`SUGAR, SUGAR' HIT NO. 1 30 YEARS AGO (SEPT. 20)

`SUGAR, SUGAR' HIT NO. 1 30 YEARS AGO (SEPT. 20)

LOS ANGELES (Wireless Flash) -- Next Monday should be a sweet anniversary for fans of bubble gum pop: it's the 30th anniversary of the day the Archies' tune "Sugar, Sugar" hit No. 1. Although the ditty was the biggest hit of 1969, the man who sang the tune, Ron Dante, admits he had no idea it would be such a monster hit. "Sugar, Sugar" was merely one of 10 songs recorded during a 90-minute session, and because the Archies were supposedly made up of characters from the "Archie" comic books, Dante has never been recognized on the street and, thankfully, was never mobbed by teeny-boppers. Even so, he says the highlight of the "Sugar, Sugar" era was when Ed Sullivan aired an animated version of the Archies singing the ditty. These days, Dante is recording CDs under his own name and his new CD, "Favorites," features Backstreet Boys-sounding remakes of '60s songs such as "Our Day Will Come."