the Archies

The Archies first appeared in a comic book, Life with Archie #60 (April 1967). The fictional band was inspired by the success of the 1966 TV series The Monkees;{{cite book |last1=Wells |first1=John |title=American Comic Book Chronicles: 1965-1969 |date=2014 |publisher=TwoMorrows Publishing |isbn=978-1605490557 |page=158}} in particular, Don Kirshner, who had managed the initially fictional band, wanted a musical act that 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 that culminated 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.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/18/AR2011011805662.html|title=Don Kirshner, hit-making rock impresario of the 1960s, dies at 76|last=Schudel|first=Matt|date=18 January 2012|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=21 January 2012|archive-date=11 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121111200018/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/18/AR2011011805662.html|url-status=live}} The early stories copied the TV show's fast cuts and action: "There were pages that had no panel-to-panel continuity at all, just pure strings of nonsense, fantasy, fourth-wall breaking, and exasperated commentary from Betty and Veronica." The feature ended in issue #66.

A set of studio musicians was assembled by Don Kirshner in 1968 to perform various songs. Their most famous song is "Sugar, Sugar", written by Jeff Barry and Andy Kim, which went to number one on the pop chart in 1969, sold over six million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.{{cite book

| first= Joseph

| last= Murrells

| year= 1978

| title= The Book of Golden Discs

| edition= 2nd

| publisher= Barrie and Jenkins Ltd

| location= London

| pages= [https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/252 252–253]

| isbn= 0-214-20512-6

| url-access= registration

| url= https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/252

}} In the Billboard Hot 100, it was ranked as the No. 1 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. No. 40), "Bang-Shang-A-Lang" (U.S. No. 22), and "Jingle Jangle" (U.S. No. 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 to Kirshner Records.

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 "Jingle Jangle" 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 Bob Levine (co-author of the song) and produced by Ritchie Adams. The last single, released in 1972, was "Strangers In The Morning".

Jeff Barry, Andy Kim, Ritchie Adams, Bobby Bloom, Ellie Greenwich, Lesley Miller, Susan Morse and Maeretha Stewart contributed background vocals at various times, with Barry contributing his trademark bass voice (portrayed by Jughead in the cartoons) 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 the Archies' records included guitarists Hugh McCracken and Dave Appell, drummers Gary Chester and Buddy Saltzman, bassists Chuck Rainey and Joey Macho, and keyboard player Ron Frangipane.

The sound engineer was Fred Weinberg, who was Jeff Barry's and Andy Kim's favorite and also recorded Barry's other hits "Be My Baby", "Baby, I Love You", and Kim's "Rock Me Gently". Fred Weinberg is a composer and producer in his own right. However, the music for The U.S. of Archie, which aired in 1974, 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 Goolies segments, and was a regular member of the popular singing group Doodletown Pipers.

According to Ron Dante, over 100 songs were recorded, but at least 40 went unreleased.{{cite web |title=Interview With Ron Dante |url=https://www.allbutforgottenoldies.net/interviews/ron-dante/ |website=Allbutforgottenoldies.net |access-date=16 November 2011 |date=2004 |archive-date=30 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330181657/http://www.allbutforgottenoldies.net/interviews/ron-dante/ |url-status=live }} In 2020, Sunset Blvd Records released Ron Dante's Funhouse!, which includes some of the unreleased songs and most of the "Dance of the Week" segments, all of them pulled straight from Archie's Funhouse and The Archie Show, respectively.

Some of the group's songs have appeared on episodes of the TV series Riverdale.{{cite web|url=https://www.tunefind.com/artist/the-archies|title=Music from The Archies|work=Tunefind|access-date=November 26, 2019|archive-date=March 26, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326022156/https://www.tunefind.com/artist/the-archies|url-status=live}} The group made its debut in Riverdale, in the musical episode "Chapter Seventy-Four: Wicked Little Town", for only the second time in a live-action adaptation after the television film Archie: To Riverdale and Back Again in 1990.{{cite magazine|url=https://tvline.com/2020/01/28/riverdale-hedwig-musical-episode-season-4/|title=Riverdale Sizes Up Hedwig for Season 4 Musical Episode — See Who's Singing|last=Swift|first=Andy|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|date=January 28, 2020|access-date=February 21, 2020|archive-date=February 21, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200221093834/https://tvline.com/2020/01/28/riverdale-hedwig-musical-episode-season-4/|url-status=live}} It includes KJ Apa as Archie, Cole Sprouse as Jughead, Lili Reinhart as Betty, Camila Mendes as Veronica and Casey Cott as Kevin Keller.{{cite web|author=Archie Comics|author-link=Archie Comics|url=https://twitter.com/ArchieComics/status/1251224156814716928|title=Meet #TheArchies.|work=Twitter|date=April 17, 2020|access-date=April 19, 2020|archive-date=December 1, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221201205129/https://twitter.com/ArchieComics/status/1251224156814716928|url-status=live}} For the first time, Kevin Keller is part of the group, replacing Reggie Mantle (played by Charles Melton). Kevin sings and plays keyboard. The song "Midnight Radio" was included in the series' musical episode soundtrack, which was released by WaterTower Music on April 15, 2020.

