The "5" Royales
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (November 2013) |
The "5" Royales | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States |
| Genres | R&B |
| Years active | 1950s–1965 |
| Labels | Apollo Records, King Records |
| Past members | Lowman "Pete" Pauling Jimmy Moore Obadiah Carter Otto Jeffries Johnny Tanner Gene Tanner |
The "5" Royales was a rhythm and blues (R&B) vocal group from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, US, that combined gospel, jump blues and doo-wop, marking an early and influential step in the evolution of soul music. Most of their big R&B hits were recorded in 1952 and 1953 and written by the guitarist Lowman "Pete" Pauling (July 14, 1926 – December 26, 1973).[1] Cover versions of the band's songs hit the Top 40, including "Dedicated to the One I Love" (the Shirelles, the Mamas & the Papas),[2] "Tell the Truth" (Ray Charles), and "Think" (James Brown & the Famous Flames). Brown modeled his first vocal group after the "5" Royales, and both Eric Clapton and the legendary Stax guitarist Steve Cropper cited Pauling as a key influence. Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger covered "Think" on his 1993 solo album Wandering Spirit. The "5" Royales were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015.[3]
History
Originally the Royal Sons Quintet, the group began recording for Apollo Records in the early 1950s, changing its name to the Royals after abandoning gospel for secular music. The group included Pauling and the vocalists Jimmy Moore, Obadiah Carter, and Otto Jeffries, with Johnny Tanner (November 28, 1926 – November 8, 2005) singing lead. Tanner's younger brother, Eugene, later replaced Jeffries. The robust Johnny Tanner sang lead on most of the group's hits, including "Think," but the sweeter-voiced Eugene Tanner stepped to the microphone for the group's best-known song, "Dedicated to the One I Love." "Baby Don't Do It" and "Help Me Somebody" became hits in 1953, and the group soon signed with King Records. In addition to heartfelt odes like "Dedicated to the One I Love," Pauling also wrote comic and risque tunes, including "Monkey Hips and Rice", later the title of a two-CD anthology of the group's music released by Rhino Records in 1994. Pauling used an extra-long strap for his guitar, sometimes playing it down around his knees for comic effect. The group shared stages with all the major R&B artists of the 1950s, including Sam Cooke and Ray Charles, once substituting for the latter's Raelettes at a show in Durham, North Carolina.
Confusion arose when two groups of Royals began touring, the other led by the Detroit R&B star Hank Ballard. According to members of the "5" Royales, the confusion peaked in 1953 when an unscrupulous promoter booked Ballard's group in Winston-Salem, trying to pass the Detroit band off as the hometown group with the same name, much to the chagrin of a local audience. Shortly thereafter, the air cleared when Winston-Salem's Royals became the "5" Royales and Detroit's Royals became the Midnighters. Both groups had hits at King working with Rock & Roll Hall of Fame producer Ralph Bass, becoming good friends and routinely competing in battles of the bands at clubs like the Royal Peacock, in the Sweet Auburn section of Atlanta. Ballard's group gained fame for originating "The Twist", later a dance craze and hit for Chubby Checker, and for its risque series of "Annie" songs, including "Work with Me Annie" and "Annie Had a Baby."
With King, "Think" and "Tears of Joy" became hits for the "5" Royales in 1957. Some of their lesser-known tracks from this period are now critically acclaimed as innovative. Veteran rock critic Dave Marsh chose the 1958 "5" Royales hit "The Slummer the Slum" as one of the top 1001 singles of all time in his book The Heart of Rock and Soul, crediting Pauling with capturing the first intentional use of guitar feedback on record, years before better-known squawks from the Beatles, Yardbirds, and Velvet Underground. In the 1960s, R&B gradually gave way to more polished soul music and the Royales' career waned rapidly.
The "5" Royales broke up in 1965, though various combinations of musicians toured under the group's name into the 1970s.[citation needed] For a time Pauling continued recording with the pianist and frequent Royales collaborator Royal Abbitt as El Pauling and the Royalton. Pauling's brother, Clarence Paul, a former member of the Royal Sons Quintet, found success as a producer and songwriter at Motown Records in the 1960s.
After years of struggle with alcohol dependency,[citation needed] Pauling ended up working as a night watchman at a Manhattan church and died of an apparent seizure on December 26, 1973.[citation needed] He was buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Winston-Salem, as were his brother Clarence, who lies next to him, and his bandmates Otto Jeffries, who died on August 8, 1975, and Obadiah Carter, who died on June 30, 1994.[citation needed] Health problems forced Eugene Tanner to take disability benefits in the years before his death on December 29, 1994.[4] His brother Johnny Tanner died of cancer on November 8, 2005.[5] Jimmy Moore died on August 16, 2008.[citation needed]
The "5" Royales were inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame in 2009.[6] They were nominated unsuccessfully for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002 and 2004; they were inducted in 2015 in the category Early Influence.[3]
The legacy and influence of the "5" Royales was profiled on National Public Radio's Weekend Edition Sunday on August 14, 2011, in an interview with the guitarist Steve Cropper.[7] Cropper released the album Dedicated: A Salute to the 5 Royales in 2011.[8]
In May 2015, another compilation of their work won a Blues Music Award in the Historical category.[9]
We grew up on their music. 'Think' had some great funky licks. I used the same licks in the Mar-Keys. Pauling's sound was funky, gutsy. He would alternate lead and rhythm, which is something I always did.
