Jingle Jangle - The Archies (1970) 1/31/21

Back on October 8th, 2020, we introduced the idea that there were some “Great BUBBLEGUM Songs of the '70s,” and offered 3 examples. To review, you can read that post here: https://www.facebook.com/MichaelCuuuk/posts/216767429796712

Was Bubblegum music lightweight? Yes. Was it designed to appeal to “tweens and teenage girls? Yes. Were the songs catchy? ABSOLUTELY.

Today, I'm highlighting a Bubblegum classic that has taken on an entirely different meaning thanks to the current TV series “Riverdale,” a dark and dramatic take on the Archie Comics of the '60s and '70s.

Prolific songwriters Jeff Barry and Andy Kim wrote “Jingle Jangle” as a follow-up to the #1 song of 1969, The Archies' “Sugar Sugar!” It was a hard act to follow, but the song did VERY well.

In 1970, “Jingle Jangle” went to #1 in Canada, and #10 in both the US and South Africa. (Note: The Archies were a group of interchangeable studio musicians and vocalists. Because of this, they were never able to tour in support of their records, so their chart successes were thanks solely to TV and radio exposure...and maybe a few teen magazines.)

On “Riverdale,” we were told that “Jingle Jangle” was a recreational drug—a FAR cry from bubblegum—but it brought an awareness of the song to a whole new generation.

With all that in mind, let's go back in time and remember “Jingle Jangle” when it was first released—a simpler time when it became a “Great Bubblegum Song of 1970!”

And if we must: (From “Riverdale”):