Sixties rock band who were made and unmade by a cartoon pooch. The group was formed in 1966 out of the ashes of The Posmen, a trio that consisted of Bill Balogh, John Burdett, and Jay Mayer. Burdett coined “The Royal Guardsmen” on the fly when someone asked him what the band’s name was and he wasn’t enamoured of “The Posmen”. He said the first thing that came to mind which was the name of his Vox amplifier, “The Royal Guardsman”. The name stuck, literally, when he peeled off the tag of his amp and re-attached is to the face of his drum.
Around September, The Royal Guardsmen laid down their first tracks: ” Baby, Let’s Wait”, “He Isn’t Here”, “I Needed You”, and “Leaving Me”. It was around this time that they were approached by a record producer by the name of Phil Gernhard who was shilling a song called “Snoopy vs. the Red Baron”. In its original incarnation, it was intended to be an historical ballad along the lines of “The Wreck of the Old 97”. Gernhard read the Peanuts cartoons in the paper and got it in his head that it would make a good novelty record. The Royal Guardsmen recorded it and Gernhard sent a copy to Peanuts creator Charles Schulz for his approval. Schulz apparently didn’t respond yay or nay, so Gernhard went full steam ahead. It was released in Canada as “Squeaky vs. the Black Knight” and eventually Schulz was handsomely reimbursed for the use of the name. “Snoopy vs. the Red Baron” went to #2 in the U.S., #6 in the U.K., and spent five weeks atop the Australian pop chart. It was a blessing and a curse.
Although it had launched The Royal Guardsmen into the stratosphere, it would also affix the unwanted label of “novelty band” to them as sure as Burdett slapped the band’s new name on his drum kit. The problem was that The Royal Guardsmen were a cover band with a gift for mimicking their favourite English bands like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.
They opened for major players in the sixties rock scene: The Beach Boys, The Guess Who, Jefferson Airplane, Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs, and Tommy James & the Shondells. Their forte was hard rock: ” Purple Haze” and “Sunshine of Your Love” were typical staples of their shows. They were two bands: One the public knew as the “Snoopy Boys” and one that was trying to break out of that image and play rock and roll, which was their original intent. Gernhard would not let the Snoopy thing go. Smelling “franchise” he encouraged the boys to record a follow-up, “Return of the Red Baron” and a Christmas album, Snoopy and His Friends. Yet another Peanuts-inspired project, “Snoopy For President”, was yanked from the airwaves when Bobby Kennedy was assassinated. (At the beginning of the song, a list of potential candidates is listed, including Kennedy.) Also at this time, Charles Schulz was pressuring Gernhard to stay away from Snoopy. (Schulz had also discouraged them from including a remake of The Coasters’ “Charlie Brown” on one of their earlier albums.)
It was a cruel twist of fate that would ultimately lead to the disbandment of the group. Holler had written a song called “Abraham, Martin and John”, which was intended for them but was then handed over to Dion. It left a bitter taste in the mouths of The Royal Guardsmen, who had compromised themselves four times over to satisfy Gernhard’s taste for Snoopy.
At the turn of the decade, The Royal Guardsmen were no more. In the mid-’70s, the group reunited as a live act and re-marketed themselves as a disco act, although they stayed true to their roots and ended their shows with good old rock and roll. In September of 1979, guitarist Tom Richards died of an inoperable brain tumour. It was the close of The Royal Guardsmen, Chapter Two.
Twenty-five years later, remaining members of the group reunited again to do a live set at their high school reunion. Their set included “Any Wednesday”, “Hang on Sloopy”, “Honky Tonk Women”, “I Say Love”, “Mustang Sally”, and of course, “Snoopy vs. the Red Baron”. The feedback was so positive they were encouraged to reform the band and go on tour, opening for The Commodores on 4th July 2005 and booking a cruise in 2006. They even went back into the studio and recorded “Snoopy vs. Osama”. They continue to perform to this day with a lineup that includes Bill Balogh, John Burdett, Rick Cosner, Chris Nunley, Billy Taylor, Pat Waddell, and Barry Winslow.
The Royal Guardsmen recordings
I Needed You (Chris Nunley/Barry Winslow)
Snoopy vs. the Red Baron (Dick Holler/Phil Gernhard)
Sources:
- http://www.theroyalguardsmen.com/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Royal_Guardsmen
- http://www.crazedfanboy.com/spotlight/guardsmen.html
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snoopy_Vs._The_Red_Baron