of a group of studio musicians...
", became one of the biggest hits of the bubblegum pop
Bubblegum pop
Bubblegum pop is a genre of pop music with an upbeat sound contrived and marketed to appeal to pre-teens and teenagers, produced in an assembly-line process, driven by producers, often using unknown singers.Bubblegum's classic period ran from 1967 to 1972...
genre that flourished from 1968 to 1972.
Fictional lineup
The Archies play a variety of contemporary popular musicPopular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
, consistent with the era in which the comic is drawn. They seem to have a preference for rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
, however.
Betty Cooper
Betty Cooper
Betty Cooper is a fictional character of Archie Comics, the blonde-haired daughter of Hal and Alice Cooper. Betty likes sports, and is also a cheerleader. Betty was created in December 1941. Her older brother Chic Cooper and older sister Polly Cooper have both moved out of Riverdale, their hometown...
and Veronica Lodge
Veronica Lodge
Veronica Lodge is a fictional character in the Archie Comics books series.-Fictional history and character:She is called both by her name Veronica and her nickname Ronnie...
later also joined the group. Every member sings vocals, with Jughead handling the bass voice on a few tracks. Though their singing voices were soft and appropriate for pop vocals, their speaking voices are much different. The roles the teens played in the fictional band were:
- Archie: lead vocals/ lead guitar
- Reggie: rhythm guitar / bass guitar
- Jughead: drums
- Betty: tambourine / percussion / guitar
- Veronica: organ / keyboard
- Hot Dog: mascot / conductor
One distribution mode for the Archies' music was cereal boxes: a cardboard record
Cardboard record
Cardboard records were a type of cheaply-made phonograph record made of plastic-coated thin paperboard. These discs were usually small, had poor audio quality compared to vinyl or acetate discs, and were often only marginally playable due to their light weight, slick surface, and tendency to warp...
was embossed directly into the back of a box such that the record could be cut out and played on a turntable (although their music was also available on standard issue LPs and 45s). Though the group no longer appears in animation, they are still frequently used in stories published by Archie Comics
Archie Comics
Archie Comics is an American comic book publisher headquartered in the Village of Mamaroneck, Town of Mamaroneck, New York, known for its many series featuring the fictional teenagers Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Reggie Mantle and Jughead Jones. The characters were created by...
.
Who played bass?
The Archies are sometimes jokingly compared to The DoorsThe Doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger...
, as they also had no bass player, but there is some controversy as to whether Reggie played bass or not. In most drawings, his guitar looks identical to Archie's, making him the band's second (or co-lead) guitarist. However, a number of drawings (including the one above) clearly show the instrument to have four tuning keys, the most common bass design. Six-string bass guitars do exist, however, and the Archies' recordings regularly featured a bass player. In more than one comic strip, Reggie is described as playing bass (however, this is not necessarily canon
Canon (fiction)
In the context of a work of fiction, the term canon denotes the material accepted as "official" in a fictional universe's fan base. It is often contrasted with, or used as the basis for, works of fan fiction, which are not considered canonical...
, as storylines and hobbies/activities in the Archie world change from story to story). Finally, in the liner notes
Liner notes
Liner notes are the writings found in booklets which come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for vinyl records and cassettes.-Origin:...
for 2008's The Archies Christmas Album, Reggie is listed as the guitarist.
Other cartoon groups
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, fictional musical groups were common in animation. This dates at least as far back as 1965 with The Beatles, but the Archies helped popularize the concept. Most of these groups played bubblegum popBubblegum pop
Bubblegum pop is a genre of pop music with an upbeat sound contrived and marketed to appeal to pre-teens and teenagers, produced in an assembly-line process, driven by producers, often using unknown singers.Bubblegum's classic period ran from 1967 to 1972...
. Several were also teenage detectives, influenced by Scooby Doo. These groups included The Groovie Goolies, The Hardy Boys, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kids
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kids
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kids was a Saturday morning cartoon produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions in 1973 for NBC...
