Royal Teens
| The Royal Teens | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Bergenfield, New Jersey |
| Genres | Rock/pop |
| Years active | 1956–1965 |
| Labels | RCA, Epic/CBS, Capitol/EMI, Musicor, Jubilee |
| Associated acts | The Four Seasons |
| Website | http://theroyalteens.com |
| Members | Tom Austin - drums Bob Azzara - piano Flip Cesario - guitar Bill Crandall - saxophone Bill Dalton - bass Bob Gaudio - piano Al Kooper - guitar Larry Qualiano - saxophone Dan Sabatino - vocals Joe Villa (Joe Francovilla) - vocals Vince Cautero - vocals |
The Royal Teens was a New Jersey rock and roll band that formed in 1956, which was composed of Bob Gaudio 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," which was a #3 hit in the United States in 1958. The follow-up single, 1959's "Believe Me," hit #26. They never recorded an album, and broke up in 1965.
The term "Short Shorts" was a description Bob Gaudio and Tom Austin had given to the cutoff jeans teenage girls were wearing during the summer of 1957. On that musically fateful afternoon, Gaudio and Austin were driving up Washington Avenue in Bergenfield, New Jersey in Tom Austin's red and white 1957 Ford Fairlane 500, trying to figure out what to call the latest song they had written for their rock and roll band then known as the Royals, later renamed the Royal Teens by record producer and owner Leo Rodgers. Just then, two girls came strutting out of Luhmann's (the local teenage sweet shop) wearing cutoff jeans that were cut so short they were almost illegal. At that point, the song "Short Shorts" was born.
On the original recording, Tom Austin did the whistle, Billy Dalton mimicked the whistle on guitar, and Billy Crandall said “Man, dig those crazy chicks.” With Tommy on drums, Bobby on piano, Billy Dalton on guitar, and Crandall on sax, along with the female vocal provided by Diana Lee, a girl from Leo's stable of talented youngsters, the Royal Teens became a success.
Leo Rogers owned a label named Power Records with Lee Silvers. Before the record was released on Power, Leo made the Royals change their name to Royal Teens because there was another group called The Royals. The group reluctantly added Teens to its name.
Before the first rock and roll tour was launched, which included the Royal Teens, Billy Crandall had to leave the group because his parents would not allow him to leave Dumont High School because he was only 14 years old at the time. Tommy had just graduated from Fort Lee High School, Bob Gaudio's parents decided to allow their son to temporarily drop out of school to pursue his dream, and Billy Dalton took a leave of absence from All Hallows High in Manhattan.
Larry Qualiano, a 17-year-old sax player from North Bergen, New Jersey, took Billy Crandall's place and the Royal Teens became complete again, touring with greats such as Buddy Holly, Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, and Frankie Avalon.
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Wikipedia