From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Tue Nov 18, 2003  6:34 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Bob Sanderson
 
BOB SANDERSON

Born David Robert Sanderson, 18 November 1935, Cumberland City,
Tennessee
Died 25 June 1994, Dearborn Heights, Michigan

Bob Sanderson was the guitarist and leader of the instrumental
group The Royaltones. The group was formed in Dearborn, Michigan,
in 1957, with the following line-up: Sanderson on guitar, Mike Popoff
on piano, his brother Greg Popoff on drums, George Katsakis on sax
and Kenny Anderson on bass. Their original name was the Paragons,
a previously utilized name that was dropped in August 1958, when the
group was signed by Jerry Blaine's Jubilee Records. Their first record,
"Poor Boy"/"Wail!" (both sides written by Sanderson) was an immediate
hit, peaking at # 17 in Bilboard and staying on the charts for 17 weeks.
Quite an achievement for such a "dirty" instrumental. The follow-up,
"Seesaw"/"Little Bo", again featured two Sanderson compositions and
strong performances on both sides, but failed to chart. The drummer on
this single - with a long drum solo on "Little Bo" - was Bill Savich, who
eventually jumped ship to Johnny and the Hurricanes. The Royaltones
were managed by Harry Balk and Irving Micahnik, about whom I'll be
writing more this coming Friday.
They had to wait until 1961 for their second and last hit, "Flamingo Express"
on George Goldner's Goldisc label (# 87). Goldner continued to release
Royaltones records until the mid-sixties, in spite of poor sales. Some of
these records, like "Holy Smoke" and "Royal Whirl", are quite good, but
unlike other instrumental acts like Duane Eddy, Johnny and the Hurricanes,
the Champs, the Ventures and Bill Black's Combo, the Royaltones didn't
have a clear style of their own which made them instantly recognizable.
It's not quite clear when Sanderson left the group, probably around 1962.
The new guitarist/leader was Dennis Coffey, who would later score an
instrumental million seller with "Scorpio" in 1972. By that time they were
working mostly as studio sessioneers for the likes of Del Shannon.
"When the members of the Royaltones and me recorded behind Del
Shannon, Harry Balk flew us in to New York after we rehearsed the songs
in Detroit, so we could record them at Bell Sound in midtown Manhattan",
says Coffey in his autobiography. "I recorded with Del on many projects,
including the big hit "Little Town Flirt".
Sanderson went on to perform in concert with Johnny Cash and June Carter,
Roger Miller, Johnny Paycheck, Tanya Tucker, Ricky Skaggs and Conway
Twitty. In 1980 he began fronting his own touring band, the Porcupine
Mountain Band, which also had a few singles issued, but without chart
success.
Bob Sanderson died of a heart attack at the age of 58. His obituary in the
Detroit News reported that he was especially proud that his "Poor Boy"
was used in the TV series "Fantasy Island" and the rock movie "Let the
Good Times Roll" (1972).

(With thanks to Wayne Jancik.)

There is a Spanish CD (probably a bootleg) called "Flamingo Express"
with 32 tracks, including seven tracks by the Ramrods ; the other tracks
are all by the Royaltones (Alvorado AL-CD 6310121, released in 1994).
The four Jubilee sides (all first-rate) have also been reissued in 1997 on
"Leapin' Guitars : Rockin' Roulette Instros" (Sequel NEM CD 923).