Singles
| Song Title | Catalog # | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apollo Records | |||
| You Know I Know/Courage to Love | 441 | Sep 1952 | |
| Baby Don't Do It/Take All of Me | 443 | Sep 1952 | #1 R&B, 3 weeks |
| Help Me Somebody/Crazy, Crazy, Crazy | 446 | Apr 1953 | #1 R&B |
| Laundromat Blues/Too Much Lovin' (Much Too Much) | 448 | Jul 1953 | #4 R&B |
| I Want to Thank You/All Righty! | 450 | Oct 1953 | |
| I Do/Good Things | 452 | Jan 1954 | #6 R&B |
| Cry Some More/I Like It Like That | 454 | Apr 1954 | |
| What's That/Let Me Come Back Home | 458 | Jul 1954 | |
| Six O'Clock in the Morning/With All Your Heart | 467 | Jan 1955 | |
| King Records | |||
| I'm Gonna Run It Down/Behave Yourself | 4740 | Aug. 1954 | |
| Monkey Hips And Rice/Devil With the Rest | 4474 | Oct. 1954 | |
| One Mistake/School Girl | 4762 | Dec. 1954 | |
| Every Dog Has His Day/You Didn't Learn It at Home | 4770 | Jan. 1955 | |
| I Need Your Lovin' Baby/When I Get Like This | 4806 | Jun 1955 | |
| Women About to Make Me Go Crazy/Do Unto You | 4819 | Aug. 1955 | |
| Someone Made You for Me/I Ain't Getting Caught | 4830 | Oct. 1955 | |
| Right Around the Corner/When You Walked in Thru the Door | 4869 | Jan 1956 | |
| My Wants for Love/I Could Love You | 4901 | Feb. 1956 | |
| Come On and Save Me/Get Something out of It | 4952 | July 1956 | |
| Just As I Am/Mine Forever More | 4973 | Oct. 1956 | |
| Thirty Second Lover/Tears of Joy | 5032 | Mar. 1957 | #9 R&B |
| Think/I'd Better Make a Move | [citation needed] | May 1957 | Top 10 R&B; #66 Pop |
| Say It/Messin' Up | 5082 | Oct. 1957 | |
| Dedicated to the One I Love/Don't Be Ashamed | 5098 | Dec. 1957 | |
| Do the Cha Cha Cherry/The Feeling Is Real | 5131 | Apr. 1958 | |
| Tell the Truth/Double or Nothing | 5141 | June 1958 | |
| Don't Let It Be Vain/The Slummer the Slum | 5153 | Oct. 1958 | |
| The Real Thing/Your Only Love | 5162 | Nov 1958 | |
| Miracle of Love/I Know It's Hard but It's Fair | 5191 | Mar. 1959 | |
| Tell Me You Care/Wonder Where Your Love Has Gone | 5237 | July 1959 | |
| It Hurts Inside/My Sugar Sugar | [citation needed] | [citation needed] | |
| I'm with You/Don't Give Me No More Than You Can Take | 5329 | Mar. 1960 | |
| Why/(Something Moves Me) Within My Heart | 5327 | Jun 1960 | |
| Dedicated to the One I Love/The Miracle of Love | [citation needed] | Jan. 1961 | Re-release |
References
- ^ "Music's Unsung Pioneer: Lowman "Pete" Pauling Helped Give Birth to Rhythm and Blues in U.S." Winston-Salem Journal. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
- ^ Gilliland, John (1969). "Show 36 – The Rubberization of Soul: The Great Pop Music Renaissance. [Part 2]" (audio). Pop Chronicles. University of North Texas Libraries.
- ^ a b "The "5" Royales Biography". Rockhall.com. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
- ^ "1950s Crooner Tanner, Singer for 5 Royales, Dies".
- ^ "Death of a Soul Man RIP Johnny Tanner".
- ^ "2009 Inductees". North Carolina Music Hall of Fame. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
- ^ [1] Archived August 15, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Steve Cropper – Dedicated: A Salute to the 5 Royales CD". Cduniverse.com. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
- ^ "2015 Blues Music Awards Winners". Americanbluesscene.com. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
External links
- J. Taylor Doggett Collection, Southern Folklife Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- "5" Royales singer John Tanner dies November 8, 2005
- "5" Royales Biography I
- "5" Royales Biography II
- NPR interview with Steve Cropper, Sunday, 08/14/11.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
