1970’s TV bubblegum music

After Don Kirshner’s falling out with the Monkees he fell in as music director for the Archies – a cartoon band with no creative aspirations of their own. With Ron Dante singing lead, and Jeff Barry, Andy Kim and others contributing top-quality songs, the Archies climbed onto the charts, peaking with the national anthem of bubblegum, “Sugar Sugar.” In addition to their success on the music charts, the Archies also had a top-rated Saturday morning TV show, all of which prompted their production company, Filmation, to try and replicate their dual success. The result was the 1970-71 Groovy Goolies, a monster-themed cartoon that featured two songs per episode, one performed by the monster trio Drac, Frankie and Wolfie, and the other by a rotating lineup of guest bands such as the Bare Bones and the Rolling Headstones. In reality, as with the Archies, the songs were performed by music industry pros, in this case, Dick Monda (better known as Daddy Dewdrop of “Chick-A-Boom (Don’t Ya Jes’ Love It)” fame), the Challengers’ Richard Delvy and Ed Fournier, and studio aces Larry Carlton and Ron Tutt.

The album was released in 1970, harvesting eight songs from the television show and adding “We Go So Good Together” and “Spend Some Time Together.” The songs were written by the team of Linda Martin and Sherry Gayden, and the album was co-produced by Monda and Ed Fournier, who also appeared on the front cover as Frankie (Fournier) and Drac (Monda). Sadly, the Rolling Headstones’ original version of “Chick-A-Boom (Don’t Ya Jes’ Love It)” wasn’t included on the album. The ten tracks that did make the cut are good quality bubblegum, though without the songwriting genius of Barry and Kim. “First Annual Semi-Formal Combination Celebration Meet-The-Monster Population Party” was issued as a single to no acclaim, and the album quickly became a rarity. Real Gone’s CD reissue marks the album’s first digital appearance, and along with two vinyl versions (one pumpkin orange, the other Franken-green) this is a nice nostalgic get for those who assembled in front of the TV to rock with the monsters on Saturday mornings! [©2020 Hyperbolium]