I Like It Like That - The 5 Royales
Recorded in 1954. Lowman "El" Pauling (born Lomond Pauling, July 14, 1926, Winston-Salem, NC; died December 26, 1973 in New York, NY): lead guitar, vocals (bass) (1951-1966) Johnny Tanner (born November 28, 1926, Forsyth, NC; died November 8, 2005, Winston-Salem, NC): lead vocals (tenor) (1951-1963) Gene Tanner (born Eugene Elijah Tanner, February 1, 1936, Winston-Salem, NC; died December 29, 1994, Winston-Salem, NC): lead and backing vocals (second tenor) (1953-1965) Jimmy Moore (born James E. Moore, March 7, 1926, Winston-Salem, NC; died August 16, 2008, Ossining, NY): lead and backing vocals (second tenor) (1951-1964) Sccop Carter (born Obadiah Carter, December 12, 1925, Winston-Salem, NC; died June 30, 1994, Winston-Salem, NC): vocals (baritone) (1951-1965) Jeff Jefferies (born Otto Jefferies, May 23, 1912, Winston-Salem, NC; died August 8, 1975, Winston-Salem, NC): vocals (bass) (1951-1961) Early years: The "5" Royales - the quotes are part of the name - began as a gospel group in Winston-Salem, NC known as the Royal Sons Quintet, formed by three of the Pauling brothers and their father way back in 1942. The Apollo label signed the group after hearing a demo submitted by their manager in 1951, eventually convincing them to go secular under the secret name The Royals so as not to anger their religious base. A year passed before one of their Apollo sides, "Baby Don't Do It," became a hit on the national charts, and by that time, the group had opted to add an "E" to their name to set themselves apart from two other vocal groups named The Royals (and also to jokingly put the number "5" in quotes, since they often had six members). Success: Once that hit took off, Syd Nathan's King Records, later the home of James Brown, signed the group. The "5" (that is, six) Royales were a hit on what was called the "chitlin circuit" of hardcore R&B shows, and their material was being written to match that -- songs like the notoriously raunchy "Laundromat Blues," the silly yet violent "Monkey Hips and Rice," and the self-explanatory "Women About To Make Me Go Crazy." Although pop success eluded them, the combination of Pauling's stinging, revolutionary guitar solos and his witty lyricism, coupled with Johnny Tanner's expressive tenor, made them a mainstay on the R&B charts through the decade. Later years: However, by 1961, James Brown had picked up on the group's raw, all-encompassing style of R&B, and he and his own show band, the Famous Flames, scored a hit by covering the Royales' "Think" on Federal instead of King. The ensuing lawsuit forced them to leave the label, and their decline had begun, even though their style was perfectly suited to the new decade. The group lost a few key members but soldiered on until 1965; Pauling, an unappreciated master of many genres, took to drinking and got a job as a night watchman in a church. He died of a seizure in 1973; the last of the original group, tenor and occasional lead Jimmy Moore, passed away in 2008. The "5" Royales honors and awards: North Carolina Music Hall of Fame (2009) The "5" Royales facts and trivia: The original members all grew up picking tobacco in the Carolinas Other "5" Royales members included Robert "Pee Wee" Burris (guitar), Royal Abbit (piano and organ), Eudell Graham (lead vocals), Tom "T-Bone" Pruitt (guitar), Larry Robinson (lead vocals), Larry Taylor (vocals) and Lebarron Washington (vocals) Once substituted for Ray Charles female backup singers, the Raelettes, when they failed to make a show The song "Monkey Hips and Rice" was written after Pauling heard a drunk man try to place that order in a diner One of the other "Royals" groups forced to rename itself became Hank Ballard and the Midnighters While driving through Alabama in 1963, the group accidentally found itself in the middle of the Birmingham "race riots".
Recorded in 1954. Lowman "El" Pauling (born Lomond Pauling, July 14, 1926, Winston-Salem, NC; died December 26, 1973 in New York, NY): lead guitar, vocals (bass) (1951-1966) Johnny Tanner (born November 28, 1926, Forsyth, NC; died November 8, 2005, Winston-Salem, NC): lead vocals (tenor) (1951-1963) Gene Tanner (born Eugene Elijah Tanner, February 1, 1936, Winston-Salem, NC; died December 29, 1994, Winston-Salem, NC): lead and backing vocals (second tenor) (1953-1965) Jimmy Moore (born James E. Moore, March 7, 1926, Winston-Salem, NC; died August 16, 2008, Ossining, NY): lead and backing vocals (second tenor) (1951-1964) Sccop Carter (born Obadiah Carter, December 12, 1925, Winston-Salem, NC; died June 30, 1994, Winston-Salem, NC): vocals (baritone) (1951-1965) Jeff Jefferies (born Otto Jefferies, May 23, 1912, Winston-Salem, NC; died August 8, 1975, Winston-Salem, NC): vocals (bass) (1951-1961) Early years: The "5" Royales - the quotes are part of the name - began as a gospel group in Winston-Salem, NC known as the Royal Sons Quintet, formed by three of the Pauling brothers and their father way back in 1942. The Apollo label signed the group after hearing a demo submitted by their manager in 1951, eventually convincing them to go secular under the secret name The Royals so as not to anger their religious base. A year passed before one of their Apollo sides, "Baby Don't Do It," became a hit on the national charts, and by that time, the group had opted to add an "E" to their name to set themselves apart from two other vocal groups named The Royals (and also to jokingly put the number "5" in quotes, since they often had six members). Success: Once that hit took off, Syd Nathan's King Records, later the home of James Brown, signed the group. The "5" (that is, six) Royales were a hit on what was called the "chitlin circuit" of hardcore R&B shows, and their material was being written to match that -- songs like the notoriously raunchy "Laundromat Blues," the silly yet violent "Monkey Hips and Rice," and the self-explanatory "Women About To Make Me Go Crazy." Although pop success eluded them, the combination of Pauling's stinging, revolutionary guitar solos and his witty lyricism, coupled with Johnny Tanner's expressive tenor, made them a mainstay on the R&B charts through the decade. Later years: However, by 1961, James Brown had picked up on the group's raw, all-encompassing style of R&B, and he and his own show band, the Famous Flames, scored a hit by covering the Royales' "Think" on Federal instead of King. The ensuing lawsuit forced them to leave the label, and their decline had begun, even though their style was perfectly suited to the new decade. The group lost a few key members but soldiered on until 1965; Pauling, an unappreciated master of many genres, took to drinking and got a job as a night watchman in a church. He died of a seizure in 1973; the last of the original group, tenor and occasional lead Jimmy Moore, passed away in 2008. The "5" Royales honors and awards: North Carolina Music Hall of Fame (2009) The "5" Royales facts and trivia: The original members all grew up picking tobacco in the Carolinas Other "5" Royales members included Robert "Pee Wee" Burris (guitar), Royal Abbit (piano and organ), Eudell Graham (lead vocals), Tom "T-Bone" Pruitt (guitar), Larry Robinson (lead vocals), Larry Taylor (vocals) and Lebarron Washington (vocals) Once substituted for Ray Charles female backup singers, the Raelettes, when they failed to make a show The song "Monkey Hips and Rice" was written after Pauling heard a drunk man try to place that order in a diner One of the other "Royals" groups forced to rename itself became Hank Ballard and the Midnighters While driving through Alabama in 1963, the group accidentally found itself in the middle of the Birmingham "race riots".