The Archie Show

Remember The Archie Show (1968), featuring the gang from the Archie comics? In order of appearance in the theme song, the players are: Archie, Betty, Veronica, Reggie, Jughead, and Hot Dog, the first five of whom comprise the band The Archies (Hot Dog is their mascot). The series also featured other characters from the comic book, including Miss Grundy, Mr. Weatherbee, Moose, Dilton, and Big Ethel. The show aired for several years in various formats, but its initial season, 1968-1969, was a half-hour show featuring two cartoons of approximately ten minutes in length, and between them the Dance and the Song of the Week. The songs were released on the first two Archies albums, The Archies and Everything's Archie; the group's third single, "Sugar, Sugar," became the #1 song across the country and the RIAA Record of the Year. Lead vocals for the fictional group were provided by Ron Dante, with Toni Wine providing the female second lead for most of the recordings. Most of the songs, including the dance segments, were written by Jeff Barry, who also produced the group's records; "Sugar, Sugar" was co-written by Barry with Andy Kim.