This 1997 package from France's Famous Groove label provides you with the complete output of the Federal label's Royals (20 tracks), plus eight tracks of the group after they were re-named "the Midnighters" in the middle of 1954 to avoid confusion with the Five Royales who had recently been signed by King / Federal after leaving the Apollo label.
The Royals were first formed in 1952 and consisted of Henry Booth - tenor and lead on "jump" numbers, Charles Sutton - tenor and ballad lead, Lawson Smith - baritone, Sonny Woods - bass, and Alonzo Tucker - guitarist. In mid-1953, Lawson Smith was drafted into the army, and was replaced by Hank Ballard.
The Royals had little success in their early years. It was not until they released Ballard's Work With Me Annie in March 1954 that they had any significant chart action. The group then went on to great success under their new "Midnighters" monicker, with all the "Annie" songs and other tunes in a similar style.
Most collectors did not discover Sutton's sweet ballad style until 1961, when Irving "Slim" Rose, proprietor of New York's legendary Times Square Record Shop, persuaded Federal to re-release Moonrise and Every Beat Of My Heart, around the time when Gladys Knight & the Pips were having success with a rerecording of the latter tune.
An interesting sidelight is the fact that the Harptones were going to record The Shrine Of Saint Cecelia as one of their first releases, but postponed doing so when they found the Royals' recording was already present in Harlem's juke boxes. So the Harptones didn't do Shrine until around 1956.
The only problem with this package is that its track listing is inaccurate. The listing below reflects what is actually on the CD in the correct order.
To learn more about this group see Marv Goldberg's in-depth article about the Royals.
Track listing:
1. Moonrise - (Federal #12088) Jul 1952
2. Fifth Street Blues - (Federal #12088) Jul 1952
3. Until I Die - (Federal #12169) Mar 1954
4. Work With Me Annie - (Federal #12169) Mar 1954
5. Annie Had A Baby - Midnighters - (Federal #12195) Sep 1954
6. She's The One - Midnighters - (Federal #12195) Sep 1954
7. Starting From Tonight - (Federal #12077) May 1952
8. I Know I Love You So - (Federal #12077) May 1952
9. Get It - (Federal #12133) Jun 1953
10. No It Ain't - (Federal #12133) Jun 1953
11. Every Beat Of My Heart - (Federal #12064) Apr 1952
12. All Night Long (with Wynonie Harris) - (Federal #12064) Apr 1952
13. Tell Them - Midnighters - (Federal #12202) Nov 1954
14. Rock, Granny, Roll - Midnighters - (Federal #12260) Apr 1956
15. The Shrine Of Saint Cecelia - (Federal #12121) Apr 1953
16. I Feel So Blue - (Federal #12121) Apr 1953
17. A Love In My Heart - (Federal 12098) Sep 1952
18. I'll Never Let Her Go - (Federal 12098) Sep 1952
19. Hey Miss Fine - (Federal 12150) Nov 1953
20. I Feel That-A Way - (Federal 12150) Nov 1953
21. Don't Change Your Pretty Ways - Midnighters - (Federal #12243) Jan 1956
22. Partners For Life - Midnighters -(Federal #12251) Mar 1956
23. That's It - (Federal 12160) - Jan 1954
24. Someone like You - (Federal 12160) - Jan 1954
25. Are You Forgetting - (Federal #12113) Dec 1952
26. What Did I Do - (Federal #12113) Dec 1952
27. Rock And Roll Wedding - Midnighters (Federal 12240) Dec 1955
28. Why Are We Apart - Midnighters (Federal 12220) Apr 1955