, The Banana Splits (actually live action), The Cattanooga Cats, The Chan Clan
The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan
The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan The voice of Mr...
, and The Neptunes
Jabberjaw
Jabberjaw is a 30-minute Saturday morning animated series created by Joe Ruby and Ken Spears and produced by Hanna-Barbera and aired from September 11, 1976 to September 3, 1978 on ABC.-Premise:...
. Animated versions of The Jackson 5ive
The Jackson 5ive (TV series)
The Jackson 5ive was a Saturday morning cartoon series produced by Rankin/Bass and Motown Productions on ABC from September 11, 1971 until 14 October 1972; a fictionalized portrayal of the careers of Motown recording group The Jackson 5...
, the Osmond Brothers
The Osmonds
The Osmonds are an American family music group with a long and varied career—a career that took them from singing barbershop music as children, to achieving success as teen-music idols, to producing a hit television show, and to continued success as solo and group performers...
, the Partridge Family, and The Brady Bunch
The Brady Bunch
The Brady Bunch is an American sitcom created by Sherwood Schwartz and starring Robert Reed, Florence Henderson, and Ann B. Davis. The series revolved around a large blended family...
also existed. Archie Comics
Archie Comics
Archie Comics is an American comic book publisher headquartered in the Village of Mamaroneck, Town of Mamaroneck, New York, known for its many series featuring the fictional teenagers Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Reggie Mantle and Jughead Jones. The characters were created by...
' own creation Josie and the Pussycats was successful both as an animated series
Josie and the Pussycats (TV series)
Josie and the Pussycats is an American animated television series, based upon the Archie Comics comic book series of the same name created by Dan DeCarlo....
and as a comic book (and later a live action motion picture
Josie and the Pussycats (film)
Josie and the Pussycats is a 2001 comedy film released by Universal Studios and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Directed and co-written by Harry Elfont and Deborah Kaplan, the film is loosely based upon the Archie comic of the same name...
), but The Bingoes
That Wilkin Boy
This article is about a spinoff series of Archie Comics.That Wilkin Boy is a comic book series about a teenage boy, Bingo Wilkin, who lives in Midville, next door to his girlfriend, Samantha Smythe...
and The Madhouse Glads
Archie's Mad House
Archie's Mad House was a comic book published by Archie Comics from 1959 to 1982. The series went through a number of overhauls and name changes. Classic stories have occasionally appeared in digest magazines.-History:...
lacked its popularity and never appeared in animation. One modern example of the "cartoon rock group" could include the British band, Gorillaz
Gorillaz
Gorillaz is an English musical project created in 1998 by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. This project consists of Gorillaz music itself and an extensive fictional universe depicting a "virtual band" of cartoon characters...
—a musical project created in 1998 by British musician Damon Albarn and British cartoonist Jamie Hewlett.
Production
A set of studio musicians were assembled by Don KirshnerDon Kirshner
Don Kirshner , known as "The Man With the Golden Ear", was an American song publisher and rock producer who is best known for managing songwriting talent as well as successful pop groups, such as The Monkees, Kansas and The Archies.-Early life:Don Kirshner was born to Gilbert Kirshner, a tailor,...
in 1968 to perform various songs. The most famous is "Sugar, Sugar
Sugar, Sugar
"Sugar, Sugar" is a pop song written by Jeff Barry and Andy Kim. It was a four-week 1969 number-one hit single by fictional characters The Archies. Produced by Jeff Barry, the song was originally released on the album Everything's Archie. The album is the product of a group of studio musicians...
", written by Jeff Barry
Jeff Barry
Jeff Barry is an American pop music songwriter, singer, and record producer.-Early career:...
and Andy Kim
Andy Kim
Andrew Youakim, performing as Andy Kim, is a Lebanese Canadian pop rock singer and songwriter. He grew up in Montreal, Quebec in Canada. Kim is known for a number of hit singles that he released in the late 1960s and early 1970s such as "Rock Me Gently", which topped the US singles charts. In 1968,...
