Mark Chadbourne Online

We ain't The Archies without.... Who's Who in The Archies? Here's a personnel list of people who made the most famous virtual rock group a reality back in 1968-1972! Information will be added to this page as I have time to add to it. A huge thank you to RON DANTE for filling in some of the missing pieces! Now let's meet THE ARCHIES!

PERSONNEL MUSIC SUPERVISOR: Don Kirshner PRODUCERS: Jeff Barry Ritchie Adams Ron Dante MUSICIANS: Hugh McCracken-guitar Chuck Rainey-bass Dave Appell-guitar Al Gorgoni-guitar Trade Martin-guitar Steve Soles-guitar Ron Frangipane-keyboards Artie Shaw-keyboards Ned Albright-keyboards Buddy Saltzman-drums Gary Chester-drums Hal Blaine-drums Ron Dante-guitar, various instruments Ritchie Adams-guitar, keyboards, various instruments Andy Kim-guitar Robin McNamara-drums Mark Barkan-guitar, various instruments Neil Goldberg-guitars, various instruments Ray Stevens-handclaps VOCALS: Ron Dante-lead and background vocals Jeff Barry-lead and background vocals Tony Passalacqua-background vocals Jeanie Thomas Fox-background vocals Ritchie Adams-background vocals and lead on "Love Is Living In You" Toni Wine-background vocals and lead duets Andy Kim-background vocals Tracy Russell (aka Donna Marie)-background vocals and lead duets Merle Miller-background vocals Bobby Bloom-background vocals Leslie Miller-background vocals Teresa Miller-background vocals Susan Morse-background vocals SONGWRITERS: Jeff Barry Ritchie Adams Mark Barkan Andy Kim Ron Dante (Richard) Kim Milford (Ford) Gene Allan Bobby Bloom Nancy Barry Neil Goldberg Gil Slavin Ned Albright Steve Soles Robert Levine Allen Gordon Robert Gengo

DON KIRSHNER -Music supervisor over the Archie project. Born Apr 17, 1934 in the Bronx, New York Don Kirshner already had a reputation as having a golden ear when it came to hit songs. Don worked with such legends as Bobby Darin (pictured above with Donnie), Neil Sedaka, Carole King, and was in charge of developing and supervising The Monkees. After Don's success with The Monkees, he developed the idea for Archie Comics to create a rock band with the Archie characters for an animated TV show. Don was instrumental in putting together the music project, approving the material, marketing the material, publishing the music and setting the tone of the work produced for the TV series. Archie Comics immortalized Don Kirshner in their story "The Man With the Golden Ear" in which the Archies audition and get signed by Don Kirshner. Kirshner earned his BA in Business Administration from New York's City College Kirshner's first big success came in managing Connie Francis in the late 50's. By the early 60's Connie Francis was one of the biggest names in the industry. Kirshner saw the need for good songs for his artists and along with Al Nevins, formed his own publishing firm called Aldon Music. Kirshner hired the freshest new talents to write for his publishing house. The songwriters he hired prove today to be some of the biggest legends of the time. They included Neil Sedaka, Neil Diamond, Carol King, Andy Kim, Gerry Goffin, Cynthia Weil, Barry Man, Jeff Barry Ellie Greenwich, Tommy Boyce, Bobby Hart, Howard Greenfield, Ritchie Adams, Mark Barkan, Ron Dante, Gene Allan, Toni Wine and many others. Kirshner moved the offices into the Brill Building in New York City, and "The Brill Building Period" is the term used for the incredible catalog of hit after hits that Kirshner published in the pre-Beatle years of the 60's. Kirshner's catalog includes hits by the Little Eva, the Drifter's, the Ronettes, the Crystals and the Shangri-Las, with songs such as "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow," "On Broadway", "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do", and "The Locomotion". In a smart move, Kirshner also set up his own label, Dimension Records to feature songs that his own publishing company controlled. Columbia bought Aldon music from Kirshner and took him on as president of Screen Gems, the music publishing division of Columbia Pictures. Kirshner ran Screen Gems while overseeing both Dimension and his new label Colpix set up specifically for Columbia artists. Kirshner publishe some of TV's best known themes of the day including, "Bewitched" and "I Dream of Jeanie". At this point, Kirshner entered into TV production, which proved to be the catalyst of his greatest and most profitable period of work. In 1965, Kirshner changed his Dimension label to "Calendar Records". I know very little about this early version, other than that the Bee Gees were signed to it for a little over a year prior to