ARCHIE vs. DON KIRSHNER: "SWEET SAVIOR"
Salem Saberhagen Presents
THE ARCHIES
The mood in the studio was understandably somber. Suddenly Jughead shouted: “Let’s do one more for the gipper!” Jeff Barry jumped over the drum kit and gave Juggy a bear hug while everyone in the studio clapped, whistled and cheered! With spirits duly lifted, they got down to business. Aside from Nino Tempo’s brass section and Tony Briseño playing acoustic guitar, there were no sidemen doubling The Archies’ instruments; on this last date, JB wanted the band to come across as authentically as possible.
. . . IN A ROCK CANDY GROOVE.
SINGLES SESSIONS
ALBUM SESSIONS
EARLY AUGUST 1990
SINGLES SESSION
A JEFF BARRY INTERNATIONAL PRODUCTION
LARRABEE SOUND STUDIOS, HOLLYWOOD
IT HURTS TO BE IN LOVE
(HOWIE GREENFIELD, HELEN MILLER)
- unreleased
SATURDAY NOONTIME
(JEFF BARRY, BOBBY BLOOM)
- unreleased
FIVE O’CLOCK WORLD
(ALLAN REYNOLDS)
- second version, unreleased
KARATE/MONKEY
(BILLY JACKSON, FRANK VIRTUOSO)
- unreleased
TOGETHER WE TWO
(JEFF BARRY, ANDY KIM)
- single
SWEET SAVIOR
(JEFF BARRY)
- private recording, discarded*
THE ARCHIES
w/DILTON DOILEY
w/NINO TEMPO + 5th AVENUE SAX
w/KEVIN KELLER
Music Supervisor:
DON KIRSHNER
Music Direction:
LEE HOLDRIDGE
Arranger/Producers:
JEFF BARRY, *LEE HOLDRIDGE
Sound Engineer:
JENNINGS KEITH
“It Hurts To Be In Love” was a natural for The Archies, with custom parts for Archie and Veronica to sing. They rocked hard, and Veronica’s solo lead vocal on “Karate/Monkey” rocked even harder! It was a very different kind of sound for her, but she really sunk her teeth into this circa 1966 Latin Boogaloo number. "Saturday Noontime" was a superb Rock ballad with a Gothic edge. “Five O’Clock World” was Archie’s suggestion; although dude hated the version featured on YOU’RE THE ONE, he still thought the song was a potential smash for the group. Damned if it didn't sound like one, too, with Tony Doiley killing it on acoustic guitar and Kevin "Kelly" Keller singing the high background harmony!
Yet Don Kirshner passed over all four of these excellent sides in favor of “Together We Two” - an Archie/Veronica duet that was arguably the least commercial of the songs recorded. The matrimony-themed ballad conformed to his evolving concept of The Archies, which now had a strong Adult-Contemporary vibe. It “bubbled under” the national charts for two weeks and then disappeared from playlists!
Twelve years passed before an Archies record cracked Billboard's Hot 100 again; but what Jeff Barry did for them can't be measured in chart placings. They learned more from him about songwriting and record production than anybody else they worked with! Dude loved having them as pupils and in the future he'd sing their praises every chance he got.
Jeff left The Archies with a gift of four new compositions, but there was a proviso: None of them could be recorded for Kirshner Records! The titles were "Sweet Savior", a soaring ballad; "Let Me Bring You Up", a stoned titty shaker; "Voodoo Doll", a balls-out rocker; and a Country-flavored number called "True, True Love" that he earmarked for Betty to sing. Each one was destined to become a hit! "Savior" will be the biggest, bagging The Archies a long-delayed second chart topper in the year 2030. Jeff believed that the group would take control of their recording career someday and, in his words, he wanted to help them along with "a little seed music!" They returned the favor by serving as his back-up musicians in 2003, when dude cut a solo album for the A + M label.
After Jeff had gone, sound engineer Jennings Keith was about to power down the board but Archie stopped him: "Hold on, JK! We've got a few minutes left and we're going to use them." With Veronica and Betty trading off lead vocals and Kelly bringing the harmony, the band learned "Sweet Savior" on the spot and then cut a gorgeous Lee Holdridge arrangement of it. The following week, Jeff Barry opened his mailbox and found a gift of his own: A red vinyl acetate of that recording, shaped like a valentine heart and personally inscribed "to Sir with Love, from The Archies." Keeping Jeff's proviso in mind, the band erased the master tape so that Don Kirshner would never have access to it! The acetate contained a unique performance that couldn't be marketed.
Arch, Betty, Roni, Juggy, Gino, Tony and Kelly's signatures were etched into the runout grooves of this maiden recording, and inside the sleeve he found a photo of Roni and Betty with Hot Dog. Pour a little sugar on it was written on the back! It was a cute way to say goodbye. As the group embarked on their 1990 Summer Tour, little did they realize that the first leg of their Pop career was almost over - but they still had a few laps left to run for Mr. K.
