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, widely 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 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 Jack Schaeffer (born March 19, 1946, in Los Angeles, California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada an ...

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 (but officially organized) dance event for teenagers in mid-20th-century North America, featuring popular music. The term sock hop came about because dancers wer ...

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

Jan and Dean Jan and Dean were an American rock music, 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 m ...

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 music ...

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

Jackie DeShannon Jackie DeShannon (born Sharon Lee Myers; August 21, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter and radio broadcaster who has had many hit song credits beginning in the 1960s, as both a singer and composer. She was one of the first female singer-son ...

, Dick and Dede,

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and

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, guitarist and songwriter who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and de ...

. 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 fic ...

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

recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording act (artist or group), where the act makes an audio recording (or series of recordings) for the label to sell and ...

MCA/Universal Universal Studios, Inc. (formerly known as MCA Inc., also known simply as Universal) is an American mass media and entertainment conglomerate and holding company which owns Universal Pictures and other media and entertainment assets. It is the ...

and released several singles on

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

. Ernie Earnshaw, of

Love Song A love song is a song about love, falling in love, heartbreak after a breakup, and the feelings that these experiences bring. Love songs can be found in a variety of different music genres. They can come in various formats, from sad and emotion ...

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 country musician and actor. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting ''The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour'' on CBS television from ...

joined as a

session musician A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a reco ...

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-most populous city in the San Joaquin Valley, the 38th most populous in California, and 183 ...

, 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

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