RICHIE & THE ROYALS - by Al Kelly

Richie & the Royals were from
South Philly and raised on the same corner as Anthony Maresco, 20th &
Moore. Anthony was Anthony & Sophomores, Tony & Dynamics & Twilighters.
Richie Benatti adored the older Maresco and tried to copy his style in
singing. Richie didn't have the voice that Anthony had but Richie had
the better look. The group went to South Philly High and used to sing in
the halls and bathrooms of the school, they were heard by one of their
teacher's, Steve Toderello. Steve felt they needed a manager and
producer so he signed the group and got them into a recording studio.
The group's first release was "And When I'm Near You" b/w "Goody Goody"
on Steve's Rello label. The group appeared at record hops and the girls
screamed for the five good looking guys and the record began to climb
the charts in Philly. The record never got national exposure because
Steve's first venture into owning a label  caused him to realize  he
wasn't ready for the big time yet. The next record released was this
record and getting back to my first line, it was an interesting record
mainly because Anthony Maresca recorded this song on the Jalynne label
in '60 so Richie felt he had to do thais song. Steve released it in
Philly and within two weeks struck a deal with Clark Galehouse to
distribute the record nationally on his Golden Crest label. Another
interesting story is the flip side of this record, another Philly record
called "We're Strollin'" which is the same song with a change in lyrics
as the Philly's Fabulaires "While Walking" and was also recorded by
other Philly groups, The Del-Aires and Tony & Raindrops.