, which went to #1 on the pop chart in 1969, sold over six million copies, and was awarded a gold disc
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
. In Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
's Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, it was ranked as the number one song of that year, the only time a fictional band has ever claimed Billboard's annual Hot 100 top spot. Other Top 40 songs recorded by The Archies include "Who's Your Baby?" (U.S. #40), "Bang-Shang-A-Lang" (U.S. #22), and "Jingle Jangle" (U.S. #10). "Jingle Jangle" also sold over one million copies, garnering a second gold disc award.
Male vocals for the fictional Archies group were provided by The Cuff Links
The Cuff Links
The Cuff Links were an American rock/pop studio group from Staten Island, New York. The band had a U.S. No. 9 hit in 1969 with "Tracy", with rich harmonised vocals provided entirely by Ron Dante...
' lead singer Ron Dante
Ron Dante
Ron Dante is an American singer, songwriter, session vocalist, and record producer...
and female duet vocals were provided by Toni Wine
Toni Wine
Toni Wine is an American pop music songwriter, who wrote songs for such artists as The Mindbenders , Tony Orlando and Dawn , Elvis Presley, and Checkmates Ltd. in the late 1960s and 1970s...
. Wine, who was only paid for the recording session and quit the group when the song became a huge hit, was succeeded in 1970 by Donna Marie, who in turn was replaced on the final recordings by Merle Miller. The only Archies song not to feature Ron Dante on lead was 1971's "Love Is Living In You", sung by Richie Adams. The last single, released 1972, was "Strangers in the Morning"; its B-side song was "Plum Crazy".
Jeff Barry
Jeff Barry
Jeff Barry is an American pop music songwriter, singer, and record producer.-Early career:...
, Andy Kim
Andy Kim
Andrew Youakim, performing as Andy Kim, is a Lebanese Canadian pop rock singer and songwriter. He grew up in Montreal, Quebec in Canada. Kim is known for a number of hit singles that he released in the late 1960s and early 1970s such as "Rock Me Gently", which topped the US singles charts. In 1968,...
, Ellie Greenwich
Ellie Greenwich
Eleanor Louise "Ellie" Greenwich was an American pop music singer, songwriter, and record producer. She wrote or co-wrote "Be My Baby", "Christmas ", "Da Doo Ron Ron", "Leader of the Pack", "Do Wah Diddy Diddy", and "River Deep, Mountain High", among many others...
, Susan Morse, Joey Levine
Joey Levine
Joey Levine is an American singer, songwriter and record producer of pop music, who has been active since 1966.-Career:...
, Maeretha Stewart, Bobby Bloom
Bobby Bloom
Robert "Bobby" Bloom was an American singer-songwriter. He is known best for being a one-hit wonder with the 1970 song, "Montego Bay," which was co-written with and produced by Jeff Barry.-Biography:...
and Leslie Miller contributed background vocals at various times, with Barry contributing his trademark bass voice (portrayed as being sung by Jughead in the cartoon) on cuts such as "Jingle Jangle", "Rock 'n' Roll Music", "A Summer Prayer For Peace" (which hit number one in South Africa and Scandinavia in 1971), and "You Little Angel, You". Musicians on Archies records included guitarist Hugh McCracken
Hugh McCracken
Hugh McCracken is a rhythm guitar player and session musician, arranger and producer based in New York.Especially in demand in the 60s, 70s and 80s, he appears on many recordings by Steely Dan, as well as albums by Donald Fagen, Jimmy Rushing, Billy Joel, Roland Kirk, Roberta Flack, B. B...
, bassists Chuck Rainey and Joey Macho, keyboard player Ron Frangipane, and drummers Buddy Saltzman and Gary Chester
Gary Chester
Gary Chester was one of the 20th century's busiest studio drummers. Gary is counted as one of the greats when it comes to studio session musicians. His work appears on thousands of tracks, including hundreds of hit records from the '50s, '60s and '70s...
.
