Royal Teens
Encyclopedia
The Royal Teens were a New Jersey
rock and roll
band that formed in 1956, consisting of Bob Gaudio
on piano, Tom Austin on drums, Billy Dalton on guitar, and Billy Crandall on saxophone. They are best known for their single "Short Shorts", which was a #3 hit in the United States in 1958. The follow-up single, 1959's "Believe Me", hit #26. They never recorded an album
, and broke up in 1965.
The term "Short Shorts" was a description Bob Gaudio and Tom Austin had given to the cutoff jeans teenage girls were wearing during the summer of 1957. On that musically fateful afternoon, Gaudio and Austin were driving up Washington Avenue in Bergenfield, New Jersey in Tom Austin's red and white 1957 Ford Fairlane 500, trying to figure out what to call the latest song they had written for their Rock and Roll band then known as The Royals. Just then, two girls came strutting out of Luhmann's (the local teenage sweet shop) wearing cutoff jeans that were cut so short they were almost illegal. At that point, the song "Short Shorts" was born.
On the original recording, Tom Austin did the whistle, Billy Dalton mimicked the whistle on guitar, and Billy Crandal said “Man, dig those crazy chicks.” With Tommy on drums, Bobby on piano, Billy Dalton on guitar, and Crandall on sax, along with the female vocal provided by Diana Lee a girl from Leo’s stable of talented youngsters, the Royal Teens became a success.
Leo Rogers owned a label named Power Records with Lee Silvers. Before the record was released on Power, Leo made The Royals change their name to Royal Teens because there was another group called The Royals. The Royals reluctantly added Teens to their name.
Before the first rock and roll tour was launched which included The Royal Teens, Billy Crandall had to leave the group because his parents would not allow him to leave school (Crandall was only fourteen years old at the time). Tommy had just graduated from Fort Lee High School
, Bob Gaudio's parents decided to allow their son to “temporarily” drop out of school to pursue his dream, and Billy Dalton took a leave of absence from All Hallows High in Manhattan.
Larry Qualiano, an outstanding 17-year-old sax player from North Bergen, New Jersey, took Billy Crandall’s place and The Royal Teens became whole again, touring with greats like Buddy Holly
, Sam Cook
, Jackie Wilson
, Jerry Lee Lewis
, Chuck Berry
, and Frankie Avalon
.
later became a member of The Four Seasons
. Fourteen-year-old member Al Kooper
sometimes appeared with them on the road in 1959, and later founded the groups "The Blues Project" and "Blood Sweat & Tears" (originally known as "Al Kooper's Blood, Sweat and Tears"). Kooper also performed as a session musician on several of Bob Dylan's albums in the mid-60's. Vocalist Joe Francovilla (also known as Joey Villa) joined them in late 1958. He previously sang with the Three Friends who had a minor hit with "Blanche". With several briefly tenured members of the Royal Teens, he went on to form Joey and the Twisters
which released a few minor hits ("Do You Want to Dance," "Bony Maronie") in 1961-1962 and frequently played the Peppermint Lounge
in New York City
as contemporaries of Joey Dee and the Starlighters.
The song "Short Shorts" was used in commercials for Nair
in the 1970s, sparking interest in the group, and is now used in Japan for the opening tune of "Tamori Club
" on TV Asahi
Corporation.
When the show Jersey Boys
came to Broadway, Bob Gaudio told Tommy that "Short Shorts" was being featured in the show. When the two original Royal Teens reunited at the August Wilson Theater the night of the premiere of Jersey Boys, Tommy said he was so proud to have traveled the first leg of Bobby’s historical musical journey with him.
Billy Dalton passed away due to an apparent heart attack on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2011.
After his funeral mass, Billy was buried in St. Patrick Cemetery in Rochelle, Illinois, on Thursday, October 13, 2011, what would have been his 71st birthday.
(4)
, notably in the episodes "El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Homer" and "Homer the Heretic
."