{{Expand section|date=April 2022}}

On November 10, 2021, Netflix announced the Indian live-action feature film adaptation of the Archies of the same name. The film was produced by Tiger Baby Films and Graphic India with Zoya Akhtar as director,{{cite news |last=Ramachandran |first=Naman |date=November 10, 2021 |title=Zoya Akhtar to Direct 'The Archies' Comic Book Adaptation for Netflix (EXCLUSIVE) |work=Variety |url=https://variety.com/2021/streaming/news/the-archies-comic-book-adaptation-for-netflix-1235109056/ |access-date=November 11, 2021 |archive-date=November 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211111115049/https://variety.com/2021/streaming/news/the-archies-comic-book-adaptation-for-netflix-1235109056/ |url-status=live }} starring Agastya Nanda as Archie, Mihir Ahuja as Jughead, Vedang Raina as Reggie, Khushi Kapoor as Betty and Suhana Khan as Veronica, alongside others.{{cite web|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/the-archies-teaser-suhana-khan-khushi-kapoor-agastya-nanda-zoya-akhtar-film-7916719/lite/|title=The Archies teaser: Suhana Khan, Khushi Kapoor, Agastya Nanda make a chic debut in Zoya Akhtar's Netflix film|work=The Indian Express|date=15 May 2022|access-date=16 May 2022|location=New Delhi|archive-date=16 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220516052638/https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/the-archies-teaser-suhana-khan-khushi-kapoor-agastya-nanda-zoya-akhtar-film-7916719/lite/|url-status=live}} Filming started on April 18, 2022,{{cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/web-series/news/hindi/the-archies-zoya-akhtars-musical-starring-suhana-khan-agastya-nanda-and-khushi-kapoor-officially-goes-on-floors/articleshow/90904770.cms|title='The Archies' : Zoya Akhtar's musical starring Shana Khan, Agastya Nanda and Khushi Kapoor officially goes on floors|work=The Times of India|date=April 18, 2022|access-date=April 24, 2022}} and then ended on December 19, 2022.{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2022/film/news/netflix-india-archies-wraps-production-1235465017/|title=Netflix's Indian Comic Book Adaptation 'The Archies' Wraps Production|work=Variety|date=December 19, 2022|access-date=December 20, 2022|archive-date=December 19, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221219181623/https://variety.com/2022/film/news/netflix-india-archies-wraps-production-1235465017/|url-status=live}}

The film was released on December 7, 2023. The film's soundtrack was released by Sony Music India on November 25, 2023.{{Cite web |url=https://variety.com/2023/tv/asia/the-archies-sony-music-india-1235823841/|title='The Archies': Sony Music India Chief on How Soundtracks Enhance Films: 'Music Is Intrinsic to the Fabric of Society' (EXCLUSIVE)|first=Naman|last=Ramachandran|date=December 7, 2023|access-date=December 9, 2023|archive-date=December 7, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231207092110/https://variety.com/2023/tv/asia/the-archies-sony-music-india-1235823841/|url-status=live}}

The Archies play a variety of contemporary popular music, consistent with the era in which the comic is drawn. Most of the members sing vocals, with Jughead handling the bass voice on a few tracks. Their singing voices were soft and appropriate for pop vocals, but their speaking voices were much different, as their speaking roles were played by voice actors. The roles that the teens play in the fictional band are:

• Archie Andrews – guitars, vocals
• Jughead Jones – drums
• Reggie Mantle – bass, vocals
• Betty Cooper – percussion, vocals
• Veronica Lodge – keyboards, vocals the cartoons, Veronica is shown playing a large keyboard instrument styled after the X-66 by Hammond Organ Company
• Kevin Keller – keyboards, vocals (Riverdale only)

One distribution mode for the Archies' music was embossing cardboard records directly onto the back of cereal boxes, which were cut out and played on a turntable (although their music was also available on standard issue LPs and 45s).Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/i4npg_o5Snk Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20170219203312/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4npg_o5Snk Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4npg_o5Snk|title=Vintage Old 1970's Post Alpha Bits and Honeycombs Cereal Commercial with free record|date=18 June 2013 |publisher=YouTube|access-date=October 19, 2019}}{{cbignore}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYKIJKqMTAw|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170219203301/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYKIJKqMTAw|archive-date=2017-02-19|url-status=dead|title=YouTube|publisher=YouTube|access-date=October 19, 2019}}

Though the group no longer appears in animation, they are still frequently used in stories published by Archie Comics. In 2020, the group made its second live-action appearance on Riverdale, with Kevin Keller replacing Reggie Mantle. In this incarnation, Kevin sings and plays keyboard, and Veronica sings only.

{{Main|The Archies discography}}

• The Archies (1968)
• Everything's Archie (1969)
• Jingle Jangle (1969)
• Sunshine (1970)
• This Is Love (1971)
• The Archies Christmas Album (2008)

{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.classicbands.com/archies.html The Archies]

{{The Archies}}

{{Archie Comics IOM}}

{{Billboard Year-End number one singles 1960–1979}}

{{UK best-selling singles (by year) 1952–1969}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Archies}}

Category:1968 establishments in New York City

Category:Animated musical groups

Category:Archie Comics characters

Category:Fictional musical groups

Category:Musical groups established in 1968

Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1973

Category:Musical groups reestablished in 2008

Category:Musical groups reestablished in 2020

Category:Bubblegum pop groups

Category:Mixed-gender bands

Category:Brylen Records artists

Category:RCA Records artists