Hi. I've already shared most of this collection with you as part of "The Riverdale Archives", but I recently discovered two more dances ("The Angel" and "The Bubblegum") from my old VHS tapes. I think there are still more out there, but this gave me 19 tracks, enough to warrant a separate collection focusing just on the dance numbers. In case you're not familiar with these, they're all unreleased and taken directly from videotapes of the first season cartoons. When "The Archie Show" debuted on CBS-TV in 1968, the music was a big part of the show's draw. Not only did the half-hour series feature the best stories of the entire Filmation/Archie run (very similar to the old comic book plotlines), it also gave us one of the finest bubblegum bands on the planet. Kirshner Records' Archies albums are some of the best pop records ever recorded. Don Kirshner did have a golden ear, and it heard a golden voice in singer Ron Dante. Ron's voice shines like the sun itself on a brilliant catalog that gave us four top 40 hits and five studio albums. The only reason that I don't share the albums is out of respect and love for Ron, who is one of the nicest guys in show business. I don't want to curtail one thin dime from him, as he and Kirshner do plan to release a box set at some point. These TV-only tracks will probably never be released, so I don't mind sharing them. The "Dance-of-the-Week" segments were used in the first season only to lead into a track from the first album. They were terrific little numbers that featured the Archie gang performing an animated version of the dance steps while the music played. The voice that introduces the dances is Dallas McKennon, Archie's TV speaking voice. The songs themeselves are performed by Ron Dante and the crack musicians from the albums (including Jeff Barry and Toni Wine!) These dance numbers bring back such fantastic memories of that awesome first season that made The Archies rock stars! I am currently sharing mp3's of the following Dance-of-the-week numbers at my blog,                                   http://www.mondodaddykin.blogspot.com/  Enjoy! TRACK LISTING: 01. DANCE-OF-THE-WEEK INTRODUCTION, 02. THE STICKSHIFT, 03. THE ANGEL, 04. THE BUBBLEGUM, 05. THE ROCKETSHIP, 06. THE MILKSHAKE, 07. THE INDIAN, 08. THE JUGHEAD, 09. THE BEANIE, 10. THE BETTY, 11. THE GRUNDY, 12. THE SURFER, 13. THE WEATHERBEE, 14. THE HAMBURGER HOP, 15. THE BANANA SPLIT, 16. THE VERONICA WALK, 17. THE TOUCHDOWN, 18. THE MOONWALK (Recorded for Tang Radio Ad), 19. TANG RADIO AD.

Hi. As you all know by now, I've collected bubblegum records all my life. Well, when I first bought my computer, I decided to see what was out there on the various filesharing sites. While I didn't find many full albums from bands, I did find a wealth of obscure singles being shared...which is great. This is what bubblegum is really about to me- the 2-minute pop song with hooks that grab you and won't let go. I have a lot of this stuff on vinyl, but some of it is too rough to transfer. So, the keyword "bubblegum" was my starting point. Over the last five years, I have gathered hundreds of great tracks from the mid-60s through the early 70s. The term "bubblegum" is sometimes too general for these gems, as they also cover sunshine pop, AM radio hits, and even psychedelia at times. It was an incredible age for music, a pocket of time when The Ohio Express, The Supremes, and Buck Owens could all share the Billboard Pop Charts at the same time. Well, obviously the fan-originated "Bubblegum MF" series gets a big nod here. Many of the rarer tracks come from that series, but there are also files from official CD compilations, K-Tel albums, Ronco albums, personal collections, etc. My goal was and is to put together the biggest Bubblegum Box Set possible, not for sale but for personal enjoyment and to share with other fans. As I would gather enough tracks for each 80-minute CD, I would copy the results and clear the decks to start all over. Now, one disc at a time, I will share what I call "The Bubblegum Files" with you. Please be patient with these, as I'm going to upload them sporadically between my other posts, with no set timetable. You'll probably be getting volumes a year from now, so take your time and really get into the music. I'm sharing Volume One at my blog,   http://www.mondodaddykin.blogspot.com/      

Enjoy!   TRACK LISTING: 01. TOOT TOOT TOOT- Ganip Ganop, 02. JAMAICA- Bohanna, 03. SWEETS FOR MY SWEET- Central Park West, 04. PAM- Crazy Elephant, 05. LOOKY LOOKY- Giorgio, 06. LAST OF THE WINE- The Robbs, 07. NAMBY PAMBY- The Hardy Boys, 08. BANG BANG- Nancy Sinatra, 09. SUNSHINE GAMES- The Music Explosion, 10. YUMMY YUMMY YUMMY- The Ohio Express, 11. REMAINS TO BE SEEN- Steve and Stevie, 12. MUNY MUNY MUNY- Daisy Clan, 13. CINNAMON- Derek, 14. CHEWIN' GUM KID- Ice Cream, 15. YES SIR, NO SIR- Art Movement, 16. PATTY CAKE- The Yummies, 17. HIP HIP HOORAY- The Troggs, 18. NEON- Young Turks, 19. ALICE LONG- Boyce and Hart, 20. BEEP BEEP- The Bumbles, 21. SUNDAY MORNING- Oliver, 22. FEE-FI-FO-FUM- Hungry Tiger, 23. SNOWBALL- American Machine, 24. LOOK AT YOU- Bazooka, 25. STOP- Giorgio, 26. FAIRY TALES CAN COME TRUE- San Francisco Earthquake, 27. SALLY ANN- The Cuff Links, 28. LOLLIPOP MAN- The Sweet, 29. TRACY- The Cuff Links, 30. CHIRPY CHIRPY CHEEP CHEEP- The Others, 31. LOVER'S CONGREGATION- The Matchmakers.