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
band that formed in 1956, consisting of Bob Gaudio
Bob Gaudio
Robert John "Bob" Gaudio is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer, and the keyboardist/backing vocalist for The Four Seasons.-Early career:...
on piano, Tom Austin on drums, Billy Dalton on guitar, and Billy Crandall on saxophone. They are best known for their single "Short Shorts", which was a #3 hit in the United States in 1958. The follow-up single, 1959's "Believe Me", hit #26. They never recorded an album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
, and broke up in 1965.
The term "Short Shorts" was a description Bob Gaudio and Tom Austin had given to the cutoff jeans teenage girls were wearing during the summer of 1957. On that musically fateful afternoon, Gaudio and Austin were driving up Washington Avenue in Bergenfield, New Jersey in Tom Austin's red and white 1957 Ford Fairlane 500, trying to figure out what to call the latest song they had written for their Rock and Roll band then known as The Royals. Just then, two girls came strutting out of Luhmann's (the local teenage sweet shop) wearing cutoff jeans that were cut so short they were almost illegal. At that point, the song "Short Shorts" was born.
On the original recording, Tom Austin did the whistle, Billy Dalton mimicked the whistle on guitar, and Billy Crandal said “Man, dig those crazy chicks.” With Tommy on drums, Bobby on piano, Billy Dalton on guitar, and Crandall on sax, along with the female vocal provided by Diana Lee a girl from Leo’s stable of talented youngsters, the Royal Teens became a success.
Leo Rogers owned a label named Power Records with Lee Silvers. Before the record was released on Power, Leo made The Royals change their name to Royal Teens because there was another group called The Royals. The Royals reluctantly added Teens to their name.
Before the first rock and roll tour was launched which included The Royal Teens, Billy Crandall had to leave the group because his parents would not allow him to leave school (Crandall was only fourteen years old at the time). Tommy had just graduated from Fort Lee High School
Fort Lee High School
Fort Lee High School is a four year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grade from Fort Lee, in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Fort Lee School District...
, Bob Gaudio's parents decided to allow their son to “temporarily” drop out of school to pursue his dream, and Billy Dalton took a leave of absence from All Hallows High in Manhattan.
Larry Qualiano, an outstanding 17-year-old sax player from North Bergen, New Jersey, took Billy Crandall’s place and The Royal Teens became whole again, touring with greats like Buddy Holly
Buddy Holly
Charles Hardin Holley , known professionally as Buddy Holly, was an American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of rock and roll...
, Sam Cook
Sam Cook
Cecil "Sam" Cook , was an English cricketer, who played for Gloucestershire and in one Test match for England.-Life and career:...
, Jackie Wilson
Jackie Wilson
Jack Leroy "Jackie" Wilson, Jr. was an American singer and performer. Known as "Mr. Excitement", Wilson was important in the transition of rhythm and blues into soul. He was known as a master showman, and as one of the most dynamic singers and performers in R&B and rock history...
, Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis is an American rock and roll and country music singer-songwriter and pianist. An early pioneer of rock and roll music, Lewis's career faltered after he married his young cousin, and he afterwards made a career extension to country and western music. He is known by the nickname 'The...
, Chuck Berry
Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
, and Frankie Avalon
Frankie Avalon
Frankie Avalon is an American actor, singer, playwright, and former teen idol.-Career:By the time he was 12, Avalon was on U.S. television playing his trumpet. As a teenager he played with Bobby Rydell in Rocco and the Saints...
.
Legacy
Bob GaudioBob Gaudio
Robert John "Bob" Gaudio is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer, and the keyboardist/backing vocalist for The Four Seasons.-Early career:...
later became a member of The Four Seasons
The Four Seasons (group)
The Four Seasons are an American rock and pop band who became internationally successful in the mid-1960s. The Vocal Group Hall of Fame has stated that the group was the most popular rock band before The Beatles...