EARLY NOVEMBER 1990
ALBUM SESSIONS
“SPEAK YOUR MIND”
A MARKRITCH MUSIC PRODUCTION
THE CAPITOL TOWER, HOLLYWOOD
BABY, SPEAK YOUR MIND!
(RITCHIE ADAMS, MARK BARKAN)
- unreleased
EVERY DAY’S A NEW DAY
(RITCHIE ADAMS, MARK BARKAN)
- unreleased
WHAT ARE YOU SELLING TODAY?
(RITCHIE ADAMS, MARK BARKAN)
- unreleased
TAKE ANOTHER LOOK
(RITCHIE ADAMS, MARK BARKAN)
- unreleased
WE’RE ON OUR WAY
(RITCHIE ADAMS, MARK BARKAN)
- unreleased
GOODBYE TO GENTLE DREAMS
(RITCHIE ADAMS, MARK BARKAN)
- unreleased
NOTHING’S GONNA STOP OUR LOVE
(RITCHIE ADAMS, MARK BARKAN)
- unreleased
I SPENT MY LAST DREAM ON YOU
(RITCHIE ADAMS, MARK BARKAN)
- unreleased
THE ARCHIES
w/TOWER OF POWER
Music Supervisor:
DON KIRSHNER
Music Director:
CHUCK CLAYTON
Arranger:
GERALDINE GRUNDY
Producers:
RITCHIE ADAMS, MARK BARKAN
Sound Engineer:
ZACHARY THAXTON
Jeff Barry was gone but Ritchie Adams and Mark Barkan were still in the picture. In the Fall of 1990, Don Kirshner assigned them to take over as producers for The Archies. Much to Archie’s surprise the pair brought with them a fresh and welcome concept: Funky Soul! And to ensure a soulful sound, they hired the legendary Tower of Power horn section to play on the tracks. Archie's exclamation - "fuckin' A!!!" - summed up how eager he was to start this new project!
Arch got Ritchie and Mark to bring in Deanie Grundy and Chuck Clayton to write the arrangements. “For the first time, we’ll sound like we do on stage,” he beamed, “but even better!” Eight sparkling Funk tracks were put on tape, but that’s as far as the project went. Adams-Barkan had neglected to clear their new musical direction with Mr. K! Dude shut down the sessions as soon as he heard what they were doing.
The SPEAK YOUR MIND CD was ultimately completed and marketed in 1993 with another artist’s name on it: Teresa Graves! Hoping to launch a successful singing career, the former star of “Get Christie Love” benefited from an album concept intended for The Archies. Over completed tracks that Don Kirshner had rejected, Mark Barkan cut new vocals with Ms. Graves. Then she recorded the songs that the group never got a chance to sing; among them were gorgeous covers of Stevie Wonder's "Ma Cherie Amour," the Romeo and Juliet love theme "A Time For Us" and a totally down version of The Beatles' "Hey, Jude."
That TERESA GRAVES album didn’t sell for shit, but excellent word-of-mouth made it an enduring cult item; that would've been even more the case if people had known about its Archies connection! In the year 2033, the group will track a new version of "Nothing's Gonna Stop Our Love" for use in an indie film. The original master, along with seven others featuring lead vocals by Archie and Veronica will surface in 2038, but only in Latin America.
Then Jughead and Gino were shocked by news that their friend and mentor Terry" Pop" Tate had suffered a heart attack! He survived but was forced to retire from the restaurant business - an event that resulted in Juggy acquiring Pop’s diner. Terry Tate Wilkins was a beloved figure in Riverdale, and his health setback affected the whole group; it's what started them thinking about a life away from the Rock 'n' Roll footlights!
Pop's illness wasn't the worst of it, though: Veronica lost her uncle in a car accident; Kelly's mother was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease; and Betty’s half-brother Chick overdosed after a long battle with drug addiction. His tragic death meant that she and Juggy had to postpone their scheduled late summer wedding.
The Nineties would be a decade filled with tragedy for Betty Jones in particular; both her mother and sister would die from breast cancer! Later on, babe would have a cancer scare of her own. Riverdale’s sweet blonde angel emerged in the 21st century as sweet as ever, but with a hard outer shell. It formed in the aftermath of trauma, and explains her fierce protectiveness toward the love child she and Archie are destined to have together! I'll leave that story for young Dean Christopher to tell his damn self.
ARCHIE'S SATURDAY NIGHT
BLAST TOUR
June 1990
Columbus OH - Battelle Hall
Cincinatti OH - Timberwolf Amphitheater
Philadelphia PA - The Palestra
