Donnie Kirshner wanted to bring the Archies to life, which he did. In our interview with Toni Wine, she explained: “It just was a very easy session. Everything fell into place with ease Toni Wine, Valerie Simpson and Lesley Miller / Wikipedia Greenwich has written many famous songs, including “Be My Baby” and “Chapel Of Love.” Toni Wine wrote the hit songs “A Groovy Kind Of Love” and “Candida.”Īs part of the bubblegum pop genre, the Archies’ biggest hit represented one of the most successful songs aimed at (or at least accessible to) younger listeners. Kim had a hit in 1974with “Rock Me Gently,” Dante produced “Mandy” for Barry Manilow and “Heartbreaker” for Pat Benatar. The song was written by Andy Kim and Jeff Barry, and was performed by session musicians including Kim, Toni Wine, Ron Dante, and Ellie Greenwich. Composing a bubblegum pop hit Before Kidz Bop, other bands already formed the genre that would be accessible to all listening demographics / Facebook It’s simply a factoid Kirshner loved telling that added to the mythos nicely. Kirshner was the initial supervisor for the Monkees, and wanted to do the same thing with cartoon characters because they are much easier to work with than people.Ī popular urban myth says “Sugar, Sugar” was offered to The Monkees, but they turned it down. The Archies group was put together by Don Kirshner, a prolific promoter and producer.
Archies, assemble! The Archies got the green light thanks to the success of The Monkees, which made them think this premise might just work again / Everett Collection