Previous Vocal Group Record of the Week
#614 (Week of 4/25/09 - 5/1/09)


SPOTLIGHT ON THE ROYALS - PART TWO

"Someone Like You"/"That's It"
by The Royals
on Federal 12160
released in 1953



[Above clipping provided by Richard Koloda.]
Above: 1953 clipping of The Royals from Cleveland Call And Post newspaper. Note that "(Baby) Don't Do It" is actually a Five Royales' song.

Royals Can't Impersonate "Five Royales," Court Rules
NEW YORK, Feb. 14, 1953 — A Superior Court injunction was granted last Saturday (7) at Muscogee County, Georgia, which prohibits the Royals, an r.&b. singing group, from further impersonating the Five Royales in the state of Georgia. A temporary injunction had been issued earlier in the case.

The Royals are prevented from using either the name Five Royals or Five Royales, and the group is also prohibited from using the pictures of the Five Royales in their promotion or inferring that they have recorded the songs "Baby, Don't Do It," the Five Royales' current hit, or any other of the latter group's disks.

The apparent misrepresentation was uncovered by Carl Lebow, a.&r. head for Apollo and personal manager of the Five Royales, and Ben Bart, head of Universal Attractions, which is the booking agent for the Five Royales. The Royals had been doing a series of theater dates thru the South under the billing of the Five Royales and/or Five Royals. Newspaper ads and placards made use of the pictures of the Five Royales. The Royals are now packaged in a show which includes Anna Mae Winburn and her ork, the Fou Chez dancers and Bobby Wallace. The Royals have been the headline attraction.

The tour has been promoted by Spizzy Canfield. The road manager is Eustace Pilgrim, husband of Miss Winburn. When the impersonation was discovered, registered letters were sent to all the known theaters on the tour asking that the Royals' act be cancelled. One theater in Newport News is kown to have done this. Others, however, followed thru with the booking. Canfield, along with D.P. Nesbitt, manager of the Liberty Theater in Columbus, Ga., were named as co-defendants, along with the Royals.

The hearing for a separate damage action against the Royals for $10,000 was set for the first Monday in June.

Click HERE for an article about The Royals by Marv Goldberg.
(Above link will open in a separate window)



[Above clippings provided by Richard Koloda.]
Above: Two 1954 clippings of The Midnighters from Cleveland Call And Post newspaper. In April 1954, The Royals changed their name to The Midnighters to avoid confusion with a different group, The Five Royales.


Above: From October 1954 photo, singing members of The Midnighters, (L-R) Lawson Smith (baritone/tenor), Sonny Woods (bass), Hank Ballard (tenor), and Charles Sutton (baritone).


Above: Label image of Federal 12160 recorded on 8/15/53 (flip side 5/2/53) and released in December 1953. Henry Booth sings lead on "Someone..." and Charles Sutton does the honor on the flip side. Their next record was "Work With Me Annie," initially released by The Royals, then later pressed with their new name, The Midnighters.

Listen to this week's selections by The Royals on Federal 12160 from 1953:
[Audio restoration by Dave Saviet.]

      A. Stream RealAudio (DO NOT USE...LISTEN USING DOWNLOAD REALAUDIO)...
 
           Someone Like You
           That's It
 
           BOTH played in sequence

      B. Download RealAudio...
 
           Someone Like You
           That's It
 
      C. Stream/Download Media Player...
 
           Someone Like You
           That's It


           [To download audio files, right-click on link and then select "Save (Link) Target As..."]

Click HERE for SPOTLIGHT ON THE ROYALS - PART ONE.
(Will open in a separate window)


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