1961 - And When I'm Near You / Goody Goody (Rello 1)
1962 - Be My Girl / We're Strollin' (Rello 3/Golden Crest 573)
Unreleased :
1961 - Glad You're My Girl (Rello)
1961- Oh What a Nite (acap) (Rello)
1961 - What Chance Have I (Rello)
1961 - Glad You're My Girl (Rello)
1961- I Only Want You (acap) (Rello)
Biography :
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.
Richie & The Royals
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. Al Kelly
Songs :
Be My Girl And When I'm Near You I Only Want You
Goody Goody We're Strollin' What Chance Have I
Oh What a Nite I Only Want You Glad You're My Girl