. Fourteen-year-old member Al Kooper
Al Kooper
Al Kooper is an American songwriter, record producer and musician, known for organizing Blood, Sweat & Tears , providing studio support for Bob Dylan when he went electric in 1965, and also bringing together guitarists Mike Bloomfield and Stephen Stills to...
sometimes appeared with them on the road in 1959, and later founded the groups "The Blues Project" and "Blood Sweat & Tears" (originally known as "Al Kooper's Blood, Sweat and Tears"). Kooper also performed as a session musician on several of Bob Dylan's albums in the mid-60's. Vocalist Joe Francovilla (also known as Joey Villa) joined them in late 1958. He previously sang with the Three Friends who had a minor hit with "Blanche". With several briefly tenured members of the Royal Teens, he went on to form Joey and the Twisters
Joey and the Twisters
Joey and the Twisters was a Twist group formed from remnants of the original Royal Teens around 1961. The group was led by Teens vocalist Joey Villa , along with several other members from the local Manhattan Doo-Wop scene...
which released a few minor hits ("Do You Want to Dance," "Bony Maronie") in 1961-1962 and frequently played the Peppermint Lounge
Peppermint Lounge
The Peppermint Lounge was a popular discotheque located at 128 West 45th Street in New York City that was open from 1958 to 1965. It was the launchpad for the global Twist craze in the early 1960s, and also where Go-Go dancing originated....
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
as contemporaries of Joey Dee and the Starlighters.
The song "Short Shorts" was used in commercials for Nair
Nair (hair removal)
Nair is a hair removal product manufactured by Church and Dwight. It was purchased from Carter-Wallace in 2001.The brand name is a possible portmanteau of the words “No” and “Hair" to produce a word that rhymes with "Hair." The brand is most well known for its depilatories that work by breaking the...
in the 1970s, sparking interest in the group, and is now used in Japan for the opening tune of "Tamori Club
Tamori Club
is a late-night variety program hosted by comedian Kazuyoshi Morita, better known as Tamori. It is broadcast in Japan on the TV Asahi network. It started on 8 October 1982, and is one of the longest-running programs in Japan. This program deals with social phenomena from original, maniac viewpoints...
" on TV Asahi
TV Asahi
, also known as EX and , is a Japanese television network headquartered in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The company writes its name in lower-case letters, tv asahi, in its logo and public-image materials. The company also owns All-Nippon News Network....
Corporation.
When the show Jersey Boys
Jersey Boys
Jersey Boys is a jukebox musical with music by Bob Gaudio, lyrics by Bob Crewe and book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. It is a documentary-style musical, based on one of the most successful 1960s rock 'n roll groups, the Four Seasons...
came to Broadway, Bob Gaudio told Tommy that "Short Shorts" was being featured in the show. When the two original Royal Teens reunited at the August Wilson Theater the night of the premiere of Jersey Boys, Tommy said he was so proud to have traveled the first leg of Bobby’s historical musical journey with him.
Billy Dalton passed away due to an apparent heart attack on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2011.
After his funeral mass, Billy was buried in St. Patrick Cemetery in Rochelle, Illinois, on Thursday, October 13, 2011, what would have been his 71st birthday.
(4)
ABC Paramount Records
- 1958: Short Shorts/Planet Rock
- 1958: Big Name Button/Sham Rock
- 1958: Harvey's Got A Girlfriend/Hangin' Around
- 1958: Open The Door/My Kind of Dream
Capitol Records
- 1959: Believe Me/Little Cricket
- 1960: The Moon's Not Meant For Lovers (Anymore)/Was It A Dream?
- 1960: It's The Talk of the Town/With You
In popular culture
The song "Short Shorts" has been played or mentioned multiple times on The SimpsonsThe Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
, notably in the episodes "El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Homer" and "Homer the Heretic
Homer the Heretic
"Homer the Heretic" is the third episode of The Simpsons fourth season, which originally aired on FOX in the United States on October 8, 1992. In the episode, Homer decides to forgo going to church and has an excellent time staying home. His behavior quickly attracts the wrath of God, who visits...
."
External links
- http://theroyalteens.com/
- http://doo-wop.blogg.org/themes-_royal_teens-176757.html