going to Polydor/Atco in 1967. In 1966, Kirshner was instrumental in creating the Monkees, a group of actors audition to play parts of a struggle rock band based on the success of the Beatles' "Hard Days Night" movie. Ads were placed in trade papers, which attracted the likes of Stephen Stills and Ron Dante for roles on the show. Kirshner developed a new label, Colgems, to feature Columbia's Screen Gems artists. The group was a hit even before the TV show debuted on NBC thanks to Kirshner's promtion savvy. Kirshner simply applied the same formula he had used at the Brill Bulding to the Monkees project on the West Coast, hiring the best and hottest writers he could find. The show itself sold the records as well as the great material sold the show to an audience who would tune in to see who did the songs. The Monkees catalog published by Kirshner for Screen Gems overflowed with gold singles and albums. Then in 1967, the relationship soured between Kirshner and Mike Nesmith and Peter Tork, two of the actors Kirshner hired for the Monkees. Kirshner was ousted from his supervisory role in the show and began making new connections for his next project. In 1968, Kirshner resurrected his defunct Calendar Records, (see below for a list of Artists signed to Calendar/Kirshner Records) and began to develop it as the base camp for his next big career movie. Kirshner began signing already established artists to Calendar, such as Neil Sedaka, Steve Lawrence and took a chance on an unknown group called the Bee Gees. In 1968, Kirshner was hired by CBS to oversee a project with Archie Comics and soon the Archies were formed and signed on to the new label. It was the success of the Archies that gave Kirshner enough capital to launch Kirshner Entertainment Corporation. Kirshner changed the name of the label to Kirshner Records and expanded his music publishing firm into a TV production company. For more information on Don Kirshner and the Archies, click here to go to my Jeff Barry pages. After the Archies' ran their course, Kirshner formed Don Kirshner Productions in 1972 to produce "Don Kirshner's Rock Concert". Unhappy with his association with RCA, Kirshner struck a deal with CBS to distribute his productions and began thinning out artists he had signed to Kirshner Records that failed to produce hits. In 1973, in order to co-incide with the new partnership, Kirshner changed the label design and changed directional emphasis from commercial sales to TV production. Kirshner signed the rock group Kansas to his label, and featured the group for several years on his show before they finally hit big in 1977. Closing out the decade, Kirshner began selling off the licensing end of his publishing catalog and went into self-elected retirement where he has remained ever since. Kirshner achieved what very few others could only dream of in the '60s and '70s. Those who worked with "the Man with the Golden Ear" have high regards for his visions, his ability and desire to spare no expense for quality, and his knack for developing projects into huge successes. Certainly, there are some who didn't grasp his vision, but there is no doubt that Don Kirshner, the man who created Legends, is a legendary figure himself. Here is a list of artists associated with Don throught-out the years: Connie Francis, Bobby Darin, James Darren, Neil Sedaka, Gene Vincent, Carol King, Neil Diamond, The Monkees, Phil Cody, Bobby Hart, Al Gorgoni, Chip Douglas, Tommy Boyce, Jeff Barry, Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones, Nancy Sinatra, Fabian, Steve Lawrence, the Bee Gees, the Archies, Ron Dante, Toni Wine, Andy Kim, Gene Allan, Ritchie Adams, Mark Barkan, Jamie Carr, Kerry Kenny, Olivia Newton John, Kansas, Buddy Knox, Jimmy Bowen, Teresa Graves, the Globetrotters, the Chan Clan, Lisa Hartman, and the dozens of other legendary artists that performed music published and released by Aldon, Dimension, Colpix, Columbia, Colgems, KEC and Kirshner Publishing/CBS. Don Kirshner's impact on the pop music industry can't be overstated. My Masters degree is in musiciology and in my relentless and never-ending research , I attended a symposium conducted at the IASPM convention in Montreal in the summer of 2003. Kirshner is still relevant and his contributions both for his reptutation and his product have been recongnized by serious musioclogists the world over. At the International Association for the Study of Popular Music Matt Stahl presented the lecture: "Golden Ear, Iron Fist: Don Kirshner and Labor Relations in the Monkees and Archies".  