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The Royal Guardsmen | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Ocala, Florida, United States |
| Genres | Rock, pop rock |
| Years active | 1966–present |
| Labels | Laurie |
The Royal Guardsmen are an American rock band best known for their 1966 hit singles "Snoopy vs. the Red Baron", "The Return of The Red Baron", "Snoopy For President", and the Christmas follow-up "Snoopy's Christmas".
Originally known as the Posmen, the Ocala, Florida-based sextet adopted their anglophile moniker during the British Invasion, led by The Beatles and other British artists. The group was originally composed of Bill Balough (bass), John Burdett (drums), Chris Nunley (vocals), Tom Richards (guitar), Billy Taylor (organ), and Barry Winslow (lead vocals/guitar). The band was managed by Leonard Stogel.
The Royal Guardsmen's first single, "Baby Let's Wait" did not chart nationally. The group's second offering, "Snoopy vs. the Red Baron", reached #2 in the Billboard Hot 100 and spent one week at #1 in the Record World charts, [1] remained in the bestsellers for 12 weeks, and was certified gold by the RIAA in February 1967. [2]
Since the band did not ask Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz for permission, the Canadian arm of Laurie Records refused to issue the single until the legal problems were ironed out: instead, the band recorded the thinly-disguised "Squeaky vs. the Black Knight", [3] which was released in Canada and became a hit on at least one Canadian station. [4] Eventually, Schulz gave his okay, and "Snoopy vs. the Red Baron" was released in Canada.
Immediately the song became a hit, the band went on a national tour during Christmas school break, playing in New York, San Francisco, and other large cities and sharing billing with the Beach Boys, Jefferson Airplane, Paul Revere & the Raiders, The Turtles, The Who, and The Monkees. That summer, they toured as the opening act for Tommy James & the Shondells and Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs. [5]
Snoopy, the Red Baron, and aircraft became recurring themes in their music, though they did have the top 100 singles "Any Wednesday", "I Say Love", and (at #35) "Baby Let's Wait", a re-release of their first single. Still, some members felt typecast as the Snoopy band [5] and the original group split up in 1970, although a band with some replacement players continued for another year.
In 1976, the original members (except for organist Taylor) got back together and played club dates for another three years before disbanding again. Guitarist Richards died later that year at age 30 of a brain tumor. The band (including Taylor, with local guitarist Pat Waddell substituting for Richards) next reunited for a live show on October 2, 2004, at the 50th reunion of their high school marching band, after which the band played a few other shows in 2005. [5] They performed together in 2010; their next live performance after that was 2018. [6]
In December 2006, they released a new Snoopy song, "Snoopy vs. Osama", [7] and in 2011, the single "Alive and Well". [8]
In The Crossfire Band of Ocala, original members Chris Nunley and Bill Balough and replacement member Pat Waddell continued playing together at least into 2021.
| Year | Single (A-side, B-side) Both sides from same album except where indicated | Chart Positions | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | UK | AU | NZ | CAN | |||
| 1966 | "Baby Let's Wait" b/w "Leaving Me" (from Return of the Red Baron) | – | – | – | – | – | Snoopy vs. The Red Baron |
| "Snoopy vs. The Red Baron" b/w "I Needed You" (Non-album track) | 2 | 8 | 1 | 8 | 1 | ||
| 1967 | "The Return of the Red Baron" b/w "Sweetmeats Slide" (from Snoopy vs. The Red Baron) | 15 | 37 | 7 | - | 30 | The Return of the Red Baron |
| "Airplane Song (My Airplane)" b/w "Om" | 46 | - | 11 | 2 | 45 | ||
| "Any Wednesday" b/w "So Right (To Be in Love)" (from Snoopy and His Friends) | 97 | - | - | - | 100 | ||
| "Snoopy's Christmas" b/w "It Kinda Looks Like Christmas" | - [A] | - | 1 | 1 | 39 | Snoopy and His Friends | |
| 1968 | "I Say Love" b/w "It Kinda Looks Like Christmas" | 72 | - | - | - | - | |
| "Snoopy For President [B] " b/w "Down Behind The Lines" (from Snoopy and His Friends) | 85 | - | 68 | - | - | Snoopy For President | |
| "Baby Let's Wait" (reissue) b/w "Biplane Evermore [C] " (from Snoopy For President) | 35 | - | 62 | - | 19 | Snoopy vs. The Red Baron | |
| 1969 | "Magic Window" b/w "Mother, Where's Your Daughter" | 112 | - | - | - | - | Non-album tracks |
| "The Smallest Astronaut [D] " b/w "Quality Woman [D] " | - | - | 60 | - | - | ||
| 1972 | "Snoopy For President" (reissue) b/w "Down Behind The Lines" (from Snoopy and His Friends) | - | - | - | - | - | Snoopy For President |
| 1976 | "Snoopy For President" (reissue) b/w "Sweetmeats Slide" (from Snoopy vs. The Red Baron) | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1978 | "Snoopy's Christmas" (reissue) b/w "The Smallest Astronaut [D] " (Non-album track) | - | - | - | - | - | Merry Snoopy's Christmas |
| 2006 | "Snoopy vs. Osama" | - | - | - | - | - | Non-album track |
Peanuts is a syndicated daily and Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz. The strip's original run extended from 1950 to 2000, continuing in reruns afterward. Peanuts is among the most popular and influential in the history of comic strips, with 17,897 strips published in all, making it "arguably the longest story ever told by one human being". At the time of Schulz's death in 2000, Peanuts ran in over 2,600 newspapers, with a readership of roughly 355 million across 75 countries, and had been translated into 21 languages. It helped to cement the four-panel gag strip as the standard in the United States, and together with its merchandise earned Schulz more than $1 billion. In 2015, a movie adaptation was released by Blue Sky Studios.
