Ron Dante Sings with the Turtles: Honoring the Hits

SAN DIEGO — Very few musicians have had such widespread recognition yet remained largely unknown as Ron Dante, currently performing as the lead vocalist with the Turtles on the "Happy Together Tour." Even fewer achieved their greatest accomplishments—without credit—at the height of the 1960s as the imaginary frontman for the most-watched Saturday morning animated television show ever, later becoming the voice behind popular national commercial jingles for Coca-Cola, Campbell's Soup, Dr Pepper, McDonald's, and Budweiser.

That show, "The Archie Show," first aired in 1968 as a version of the well-known comic strip, "Archie." Each version included the main adolescent figure along with his friends Jughead, Betty, Veronica, and Reggie, who also formed the animated group known as the Archies.

A non-existent band's bubbly hit from 1969, "Sugar, Sugar," became the top-selling single of the year in America, surpassing the Rolling Stones' "Honky Tonk Women," Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Proud Mary," the Beatles' "Get Back," and many other iconic tracks. The track was also covered by Wilson Pickett, Ike & Tina Turner, and Bob Marley, along with several others.

Dante served as the primary vocalist for almost every single and album released under the Archies' name, such as "Sugar, Sugar." This track reached number one in Mexico, Norway, South Africa, Brazil, and ten additional nations. "Sugar, Sugar" achieved this success despite the fact that the Archies were solely an animated group with no live performances or actual musical appearances.

"It's quite intriguing when your song reaches number one and they feature it on television during 'The Ed Sullivan Show,' but all they show is the animation!" remarked Dante, who will mark his 80th anniversary on August 22.

He is joining forces with the present version of the Turtles, headlining the 2025 installment of the Happy Together Tour. The cast features Little Anthony along with the latest versions of Jay and the Americans, the Vogues, Gary Puckett & The Union Gap, and the Cowsills.

I worked as a session vocalist and traveled wherever opportunities arose," he said. "I didn't mind staying behind the scenes. When I joined forces with the Archies, it was clear from the start that I wouldn't receive credit or promotion for being involved with them. Still, overall, it has been beneficial for my career.

Were you able to easily or challengingly develop a musical identity for animated characters?

"I had a good understanding of the Archies since I'd read all the 'Archie' comic books and I understood their approach with the television show," he said, talking from his residence in Los Angeles.

The program featured two brand-new songs every week and was directed by Don Kirshner, who previously enjoyed significant success with 'The Monkees.' He assembled an outstanding group including (songwriter) Jeff Barry, and I understood exactly how to deliver the vocals for 'Sugar, Sugar,' 'Bang-Shang-A-Lang,' and the rest of The Archies' tracks.

Dante laughed.

I realized we weren't Led Zeppelin," he stated. "Our target was a younger audience, specifically children aged nine to thirteen who were beginning to explore pop music. Therefore, I adopted that perspective and understood I needed to remain respectful and appear well-mannered.

In 1969, when the Archies reached their peak, Dante provided all the vocal tracks—once more without credit—for "Tracy," a top-ten single attributed to yet another fictional group, the Cuff Links. In an effort to capitalize on the song's popularity and a follow-up album, for which Dante completed all his contributions in just two days, a band named the Cuff Links was quickly put together and sent on the road—all without him.

At just 23 years old, Dante saw the Archies achieve fame. However, he was already an experienced figure in the music industry, having penned tunes that were performed by Jay and the Americans ("Raining In My Sunshine") and Gary Lewis & the Playboys ("Ice Melts in the Sun"). Later, he collaborated on producing every one of Barry Manilow's albums from 1973 through 1980, along with records for Ray Charles, Cher, and more. Additionally, he provided background vocals for projects by Steely Dan and the intense rock group Mountain.

‘Caravan of Stars’

At the age of 18, Dante helped establish a brief musical group called the Detergents, which released only one album. Their sole popular song, "Leader of the Laundromat" – an imitation of the Shangri Las' 1964 top-charting track, "Leader of the Pack" – peaked at number 19 on the nationwide Billboard rankings.

However, prior to their decline, the Detergents embarked on a nationwide Dick Clark "Caravan of Stars" concert tour. The event also included performances from Little Richard, the Animals, and Little Anthony and the Imperials, with their lead vocalist, Anthony Goudine, being part of this year's Happy Together Tour and currently the eldest performer in the group at 84 years old.

Anthony is four years my senior, yet he still speaks as if he's twenty," Dante remarked. "We used to play cards on the 'Caravan' tour bus back in 1965. Now, we've completed the cycle and are once more traveling together on the same bus.

The "Happy Together" Tour first appeared in 1984 and took its title from the Turtles' popular 1967 song, "Happy Together." The tour continued until 1987, featuring different performers along with the Turtles leading the lineup. It made a return in 2010, once more showcasing the Turtles at the top of the billing every year.

Following his performance as an opener during the 2017 Happy Together tour, Dante came back the following year to take over from the struggling Howard Kaylan as the frontman for the Turtles. He has remained in this position throughout all later tours, performing with Mark Volman, one of the band’s original members, who kept touring even after receiving a diagnosis of Lewy body dementia in 2020. This condition also affected comedian Robin Williams prior to his passing by self-harm.

Several groups that became popular in the 1960s are still performing live. However, very few of these ensembles retain any of their founding members in today's lineups.

"People aren't truly aware of who is part of the Association or Grass Roots. They recognize the songs," said Dante, who plays multiple Archies' classics during the Turtles' Happy Together Tour performances.

When Mark reached out to me in 2018 and invited me to become the lead vocalist for the Turtles, he stated: 'You must stay faithful to the music. You're not Howard; we won't put you in outfits or make you perform humor. Therefore, respect the tracks and deliver them as they were originally recorded.'