This Week's "Oldie But Goodie": Sugar, Sugar by the Archies
The Archies were the first fictitious band to reach No. 1 on the Billboard charts.
“Sugar, Sugar”, is a song by the fictional band, The Archies, based on an animated TV series and comic book. The song reached number 1 in the US, the UK, and many other countries in 1969. It topped both Billboard's Hot 100 for four weeks and the UK Singles Chart for eight weeks, ranking number one for the year in both America and the UK.
The song was written by Jeff Barry and Andy Kim. The actual singers on the recording were Ron Dante on lead vocals, accompanied by Toni Wine and songwriter Andy Kim. The recording features a group of studio musicians managed by legendary music producer Don Kirshner.
The Archies were the first fictitious band to reach No. 1 on the Billboard charts in the U.S., but also the only group to reach No. 1 without ever performing the song live onstage.
The song went on to reach gold status, selling nearly 1 million copies in 1969 alone.
The official music video is below.
In 1970 American soul singer Wilson Pickett recorded a cover version of "Sugar, Sugar". Pickett's version reached No. 4 on Billboard's R&B chart, then in June peaked at No. 25 on the Hot 100.