Stahl was a graduate student at Berkeley who did his Masters Thesis on sub-culture Indie Groups' affect on popular music. It is clear that Don Kirshner is a man of legendary reputation. Whether he is consider for the sublime music he helped to create or for the monumental reputation he garnered as a "self promoting hard-ass genius", it's inarguable that there is none other like him before or since. Don Kirshner belongs in the Rock Hall of Fame and will undoubetdly live on in the music he helped to make happen. CALENDAR/KIRSHNER ORANGE LABEL RELEASES Note: This is a work in process. Some of the catalog numbers are incomplete. There were 3 labels used on the releases: The Zodiac version, the orange Calendar version with circus leters and the Kirshner version . Several of the Archies releases were on both Calendar and Kirshner and only the single "Feeling So Good was released on the earlier Zodiac version. Kirshner also released a quadrophonic version of "Everything's Archie" retitled "Sugar Sugar". Any additional information will be appreciated if you have it. CALENDAR ALBUMS CAL: KOS R65-44? The Bee Gees: The Bee Gees Sing and Play 14 Barry Gibb Songs 1965....available on CD CAL: KOS R66-45 The Bee Gees: Monday's Rain 1966...available on CD KOS: R66-46 The Who: My Generation 1966...available on CD KES 1001 Steve Lawrence & Eydie Gorme Golden Rainbow [Original Soundtrack] 1968...available on CD KES 101 The Archies: The Archies 1968....not on CD KES 102 The Archies: Everything's Archie promo box set 1968...not on CD KES 103 The Archies: Everything's Archie 1969....available on RKO/Unique cd KIRSHNER ALBUMS KES 104 Teresa Graves: Teresa Graves Tracks: Everybody's Talkin, What Are You Selling Today, Take Another Look, My Cherie Amour, We're On Our Way, Hey Jude, Goodbye To Gentle Dream, Every Day's A New Day, A Time For Us, Speak Your Mind, Nothing's Gonna Stop Our Love, I Spent My Last Dream On You 1969.....not on CD KES 105 The Archies: Jingle Jangle 1969...availabe as "Archie's Party" on RKO/Unique CD KES 106 Ron Dante: Brings You Up 1970....available on RKO Japanese Import only cd KES PQKO-1001 The Archies: Sugar Sugar (quadraphonic reel to reel) 1970.....avialable as bootleg Japenese cd-4 version in 2001) KES PQKO-1002 The Archies: Sugar Sugar (quadraphonic 8 track) 1970...available as a bootleg Japanese cd-4 version in 2001) KES 107 The Archies: Sunshine 1970....not available on CD KES 108 The Globetrotters: The Glass House 1971...not available on CD KES 109 The Archies: Greatest Hits 1970...not available on CD in original format, several other forms of this album do exist in CD format however KES 110 The Archies: This Is Love 1971...not available on cd KES 111 Neil Sedaka: Emergence 1971...not availbable on cd but songs are found on a collection cd KES 112 Toomorrow Soundtrack featuring Olivia Newton John 1971....not available on cd KES 113 Phillip Cody: Laughing Sandwich 1971.....not available on cd KES 114 ?...possibly an unreleased second Globetrotters album 1971................... KES 115 James Darren: Mammy Blue 1972....not available on cd, but songs found on anthology cd KES 116 James Darren: Love Songs From the Movies 1972....not available on cd, but songs found on anthology cd KES 117 Neil Sedaka: Solitaire 1972....not available on cd, but songs found on a collection cd note: The Bee Gees & Who releases were Australian imports licensed by Calendar Records for US release CALENDAR/KIRSHNER ORANGE LABEL SINGLES Calendar KES 1001 Lawrence, Steve I've Gotta Be Me/Love's a Game Calendar 1002 Gorme, Edie He Needs Me/How Could I Be So Wrong Calendar 1003 Steve Lawrence and Edie Gorme Two of Us/Mr. Spoons Calendar 1004 Edie Gorme It's You Again/This Girl's In Love With You Calendar 1005 Lawrence, Steve Runaround/I'm Falling Down Calendar 1006 Archies Bang Shang a Lang/Truck Driver Calendar 1007 Archies Feelin' So Good (S.K.O.O.B.Y. D.O.O.)/Love Light Calendar 1008 Archies Sugar Sugar/Melody Hill Kirshner 5001 Graves, Teresa A Time For Us/We're On Our Way Kirshner 5002 Archies Jingle Jangle/Justine Kirshner 5003 Archies Who's Your Baby/Senorita Rita Kirshner 5004 Toomorrow Theme from "Toomorrow"/Theme From "Toomorrow" (Instrumental) Kirshner 5005 Toomorrow Your My Baby Now/Going Back Kirshner 1009 Archies Sunshine/Over and Over Kirshner 1010 Dante, Ron Let Me Bring You Up/How Do You Know Kirshner 1011 Carr & Co Fine Line/Hey Annie! Kirshner 1012 Darren, James I Think Somebody Loves Me/Ain't Been Home in a Long Time Kirshner 5006 Globetrotters Cheer Me Up/Gravy Kirshner 5007 Dante, Ron Sweet Taste of Love/C'mon Girl Kirshner 5008 Globetrotters Rainy Day Bells/Meadowlark Kirshner 5009 Archies Together