The Royale Monarchs were a Southern California surf band of the late 1960s, signed by radio personality

Bob Eubanks Robert Leland Eubanks (born January 8, 1938) is an American disc jockey, television personality and game show host, best known for hosting the game show ''The Newlywed Game'' on and off since 1966. He also hosted the successful revamp version o ...

as house band at his

Cinnamon Cinder The Cinnamon Cinder was a chain of Southern California nightclubs owned by Bob Eubanks. Acts that appeared in the clubs included the Coasters, the Drifters, Sonny & Cher, Buffalo Springfield, Ike & Tina Turner, and the Shirelles. Background The ...

night clubs, regulars on his ''Hollywood Dance Time'' and ''The Cinnamon Cinder'' television shows.

History

The original group included founder, Dan Anthony, (formerly Jaramillo) vocals and lead guitar, Roger Stafford lead vocal and rhythm guitar, Wilson Smith later replaced by George Haraksin on drums, with Jack Schaeffer on tenor saxophone and Ed Loewe rounding out the group on bass guitar. While playing the

sock hop A sock hop or sox hop, often also called a record hop or just a hop, was an informal sponsored dance event for teenagers in mid-20th-century North America, featuring popular music. History Sock hops were held as early as 1944 by the American J ...

s they often performed as backup band for touring recording artist,

Jan and Dean Jan and Dean was an American rock duo consisting of William Jan Berry (April 3, 1941 – March 26, 2004) and Dean Ormsby Torrence (born March 10, 1940). In the early 1960s, they were pioneers of the California Sound and vocal surf music style ...

The Hondells The Hondells were an American surf rock band. Their cover of the Beach Boys' "Little Honda" went to No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1964. History The Hondells were a band manufactured by Gary Usher, originally consisting of session musicia ...

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. While at the Cinnamon Cinder they backed up weekly such acts as

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, Dick and Dede,

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and

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. Producer

Gary Usher Gary Lee Usher (December 14, 1938 – May 25, 1990) was an American rock musician, songwriter, and record producer, who worked with numerous California acts in the 1960s, including the Byrds, the Beach Boys, and Dick Dale. Usher also produced fict ...

signed the newly reformed group, The Forte' Four to a recording contract at

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and released several singles on

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. Ernie Earnshaw, of

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took over on drums and Guy Watson on bass in the new group. Guitarist

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, actor and television host. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting ''The Glen Campbell Goodt ...

joined as a

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

on recordings adding back up harmony along with Usher. The group's first single under the Royale Monarchs name was "Sombrero Stomp", featuring Schaeffer on tenor sax. Roger Stafford died on January 27, 2012, in

Visalia, California Visalia ( ) is a city in the agricultural San Joaquin Valley of California. The population was 141,384 as per the 2020 census. Visalia is the fifth-largest city in the San Joaquin Valley, the 42nd most populous in California, and 192nd in ...

, following complications after kidney failure. He was aged 69.

Discography

Royale Monarchs

*''Whole Lot of Shakin Going On'' (1962) (Dell) *''Sombrero Stomp'' (1962) (Dell) *''The Cinnamon Cinder Show'' / Bob Eubanks (1963–65) (TV) *''My Babe'' (1964) (Dell) *''(Hey) Surfs Up'' (1964) (Dell) *''Great Balls of Fire'' (1964) (Dell) *''Teen Scene'' (1964) (Dell) *''Cinnamon Cinder Show Christmas Special'' / Bob Eubanks (1965) (TV) Collector-oriented compilation albums containing their tracks *''At The Rockhouse, vol 11'' (Eagle) *''Red Hot Rock 'N' Roll'' (Red Hot) *''High School Favorites'' (Teen) *''I Want Rock'' (White Label)

The Forte Four

*''Can't You See I'm Trying'' (1966) (Decca) *''Don't Let The Sun Shine On Me'' (1966) (Decca) *''I Don't Wanna Say Goodnight'' (1966) (Decca) *''The Climb'' (1966) (Decca) *''Viva Las Vegas, Original Soundtrack'' / "The Climb" (1964) (MGM) *''The Cool Ones, Original Soundtrack'' (1967) (Warner Bros)

References

External links

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Royale Monarchs Discography Group Photo from "Surf's Up"
Musical groups from Los Angeles Rock music groups from California Surf music groups {{US-rock-band-stub