A comic book series, dating back to the 60s, I think. Archie, Betty, Veronica, Jughead, Reggie, Moose. The music released under their name was a marketing tie-in to a marketing tie-in: CBS was showing a Saturday-morning cartoon series based on the comics (TV success begat a 1970 spinoff: Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, made into a sitcom in the 90s). Songs like "Sugar, Sugar" and "Bang Shang A Lang" were filler on the show, and proto-MTV promotion for the 45s.