In the ever popular world of ever popular pop music, the contributions made by cartoon rock groups are often overlooked, sometimes even ignored. But regardless of the lack of recognition given to these performers, itís wrong to dismiss their importance in introducing the wonders of rock and roll to the preteen set. Those too young to understand the cries of the changing times in a Bob Dylan song or just too frightened by Mick Jaggerís lips to get any satisfaction from the Stones, could at least relate to the animated rockers that infiltrated the airwaves during Saturday morning TV programming. There are many cartoon groups that came and went without notice, but here are the ones that really made an impact in the world of two-dimensional rock and roll.

The Archies - Don Kirshner couldnít control his manufactured pop group (The Monkees), so he went out and got an animated band that couldnít give him any sass. And it paid off big time when "Sugar, Sugar" topped the Billboard singles chart for four weeks in 1969 and became the number one record of the year. But the coed cartoon group could never really follow up on the success of their breakthrough hit and had to resort to such gimmicks as cereal box promotions and lame dance crazes like the Weatherbee and the Grundy to try and cause a stir. Special Note - Although they called themselves "The Archies," only one member of the band was actually named that and no reason was ever given why the others agreed to such a misleading moniker.

Fat Albert & the Junkyard Band - This group created their unique sound by playing music on the discarded junk found in a vacant lot they used as a "recording studio." Led by the Fat Man, who arguably had the best cartoon singing voice in the history of cartoon rock and roll, the group never achieved the commercial success they deserved even though they had a popular weekly TV show to promote their records. Unfortunately they suffered from the Colonel Parker like control of their creator Bill Cosby, who insisted the band only record songs that taught a positive lesson. Needless to say, there was very little room on the pop charts for songs about good manners and doing your homework.

Alvin & the Chimpmunks - A classic case of a group that had it all but succumbed to the weight of their individual egos. Alvin, Theodore and Simon began simply as The Chipmunks when they made the leap from session singers on "The Witch Doctor" and recorded their own hit, "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Donít Be Late)." A hit TV show followed but not before a name change was made to feature Alvin as the head ground squirrel. This caused friction within the group and when Alvin insisted he be allowed to play a lengthy harmonica solo on every album, the Chipmunks broke up. Solo success eluded them, however, and things got especially ugly when the other two took legal action to prevent Simon from touring under the groupís name with substitute Chipmunks. After the bitterness subsided they reunited but were unable to recapture the lighting in the bottle they once had and shamelessly jumped from trend to trend, recording albums that failed to reestablish them as headliners in the cartoon pop arena.

The Groovie Goolies - The same management team that gave us The Archies is also responsible for introducing TV audiences to the original monsters of rock, a group so far ahead of their time itís almost scary. Their inability to snag a recording contract may have kept them from obtaining the superstar status many predicted for them, but their legendary "dungeon of sound" technique achieved by recording in the cavernous Horrible Hall still has critics howling over this bandís importance to cartoon rock and roll. A tight knit group with unlimited potential, things started to unravel for the Goolies when the core of the group (Tom Drac, Frankie & Wolfie) all fell under the Marianne Faithfull-like spell of the same woman (Sabrina the Teenage Witch) and jealously tore the band apart at the seams. Special Note: The Goolies did have one LP released but it was done so without their approval and the cover featured three mortal humans dressed in really bad Halloween costumes.

The Cartoon Beatles - They changed the face of Saturday morning cartoons forever by making ABC a bona fide player in the field and brought a high standard of quality to the music performed on animated kiddie programs. Their song catalog was quite impressive and their comic timing was second only to the Cartoon Three Stooges. But it was not to last. Despite their enormous popularity and amazing talent, the group was done in by their leaderís off the cuff remark that, "The Cartoon Beatles were bigger than Bugs Bunny." Fans rebelled and found comfort in the harmless bubble gum tunes provided by such acts as The Archies instead.