The music of Florida has diverse influences, with roots in rock, jazz, blues, country, and Latin music. Cities such as Tampa, Gainesville, Orlando, and Miami developed influential rock, punk, and metal scenes in the 1970s–2000s. Miami in particular has a rich tradition of Latin and Caribbean music, which has influenced mainstream pop and hip hop in the 2000s and 2010s.
The Hollies are an English rock and pop band formed in 1962. One of the leading British groups of the 1960s and into the mid-1970s, they are known for their distinctive three-part vocal harmony style. Singer Allan Clarke and rhythm guitarist/singer Graham Nash founded the band as a Merseybeat-type group in Manchester, although some of the band members came from towns further north, in east Lancashire. Nash left the group in 1968 to co-form Crosby, Stills & Nash, though he has reunited with the Hollies on occasion. As well as Clarke and Nash other members have included lead guitarist Tony Hicks, rhythm guitarist Terry Sylvester, bassists Eric Haydock and Bernie Calvert, and drummers Don Rathbone and Bobby Elliott.
Laurie Records was an American record label established in New York City in 1958, by brothers Robert and Gene Schwartz, and Allan I. Sussel. Among the recording artists on Laurie's roster were Dion and the Belmonts, The Chiffons, The Jarmels, The Mystics, Bobby Goldsboro, and The Royal Guardsmen.
Charlie Brown's All Stars! is the second prime-time animated television special based upon the comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. It was the second such TV special to be produced by Lee Mendelson and Bill Melendez, and originally aired on CBS on June 8, 1966, with annual re-airings on CBS through 1971.
He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown is the fifth prime-time animated TV special based upon the comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. It was originally broadcast on the CBS network on February 14, 1968.
I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown is the 43rd prime-time animated television special based upon the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz. The special first aired on ABC on December 9, 2003. The special is about Linus and Lucy's younger brother, Rerun, wanting a pet dog for Christmas.
"The Battle of New Orleans" is a song written by Jimmy Driftwood in 1936. The song describes the Battle of New Orleans from the perspective of an American soldier; the song tells the tale of the battle with a light tone and provides a rather comical version of what actually happened at the battle. It has been recorded by many artists, but the singer most often associated with this song is Johnny Horton. His version, recorded at Bradley Studios in Nashville, Tennessee, scored number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1959. Billboard ranked it as the No. 1 song for 1959, it was very popular with teenagers in the late 1950s/early 1960s in an era mostly dominated by rock and roll music.
Manfred von Richthofen, also known as the "Red Baron", was a fighter pilot with the German Air Force during World War I and one of the most famous aviators in history, as well as the subject of many books, films and other media. The following is a list of mentions of him in popular culture.
"Snoopy's Christmas" is a song by The Royal Guardsmen which appears on the album Snoopy and His Friends (1967).
"Snoopy vs. the Red Baron" is a novelty song written by Phil Gernhard and Dick Holler and recorded in 1966 by the Florida-based pop group The Royal Guardsmen. The song was recorded at the Charles Fuller Productions studio in Tampa, Florida, and was released as a single on Laurie Records. Debuting at #122 on the Bubbling Under the Hot 100 on December 10, 1966, the single skyrocketed to #30 on December 17, 1966, shot up again to #7 on December 24, 1966 and peaked at #2 on the Hot 100 during the week of December 31, 1966 ; made #6 on the Record Retailer (UK) chart in February 1967; was #1 in Australia for 5 weeks from February 1967; and #1 for 3 weeks in Canada. On the Hot 100, "Believer" at #1 kept "Snoopy" at #2 from reaching the Hot 100 summit from December 31, 1966, through January 21, 1967, after which "Snoopy" fell off while "Believer" stayed at the top for another 3 weeks; however the song spent one week at the top of the Record World charts. The song sold close to three million copies.
Richard Louis Holler is an American songwriter, pianist, and performer, best known as the writer of the folk-pop standard "Abraham, Martin and John". The song has been recorded by numerous artists including Dion, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, Kenny Rogers, Emmylou Harris, Andy Williams, Marvin Gaye, Whitney Houston, and Moms Mabley, among others.
Snoopy and His Friends is the third album by the Ocala, Florida group The Royal Guardsmen.
Snoopy vs. the Red Baron or Snoopy and the Red Baron may refer to:
Snoopy for President is an album by The Royal Guardsmen, released by Laurie Records in 1968.
"The Jolly Green Giant" is a song written by Lynn Easton, Don Harris, and Dewey Terry and performed by The Kingsmen. It reached No.1 on the Canadian chart, No.4 on the U.S. pop chart, and No.25 on the U.S. R&B chart in 1965. It was featured on their 1965 album The Kingsmen Volume 3. The song was based on the Green Giant food brand's mascot the Jolly Green Giant. The single originally only credited Easton as the writer, but Harris and Terry were later added when it was determined the song was a re-write of The Olympics song "Big Boy Pete".
The Fabulous Funnies is a one-hour primetime network special that aired on NBC on February 11, 1968, hosted by Carl Reiner. The show is a salute to American comic strips, and features interviews with cartoonists, including Rube Goldberg, Chester Gould, Chic Young, Milt Caniff, Al Capp and Charles Schulz.
Phillip Arnold Gernhard was an American record producer, record label executive, and songwriter. He is best known for his successful collaborations in the 1960s and 1970s with Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs, The Royal Guardsmen, Dion, Lobo, Jim Stafford, and the Bellamy Brothers.
The Hotshots was a ska band which had a hit single in the UK singles charts with a cover of "Snoopy Vs The Red Baron" in 1973.
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