14 November 1969
The Archies are our first encounter with a hit-making fictional cartoon act, paving the way for Bart Simpson, Gorillaz and Shakin’ Stevens. What you hear on ‘Sugar, Sugar’ are the vocals of session singer Ron Dante, co-writer Andy Kim (who goes on to become a flesh-and-blood one-hit wonder in 1974 with ‘Rock Me Gently’) and Toni Wine, co-writer of ‘A Groovy Kind Of Love’. Kim’s collaborator on ‘Sugar, Sugar’ is none other than Jeff Barry, whose partnership with Ellie Greenwich gave us ’60s masterpieces like ‘Be My Baby’, ‘River Deep Mountain High’, ‘Chapel Of Love’ and ‘Then He Kissed Me’. That’s some high-end ’60s pop muscle for your mere TV cartoon merch.
I must say, I like ‘Sugar, Sugar’. Yes, it’s bubblegum pop (“I just can’t believe the loveliness of loving you”) and therefore uncool by conviction, but this still combines effortless ’60s sunniness and rigorous Brill Building craft without the clumsy schmaltz of its contemporaries or the chip-fat cheapness of some early-’70s UK chart-toppers. The tune is catchy, the production is spacious, and the voices are pleasant; yes, I take ‘Sugar, Sugar’!
‘Sugar, Sugar’ stays at the top of the Irish charts until the final week of December 1969, when it gives way to a record by another TV-based act. Alas, that act is not a cartoon but an all-too-real man later revealed to be a serial abuser of underage girls. Our magical mystery tour through Ireland’s number ones of the ’60s took us from Elvis and showbands to the advent of modern rock, but it ends with bubblegum pop and a convicted sex offender: an omen of the decade to come.
