Archies-"Sugar, Sugar"

Really? I always assumed this would be mono. Great news. Thanks!

Yah Shure wrote: Jim, my commercial 45 matches your timing findings, but it is mono. At the time I bought this copy in 1969, the black printing font immediately caught my eye, because it was unlike any RCA font I'd ever seen before.

Yeah, it almost looks like the font Captiol was using around that time. Maybe they used one of Captitol's pressing plants to handle unexpected demand?

BTW, my (promo) copy is mono as well.

Just pulled out my "Sugar, Sugar" promo 45. It is mono, has the exact same print font as my stock 45 does, and looks much different than Yah Shure's 45 scan. My promo also has a listed time of (2:48), but an actual time of (2:45). My promo 45's deadwax is a machine-typed "XYKM-3908--3S". My stock 45 turning out to be stereo was a surprise to me, as my past experience has always been that if an RCA (or associated label, like Calendar/Kirshner) 45 was in stereo, "STEREO" would always appear on the 45's label, and that is not the case here. My stereo stock 45's deadwax is a hand-written "XYKS - 3908".

Edited by jimct

It's the same guy, John. Kirshner had become so frustrated having to deal with the increasingly strongly-opinionated, "against-his-original-vision-for-the-group" backtalk from Dolenz/Nesmith/Jones/Tork, to the point that Kirshner, the project "founder", had now been personally ousted from anything to do with the Monkees. He then decided, being "very down on moody musicians" at the moment, that his "next big pop thing" project would involve "far-easier-to-control, fictional cartoon characters". Kirshner knew that a couple of his loyal, long-time "anonymous voices for hire", Ron Dante and Toni Wine, would simply do what they were told by him, and, most importantly, do it with no attitude/complaints/backtalk. (I personally interviewed Ron Dante, about 6 years ago, and all of the above came directly from my conversation with him). Kirshner had thought the Monkees situation would also work out that way, too, but he soon discovered otherwise. And since the longtime "Archies" comic strip was currently red hot, in 1968, due to its current hit Saturday morning network cartoon show, Kirshner had found his next project. He then launched his "Calendar" label, which, like the Monkees' label he started, Colgems, was also a sudsidiary of Kirshner's employer and parent company, RCA. Calendar got its name in honor of his good friend, and early Don Kirshner-assisted success story, Neil Sedaka, and his song "Calendar Girl". But, ego soon must've won out, though, according to Dante, and the "Calendar" label, while initially even keeping the same design, was soon transitioned into "Kirshner" records. From then on, Kirshner would use his last name for his projects, like the 70's "Don Kirshner's Rock Concert" series that John mentions.

Edited by jimct

jimct wrote: My commercial 45, which is stereo, has a listed time of (2:48), but an actual time of (2:45).

Is your 45 on the Calendar label? If so, then they must have issued both stereo and mono versions, because my Calendar 45 is mono.