We Two/Everything's Alright Kirshner 5010 Sugar Sugar/Jingle Jangle Kirshner 5011 Archies This is Love/Throw a Little Love My Way Kirshner 5012 Globetrotters Duke of Earl/Everyone's Got Hot Pants Kirshner 5013 Darren, James Bring Me Down Slow/More and More Kirshner 5014 Archies A Summer Prayer For Peace/Maybe I'm Wrong Kirshner 5015 Darren, James Mammy Blue/As Long As You Love Me Kirshner 5016 Globetrotters Everybody Needs Love/ESP Kirshner 5017 Sedaka, Neil I'm a Song (Sing Me)/Silent Movies Kirshner 5018 Archies Love is Livin' in You/Hold On to Lovin' Kirshner 5019 Philip Cody Nothin' Is Free/? Kirshner 5020 Sedaka, Neil Superbird/Rosemary Blue Kirshner 5021 Archies Strangers in the Morning/Plum Crazy Kirshner 5022 Carr, Jamie Summer Wind/Country Dog Kirshner 5023 La Rue, David Honey Bear/ ? Kirshner 5024 Sedaka, Neil Beautiful You/Anywhere You're Gonna Be (Leba's Song) Kirshner 5025 Darren, James Brian's Song/Thank Heaven For Little Girls Kirshner 5026 Philip Cody New Orleans/? Kirshner 5027 Archies Sugar Sugar/Bang-Shang-A-Lang Kirshner 5028 Jingle Jangle/Feelin' So Good (S.K.O.O.B.Y.-D.O.O.) both album and singles discographies compiled by Mark Chadbourne ©2001. Special thanks to Craig Allen Lewis for additional information on unknown b sides and corrections to catalog numbers and label questions. There is a lot of interesting information on the net about Don Kirshner. The Anti-Kirshner Site anticdotes by members of the Monkees, Jeff Barry, Tommy Boyce about Don Kirshner Don Kirshner and Aldon Music The History of Rock Online has great info on Don and the songwriters working during the Brill Building Period. Dimension/Colpix/Colgems History Information on Columbia's absorption of Aldon's Dimension catalog, the formation of Colgems by Kirshner with RCA, and an album discography of releases.

JEFF BARRY Producer, songwriter, arranger, various instruments, background and lead vocals Jeff Barry already had worked with Don Kirshner in the Monkees project. He brought the world Neil Diamond, and Andy Kim. Barry had written dozens of pop music classics such as "Leader of the Pack", "Chapel of Love" and "Doo Wah Diddy". Jeff also was instrumental in developing the Monkees sound, producing the hit "I'm A Believer" and "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You". Click here for my Jeff Barry pages for more information about his career and to read the history of The Archies JEFF BARRY

RON DANTE Ron Dante: lead vocals, background vocals, guitar, percussion, co-producer, arranger, songwriter Ron Dante was the man who gave Archie voice. Ron had already worked in the music business as a solo artist, a demo singer, and in commercials. An accomplished songwriter himself, Ron added a special talent to the Archies project that no other person could have brought in. His voice was youthful, flexible, full of range and color and Ron knew how to draw a range of emotions from melancholy to belly busting laughter. Born in Staten Island on Aug 22, 1945 as Carmine Granito. Ron went on to become one of popular musics most honored producers of pop music, commercials and broadway plays. Ron recorded under various names and with various groups through his career: Ronnie Dante The Detergents Noah's Ark Abrahamm & Srauss 8th Day Two Dollar Question Franklin & Benjamin C.G. Rose Village East Jonah P. Jones Charity The Archies Pearly Gate The Cufflinks Ronnie Dante & GRP The Chan Clan The Webspinners Bo Cooper Ronnie and the Dirt Riders Dante's Inferno Ron also did demo work through his career in the 60's and sang background vocals on many songs considered "classic" hits. Ron is famous for his commercial work and sang on commercials like: Coca Cola's "It's the Real Thing" Tang Coppertone Dr. Pepper McDonalds "You Deserve A Break Today" Coca Cola's "I'd Like To Teach the World To Sing" Kentucky Fried Chicken and a variety of products and services from airlne companies, car companies to soap, shampoo, eyewear, toys, food and cereal products. Ron has won Clio Awards for his work in the commercial and jingle field. Here's a link for more information on those awards and to view and hear other commerical work Ron has done. Clio Awards Archival Website For more information...well....i do have an entire website dedicated to the guy!!! ‹:::.Mark Chadbourne Online Menu.:::› Homepage Newsletter Get to Know Mark Photo Galleries Ron Dante Fans ForumPlum Crazy for Ron Dante & the ArchiesThe Guess Who All Hashed Out All Hashed Out Forums Messageboard Max's Classic Top 40 Countdown Max's Classic Top 40 Discussion Forum

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