Sugar, Sugar

"Sugar, Sugar" is a song written byJeff BarryandAndy Kim, produced by Barry and recorded byThe Archies, a fictionalbubblegum popband fromArchie Comics. It was released as the group's thirdsingleon theCalendar Recordslabel on May 24, 1969, rereleased on the Kirshner Records label in July 1969, and included on their secondalbum,Everything's Archie. In the autumn of 1969, it topped bothBillboard'sHot 100(for four weeks) and theUK Singles Chart(for eight weeks), ranking number one for the year in both America and the UK. It is the most successfulbubblegum popsingle of all time, and is widely regarded as the apotheosis of the late-1960s/early-1970s bubblegum music genre.
Produced by one of the co-writers,Jeff Barry, "Sugar, Sugar" features a group ofstudio musiciansmanaged byDon Kirshner, former music supervisor tothe Monkees. It was written in the key ofD major.Ron Danteprovided the lead vocals, accompanied byToni Wineand the other co-writer,Andy Kim. Together, they provided the voices ofthe Archiesusingmultitracking. The single was initially released in late May 1969 on Kirshner's Calendar label (as with the group’s two previous singles, "Bang-Shang-A-Lang" and "Feelin' So Good (S.K.O.O.B.Y.-D.O.O.)"), achieving moderate success in the early summer in several radio markets. When re-released in mid-July 1969 (with pressings also on the Kirshner label), it attained enormous success nationwide across several months.
Upon the song's initial release, Kirshner had promotion men play it for radio station personnel without revealing the group's name, as their previous single, "Feelin' So Good (S.K.O.O.B.Y.-D.O.O.)", had peaked at No. 53 on theBillboardHot 100 chart.In an article published inThe Washington Times, Dante recounts that the label was removed from the record. It was taken to a top radio station, 1260KYAinSan Francisco, where the program director was told: "Just play it! It's a mystery group."
The song was among the selections that astronautAlan Beanchose when allowed to bring anaudio cassetteof music to listen to during theApollo 12mission in November 1969. According to historianAndrew Chaikin, "When it came on during the trip out from earth, the three of them [Bean,Pete Conrad, andDick Gordon] would hold onto the struts in the command module and bounce weightlessly to the beat, dancing their way to the moon."
In the issue ofBillboardmagazine dated September 20, the single started a four-week run at number one on the Hot 100, replacingthe Rolling Stones' "Honky Tonk Women". It spent a then-lengthy 22 weeks on the Hot 100 (longer than any other single in 1969), and was one of only ten singles to spend 12 weeks in the Top Ten during the decade.It toppedBillboard'syear-end list ofthe Top Hot 100 Singles of 1969. In August 1969 the record was certified gold by theRIAAfor sales of one million.(In 1989 the gold threshold was lowered to 500,000.)In 2018 “Sugar, Sugar” ranked 81 inBillboard's Hot 100 60th Anniversary chart.
Between late October and mid-December 1969 the single spent eight weeks at the top of theUK Singles Chart. "Sugar, Sugar" was awarded a gold disc in January 1970.In February 2024 the song was certified Gold by the BPI for selling 400,000 units since it was made available digitally in November 2004.
In the chart dated September 13, 1969, "Sugar, Sugar" topped theRPM 100national singles chart in Canada, where it remained for three weeks. It also peaked at number one on the South African Singles Chart.On February 5, 2006, "Sugar, Sugar" was inducted into theCanadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, as co-writer Andy Kim is originally fromMontreal,Quebec.
In May 1970,Wilson Pickett's cover of "Sugar, Sugar" reached No. 4 onBillboard'sR&B chart, then in June peaked at No. 25 on the Hot 100. The parent album,Right On, reached No. 197 on theBillboard 200album chart. Pickett's recording was used inAng Lee's 1997 filmThe Ice Storm. In Canada, "Cole, Cooke & Redding" was the A-side and charted first, reaching No. 58 in April 1970.