The Royal Teens were an American

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

band that formed in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

in 1956 and originally consisted of

Bob Gaudio Robert John Gaudio (born November 17, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer, and the keyboardist and backing vocalist of the pop/rock band the Four Seasons. Gaudio wrote or co-wrote and produced the vast majori ...

on piano, Tom Austin on drums, Billy Dalton on guitar, and Billy Crandall on saxophone. The group is best known for its single "

Short Shorts "Short Shorts" is a song written and performed by Tom Austin, Bill Crandell, Bill Dalton, Russ Viers, and Bob Gaudio, members of The Royal Teens. It reached #2 on the U.S. R&B chart and #3 on the U.S. pop chart in 1958. The group originally rele ...

", which was a number 3 hit in the United States in 1958. The follow-up single, 1959's "Believe Me", hit number 26. They never recorded an

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, and broke up in 1965.

History

The term "Short Shorts" in the song referred specifically to very short cutoff jeans as worn by teenage girls. The term appears to have originated with Bob Gaudio and Tom Austin. According to the group's website, they coined the term in 1957, and hit on using it as a song theme and title that summer when they saw two girls in cutoffs leaving a local teen spot. Originally, the group's name was simply "The Royals", but they were persuaded to add the word "Teens" in order to avoid having the same name as an existing band. The performers on the 1957

Bell Sound Studios Bell Sound Studios was an independent recording studio in New York City from 1950 to 1976. At its height, the studio was the largest independent recording studio in the United States, and the site of recording sessions that produced seminal hits by ...

recording were Bob Gaudio (piano), Tom Austin (drums and whistle effect), Billy Dalton (guitar), Billy Crandall (sax and vocal effect), and Diana Lee (a female vocalist working for Leo Rogers). The record was originally released on a private label, Power Records. The song's instant popularity led the label owner to license the production to ABC-Paramount Records. It reached number 3 on the list later known as the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The group undertook a tour. The sax player, Billy Crandall, age 14, was not allowed by his parents to tour with the group, and was replaced by Larry Qualiano. One of the other members had already graduated, and the other two took time off from high school. Some of their touring companions included

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, and

Frankie Avalon Francis Thomas Avallone (born September 18, 1940), better known as Frankie Avalon, is an American actor, singer, and former teen idol. He had 31 charting U.S. ''Billboard'' singles from 1958 to late 1962, including number one hits, "Venus" an ...

Legacy

later became a member of the Four Seasons. Fourteen-year-old member

Al Kooper Al Kooper (born Alan Peter Kuperschmidt; February 5, 1944) is a retired American songwriter, record producer and musician, known for organizing Blood, Sweat & Tears, although he did not stay with the group long enough to share its popularity. ...

sometimes appeared with the Royal Teens on the road in 1959, and later founded the groups

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and

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. Kooper also performed as a session musician on several of

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

's albums in the mid-1960s. Vocalist Joe Francavilla (also known as Joey Villa) joined the group in late 1958. He previously sang with the Three Friends, which 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 was an American Twist (dance), twist group, formed from remnants of the original Royal Teens around 1961. The group was led by Teens vocalist Joey Villa (aka Joe Francovilla), along with several other members from the local ...

, which released a few minor hits ("Do You Want to Dance", "Bony Maronie") in 1961–1962 and frequently played the

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, although a new one was opened in 1980. It was the launchpad for the global Twist craze in the early 1960s. Many claim ...

in New York City as contemporaries of

Joey Dee and the Starliters Joey Dee and the Starliters (also credited as Joey Dee and the Starlighters) is an American popular music group. The group is best known for their million-selling recording "Peppermint Twist" (1961). The group's most notable lineup is considere ...

. Billy Crandall joined

the Knickerbockers The Knickerbockers were an American garage rock band formed in Bergenfield, New Jersey in 1964. They released the 1965 hit "Lies (The Knickerbockers song), Lies", which was known for its resemblance to the Beatles. The band was formed in 1964 ...

in 1964, using the name Buddy Randell, and sang lead vocal on the group's top-20 hit " Lies" in 1966. Crandall later performed with the contemporary Messianic group, Jerusalem Rivers, before dying in 1998. The song "Short Shorts" was used in commercials for

Nair The Nair , also known as Nayar, are a group of Indian Hindu castes, described by anthropologist Kathleen Gough as "not a unitary group but a named category of castes". The Nair include several castes and many subdivisions, not all of whom histor ...

in the 1970s, sparking interest in the group, and is now used in Japan for the opening tune of ''

Tamori Club , known by his stage name (an anagram of his surname), is a List of Japanese celebrities, Japanese television celebrity. Known for his trademark dark sunglasses, Tamori is one of the "big three" television comedians in Japan along with Takesh ...

'' on TV Asahi Corporation. When the show ''

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 presented in a documentary-style format that dramatizes the formation, success and eventual break-up of th ...

'' 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'', Austin said he was so proud to have traveled the first leg of Gaudio's historical musical journey with him. Billy Dalton died of an apparent heart attack on Saturday, October 8, 2011. After his funeral Mass, he was interred in St. Patrick Cemetery in Rochelle, Illinois, on October 13, 2011 — which would have been his 71st birthday.

Discography

ABC Paramount Records

* 1958: "

" / "Planet Rock" (originally issued on the tiny Power Records label) * 1958: "Big Name Button" / "Sham Rock" * 1958: "Harvey's Got A Girlfriend" / "Hangin' Around" * 1958: "Open The Door" / "My Kind of Dream"

Power Records

* 1959: "Sittin With My Baby" / "Mad Gass"

Mighty Records

* 1959: "Leotards" / "Royal Blue"

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"

References

External links

Official website

Ungerhorner.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Royal Teens Rock music groups from New Jersey Royal Teens, The Musical groups established in 1956 Musical groups disestablished in 1965 Capitol Records artists RCA Records artists Epic Records artists Rock and roll music groups 1956 establishments in New Jersey