The Royal Guardsmen

"AFTER THE TURN OF THE CENTURY",
"IN THE CLEAR BLUE SKIES OVER GERMANY",
"CAME A ROAR AND A THUNDER, MEN HAD NEVER HEARD",
"LIKE THE SCREAM AND THE SOUND OF A BIG WAR BIRD"

"TEN, TWENTY, THIRTY, FORTY, FIFTY OR MORE",
"THE BLOODY RED BARON WAS ROLLIN' OUT THE SCORE......."

EVERYONE remembers those words and sings along everytime it's heard on the radio!! Snoopy was flying high, battling the Red Baron! Now, the group that put those lyrics on everyone's lips is Flying High again! The Guardsmen are back!! Recently reunited, after 26 years, and touring once again, performing ALL of The Royal Guardsmen's Snoopy and Non-Snoopy tunes including:

"Snoopy vs The Red Baron"
"Baby Let's Wait"
"Return Of The Red Baron"
"Jolly Green Giant"
"Snoopy's Christmas"
"It's Sopwith Camel Time"
"Any Wednesday"
"Snoopy For President"
“I Say Love”
“Airplane Song”

The great Charles Schulz, creater of “Peanuts”, endorsed this amazing group! Mr. Schulz even did caricatures of The Royal Guardsmen next to Snoopy's Doghouse, which was used on the cover of The Guardsmen's “Snoopy and His Friends” album!
The Royal Guardsmen formed in Ocala, Florida in 1966 with Bill Balogh on bass, John Burdette on drums, Tom Richards on guitar, Billy Taylor on organ, Barry Winslow on vocals and guitar and Chris Nunley on vocals. That same year, under the management of Phil Gernhard, they signed to Laurie Records.

In the mid-to-late '60s, Charles Schulz's Peanuts comic strip was at its peak of popularity. This had a lot to do with its light-hearted philosophical edge that was in tune with the heightened awareness and social consciousness of the latter part of the decade. The unexpected focal point of the strip was Charlie Brown's beagle Snoopy, who evolved into less of a pet than a voice of conscience. One of the recurring themes of the Snoopy strips was his fantasy exploits as a World War I flying ace trying to defeat Baron Von Richthofen, aka "The Red Baron." His doghouse doubled as a Sopwith Camel biplane.

The band's first album for Laurie was a collection of garage band covers including "Alley Oop," "Liberty Valance", "Lil Red Riding Hood," and "Battle Of New Orleans". With some leftover studio time on their hands, the group decided to have a little fun and record a bouncy little novelty song written by the songwriting team of Phil Gernhard and Dick Holler called "Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron". The song turned out so well that the record company decided to release it as the group's first single. Much to the band's delight, two weeks after its release, a local deejay started playing their silly little ditty. Soon, the band had a local hit on their hands that started to catch on across the U.S. during the Christmas season. By January 1967, the song was a huge hit in the States and crossed the Atlantic to the UK, where it also became a huge hit.
The Royal Guardsmen were touring extensively and performing at all the top venues of the day including Madison Square Gardens. The Guardsmen performed with all the major artists from The Beach Boys to Jefferson Airplane.

Laurie Records brought the band back to the studio to record another "Snoopy" song. The result was "Return Of The Red Baron" which also became a hit in the U.S. and in the UK. The band's second LP, which feature more of a reliance on group originals, rose on the U.S. album chart.

The Royal Guardsmen had compiled enough Snoopy songs to fill almost one side of an album, which is what they did, with their seasonal follow-up "Snoopy's Christmas" as the focal point. The resulting effort was a concept platter called "Snoopy And His Friends", the cover of which featured Charles Schulz caricatures of the Guardsmen themselves. "Snoopy's Christmas" topped the seasonal charts and the album climbed to number 46 in the U.S.

The Guardsmen issued a series of non-Snoopy singles. By 1968, the Snoopy theme was still happening. "Snoopy For President" put the World War I flying ace in the race for the White House, and somehow every title on the new album was supposed to tie in with the campaign ("Yummy Yummy Yummy") refers to the $100-a-plate campaign dinners, while "Cry Like A Baby" is what the losers would do). The original single version of "Snoopy For President" featured a spoken introduction by "The Red Baron", mentioning the then-current presidential candidates for the 1968 election. Unfortunately, Bobby Kennedy was assassinated just days after the record had already been shipped to stores. Later pressings eliminated the spoken intro .

The Guardsmen issued a fourth album which made it on Billboard's Hot 200. A single called "Baby, Let's Wait" became a great hit for The Guardsmen and still receives a lot of airplay worldwide.
Having received critical acclaim on quite a few Non-Snoopy songs coupled with their Snoopy & Non-Snoopy hits, The Royal Guardsmen have made their mark in music history!
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