Beech Tree News Network

Last week, I brought to you the story of a television bandturned into a real band, The Monkees.  This week, I have another similar story.  The Archies were an American fictional rock band featured in media produced by, and related to, Archie Comics.  They are best remembered fortheir appearances in the animated TV series The Archie Show.  In the context of the series, the band was founded by guitarist/vocalist Archie Andrews, drummer Jughead Jones, bassist Reggie Mantle, percussionist/vocalist Betty Cooper and keyboardist/vocalist Veronica Lodge.

The music featured in the series was recorded by session musicians, including Ron Dante on lead vocals and Toni Wine on duet and backing vocals.  The recordings were released as a series of singles and albums that achieved worldwide chart success.  Their most successful song, “Sugar, Sugar”, became one of the biggest hits of the bubblegum pop genre that flourished from 1968-1973.

In 2020, a new version of the band was introduced in the television series Riverdale, with Kevin Keller replacing Reggie Mantle.  However, the band continues to appear with the five original members in the comic books published by Archie Comics.

The Archies first appeared in a comic book called Life WithArchie #60(April 1967).  The fictional band was inspired by the success of the 1966 television series The Monkees; in particular, Don Kirshner, who had managed the initially fictional band, wanted a musical act he could fully control: as the Monkees were fictional but still used the real musicians’ names.  The musicians themselves became increasingly irritated at being micromanaged, leading to a dispute culminating in Kirshner being fired.  To avoid a repeat of the Monkees fiasco while still allowing himself full control, Kirshner commissioned a band based on cartoon characters-if the session musicians tried to rebel or leave, they could be replaced seamlessly.  

Their most famous song, “Sugar, Sugar”, written by Jeff Barry and Andy Kim, went to #1 on the pop chart in 1969, sold over 6 million copies and was awarded a gold disc.  In the Billboard Hot 100, it ranked as the #1 song of that year.  This was the only time that 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.  Their records were released on the Calendar Records label, which was shortly thereafter renamed Kirshner Records.  

The fictional band was: Archie Andrews on guitar and lead vocals, Jughead Jones on drums, Reggie Mantle on bass, Betty Cooper on percussion and vocals, Veronica Lodge on Keyboard and vocals, and Kevin Keller on keyboard and vocals (on the 2017-2023 Riverdale tv show on Netflix only).  

That’s it for my column this week.  Big news: I’ve taken my podcast to YouTube! If you’d like to watch and (hopefully) subscribe so you don’t miss an episode), the link is https://youtu.be/2FxpnuHeRXo?si=CY7MxzcDGdXomO-u .  I’ll be back here next week!