Billboard’s #1 single of 1969 wasn’t by the Beatles or the Rolling Stones, but by a fictional cartoon group. The Archies were the brainchild of Don Kirshner, who had been fired as musical director of the Monkees’ TV show. This project had Saturday morning animated characters who couldn’t talk back. Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and Andy Kim wrote most of the virtual group’s songs; Ron Dante and Toni Wine did the vocals. Toni’s friend Ray Stevens threw in some handclaps here. Wine agreed to a flat fee; when this record took off and she wasn’t profiting, she quit. Dante also sang lead on a simultaneous Top 10 record, which we’ll get to in a few weeks.
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