The late 1960’s and early 70’s gave us the height of the Bubblegum music genre, a perfect counter to the Woodstock generation. We will argue that the Archies were the ultimate Bubblegum group, but what does that mean for this Hall of Fame? Here are the facts. Based on the popular Archie comic books, music producer Don Kirshner assembled a group of studio musicians to play music for the “Archie Show”, a cartoon for CBS. The show only generated 17 episodes, but the lasting feature was not the animation but the music. The main musician was Ron Dante, who provided the main vocals and we wager that half of the people reading this has his voice in their head, with the tune of “Sugar Sugar”. That song was the biggest hit of 1969 and though it may be a little cheesy, is one of the most enduring songs in history. Now we ask you, should our Hall of Fame make a stop in Riverdale? The Bullet Points: TV Shows Appeared: The Archie Show (1968-69) Actors: Ron Dante (Actual Singer) Toni Wine (Female Singer) The Fictional Band: Archie Andrews (Lead Singer and Guitar) Reggie Mantle (Bass Guitar) Veronica Lodge (Keyboard) Betty Cooper (Tambourine) Jughead Jones (Drums) Songs you might remember: Sugar Sugar Bang-Shang-A-Lang Jingle Jangle Why you should vote for them: Seriously, they had a song that defined a genre. Why you should not vote for them: The genre they defined is commonly ridiculed. {youtube}
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We will go on record stating that we have no understanding of the Madea persona from the Tyler Perry franchise of films. Frankly, we always thought those movies wouldn’t be bad, if Tyler Perry in an old woman fat suit wasn’t in them. In one of those films, “I Can Do Bad All By Myself”, we are introduced to April, an alcoholic singer who gets advice from someone in a fat suit. We will say that at least April (Taraji P. Henson) can sing, which is better than a lot of fictitious singers can say. The Bullet Points: Movie Appeared: I Can Do Bad All By Myself (2009) Actor: Taraji P. Henson Songs you might remember: Rock Steady Why you should vote for her: She was at least a capable singer. Why you should not vote for her: The fact that she was a singer was not really plot relevant; it just happened to be her job. {youtube}
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This is another that we almost forgot about, but when you have Appolonia playing a character named…Appolonia, you can see why we might have overlooked it. She played a cocktail waitress turned singer who hooked up with Lorenzo Lamas. We aren’t sure if this is an upgrade or a downgrade from Prince though. The Bullet Points: TV Show Appeared: Falcon Crest (1986) Actor: Appolonia Kotero Songs you might remember: Fire in Your Eyes Why you should vote for him her: There was a time when Appolonia was considered one of the hottest women on the planet. Why you should not vote for her: There was never a time when Appolonia was considered the best singer on the planet, or even in a recording studio. {youtube}
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Who the hell was AntiMatter and why are they here? This was a band that helped Wonder Woman decipher clues on an album cover to find a folk singer who faked his own death. The why is irrelevant to us. All we know is that our favorite Wonder Woman ever (Lynda Carter); was aided by a fictitious band that had Rick Springfield in it. That is equal parts cheese and cool, and enough to get on our ballot. The Bullet Points: TV Show Appeared: Wonder Woman (1978) Actors: Rick Springfield and a bunch of nobodies Songs you might remember: Nothing Why you should vote for them: The cheese factor is through the roof here. Why you should not vote for them: What music was here? Cheese doesn’t sell. {youtube}
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