Most of the Archies' songs were produced, written or co-written by Neil Goldberg and Jeff Barry. The following list of thirty-one titles was all written, arranged, directed and produced in the studio, solely by Neil Brian Goldberg, who is still grateful to Jeff Barry for giving him the deal, (part of which was for Nancy Barry's name to appear on each song). Neil Goldberg played rhythm guitar and was session leader on all tracks. Goldberg also sang background on a number of these tracks.
The Archies' records were initially released on the Calendar Records label, but the name was shortly thereafter changed to Kirshner Records.
Giant Jukebox Song list
All words & music Neil Brian Goldberg.- "Anyone Can Be Anything"
- "Ballad of 51st Street Park"
- "The Big Boat"
- "Candy Kisses"
- "Comes the Sun"
- "Dance"
- "Don't Let It Get You Down"
- "Don't Run from Love"
- "Falling in Love Is Fun"
- "Hey Little One"
- "Honey"
- "I'm Just a Puppet on a String"
- "Jungle George"
- "La-La-La-La-Love"
- "The Laughing Song"
- "Little by Little"
- "Looks That Say 'I Love You'"
- "Lonely Cricket"
- "Love Land"
- "Love Went Round"
- "Love Vibrations"
- "Lucky Me"
- "Monkey See, Monkey Do"
- "Mr. Factory"
- "My Singing Guitar"
- "Oh Sweet Suzie"
- "Puppet On a String"
- "Rowboat Ride"
- "Somebody Likes You"
- "Sunshine"
- "Sweet Saturday Night"
- "The Big Boat"
- "The Ways I Love You"
- "We're One Big Family"
- "Young Love"
The sound engineer was Fred Weinberg, who was Jeff Barry's and Andy Kim's favorite, and who also recorded Barry's and Kim's other hits "Be My Baby", "Baby I Love You", and "Rock Me Gently". Fred Weinberg is an award-winning composer and producer in his own right. However, the music for The U.S. of Archie TV show which aired in 1975, was produced by Jackie Mills, a Hollywood producer, who also produced Bobby Sherman
Bobby Sherman
Robert Cabot "Bobby" Sherman, Jr. , is an American singer, actor and occasional songwriter, who became a popular teen idol in the late 1960s and early 1970s.He graduated in 1961 from Birmingham High School in Van Nuys, California...
and the Brady Kids. The vocalist for these shows was Tom McKenzie, who also sang on some Groovie Goolie segments, and was a regular member of the popular singing group, the Doodletown Pipers.
In addition, singer Ron Dante is credited with writing/co-writing several of the groups album tracks.
Contrary to popular belief, although the verses of Jingle Jangle are supposedly sung by either Betty
Betty Cooper
Betty Cooper is a fictional character of Archie Comics, the blonde-haired daughter of Hal and Alice Cooper. Betty likes sports, and is also a cheerleader. Betty was created in December 1941. Her older brother Chic Cooper and older sister Polly Cooper have both moved out of Riverdale, their hometown...
or Veronica
Veronica Lodge
Veronica Lodge is a fictional character in the Archie Comics books series.-Fictional history and character:She is called both by her name Veronica and her nickname Ronnie...
(the only two female members of the fictional group), in reality, it was not performed by any female vocalist, rather it was Dante using a falsetto voice as evidenced by the lyrics "It's my true heart I'm showin'/or my nose would be growin'/you know that it gets longer when I lie".
Dante returned for a 2008 Archies album, The Archies Christmas Party, with singers Danielle van Zyl and Kelly-Lynn
Kelly-Lynn
Kelly-Lynn is a young vocalist who has recorded lead and backing vocals on 3 projects with Walt Disney Records and also is the voice of Veronica Lodge on the all new Archies Christmas Album featuring Betty and Veronica released in 2008....
.
