Ron Dante is probably one of the most famous people you've never heard of.

You've heard the songs he sang on and produced, and commercial jingles he sang. If you're a regular patron of Broadway, you've probably seen one of the shows he produced.

But his name wouldn't ring a bell unless you're a devotee of the minutia of pop music.

In 1969, Dante had two million-selling hits on the charts at the same time, the Archies' "Sugar Sugar" and the Cuff Links' "Tracy."

"I was completely anonymous," said Dante, who performs Wednesday at the Shoe Our Children benefit concert at Tiffany's in Brookfield.

"I wanted to be known. I got into music to be a famous singer. When I got it, it was like God said, 'You're getting what you want, but not all of it.'"

Dante started released singles on his own in 1963. The New York City native had his first hit in 1964 with "Leader of the Laundromat" under the group name the Detergents.

The song was a parody of the Shangri-Las's "Leader of the Pack," and he ended up touring with the girl group on a Dick Clark Caravan of Stars tour.

When "The Archies" hit television, rock impresario Don Kirshner tapped Dante to sing songs created for the show, and which were later released commercially.

Dante said he didn't anticipate the success of "Sugar Sugar," but felt there was something about it that was different from the dozens of other Archies songs he recorded at the time.

"We knew it was special that night," he said of the Andy Kim-Jeff Barry composition. "(Producer) Jeff Barry spent a lot of time on the track, getting the rhythm track right, and spent hours with me on the vocals, getting the right sound."

The effort produced big dividends.

"It was the No. 1 song for a month and sold 6, 7 million copies," he said, reached at his home in Los Angeles. "It was the number one hit of 1969 and went number one internationally."

While the bubblegum nugget "Sugar Sugar" was sweetening the charts, "Tracy," a ballad, crept up behind it, selling more than 1 million records.

Dante recorded his voice 16 to 18 times to make the harmonies on "Tracy."

"I wanted to sound like the Turtles or the Association," he said.

The double-song success led to a new solo recording contract. He also produced the last Archies' records, and became a staple of jingle houses.

"I did thousands of commercials," he said, including the "I'd like to teach the World to Sing" and "You Deserve a Break Today" ads for McDonald's, as well as spots for Kentucky Fried Chicken, Budweiser and American Airlines.

He did a jingle for a Tomboy soda ad in 1973 that proved to be career-changing, even though the drink was terrible and the ad probably never ran. His singing partner was Barry Manilow.

They struck up a friendship and Manilow played some songs he had written. Dante knew Manilow's music did not fit the trend of the time, but he believed the songs would find an audience.

"I decided to put my money into his career," Dante said.

It took two years, but when "Mandy" hit number one, Dante's investment was returned.

Dante said he was gratified when the greatest hits collection "Ultimate Manilow" debuted on the Billboard charts at No. 3 a few weeks ago.

"Those records will last," he said. "We took extra special care to make sure they would last."

Dante also produced Cher, Pat Benatar, Ray Charles, John Denver and many others, while still doing jingles and recording his own music.

Turning his behind-the-scenes efforts to the stage, he produced "Ain't Misbehavin'," "Children of a Lesser God," "Whose Life is it Anyway? and "Crimes of the Heart" on Broadway.

About 1 1/2 years ago, Dante, who published the Paris Review for two years, again took to the road.

"I decided to go back and meet the fans and sing the songs that were part of their lives," he said.

Dante likes to hang around after his shows and meet the fans, and hear their stories of special events that occurred in their lives while "Sugar Sugar," "Tracy" or one of his other hits was big at the time.