Discography
Music from the show was not only released on LP, but also sometimes on the backs of cereal boxes. (Note: There are also many songs which were released only as part of broadcasts of their numerous TV series—not on singles or albums. The style of music from series to series tended to evolve as popular music tastes changed.)Albums
The Archies (1968): Everything's Archie (TV theme song) / Bang-Shang-A-Lang / Boys & Girls / Time for Love / You Make Me Wanna Dance / Hey Loddy Do Down Down / Truck Driver / Catching Up on Fun / I'm in Love / Seventeen Ain't YoungSeventeen Ain't Young
"Seventeen Ain't Young" was a Bubblegum pop song written by American composer Jeff Barry for The Archies 1968 debut album The Archies. It was covered by Frankie Howson in 1969 and became a Top 40 hit in Australia, his recording was produced by Australia's legendary DJ Stan Rofe....
/ Ride Ride Ride / Hide & Seek
Everything's Archie (1969): Feelin' So Good (S.K.O.O.B.Y.-D.O.O.) / Melody Hill / Rock 'n' Roll Music / Kissin' / Don't Touch My Guitar / Circle of Blue / Sugar, Sugar / You Little Angel You / Bicycles, Roller Skates and You / Hot Dog / Inside Out, Upside Down / Love Light
Jingle Jangle and Sugar Sugar (1969): Jingle Jangle / Everything's Alright / She's Putting Me Thru Changes / Justine / Whoopee Tie Ai A / Nursery Rhyme / Get on the Line / You Know I Love You / Senorita Rita / Look Before You Leap / Sugar and Spice / Archies Party
Sunshine (1970): Sunshine / Who's Gonna Love Me / Mr. Factory / Love and Rock and Roll Music / Over and Over / Waldo P. Emerson Jones / A Summer Prayer for Peace / Dance Dance Dance / Comes the Sun / Suddenly Susan / One Big Family / It's the Summertime
The Archies Greatest Hits (1970): Sugar, Sugar / Jingle Jangle / Get on the Line / Sunshine / Bang-Shang-A-Lang / Who's Your Baby? / Feelin' So Good (S.K.O.O.B.Y. D.O.O.) / Over and Over / Seventeen Ain't Young / Waldo P. Emerson Jones / Everything's Alright
This Is Love (1971): This is Love / Don't Need No Bad Girl / Should Anybody Ask / Easy Guy / Maybe I'm Wrong / What Goes On / Carousel Man / Hold On to Lovin' / This is the Night / Little Green Jacket / Together We Two / Throw a Little Love My Way
The Archies Christmas Album (2008): Here Comes Santa Claus / Up on the Housetop / Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree / Holly Jolly Christmas / Jingle Bell Rock / I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus / Run Rudolph Run / Santa Claus is Coming to Town / Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas / Sleigh Ride / Archies Christmas Party / Christmas in Riverdale
The Archies (1977 RCA Special Products DVL 2-0221 / Laurie House LH-8016):
- A: Archie's Theme (Everything's Archie) / Sugar, Sugar / Sunshine / Bicycles, Roller Skates and You / Ride, Ride, Ride / B: Jingle Jangle / Don't Touch My Guitar / Kissin' / Who's Your Baby? / Everything's Alright / C: Sugar and Spice / Archie's Party / You Make Me Wanna Dance / Feelin' So Good ( S.K.O.O.B.Y.D.O.O.) / Rock & Roll Music / D: Bang-Shang-A-Lang / Boys and Girls / Senorita Rita / Seventeen Ain't Young / Waldo P. Emerson Jones
Singles
- "Bang-Shang-a-Lang" / "Truck Driver" (1968)
- "Feelin' so Good (S.k.o.o.b.y-D.o.o.)" / "Love Light" (1968)
- "Sugar, Sugar" / "Melody Hill" (1969)
- "Jingle Jangle" / "Justine" (1969)
- "Who's Your Baby?" / "Senorita Rita" (1970)
- "Sunshine" / "Over and Over" (1970)
- "Together We Are Two" / "Everything's Alright" (1971)
- "This Is Love" / "Throw a Little Love My Way" (1971)
- "A Summer Prayer for Peace" / "Maybe I'm Wrong" (1971)
- "Love Is Living In You" / "Hold on to Lovin'" (1971)
- "Strangers in the Morning" / "Plum Crazy" (1972)