Very Best of 5 Royales

The "5" Royales are often referred to as the forerunners of Soul music. Their southern heritage and background in gospel music served them well when they made the switch to secular music. One of the bluesiest vocal groups of their era, their records sold like crazy when they exploded on the music scene in 1952 on Apollo Records. Securing their sevices on King Records, which is where the songs on this CD are from, was considered a major coup in 1954. They were so popular at the time that their move to King required a lesser-known group which had been recording for King's Federal subsidiary without much success to that point, The Royals, to change their name to The Midnighters to avoid further confusion. Unable to make the switch to the Soul era, the "5" Royales disbanded in the late 1960s. It was a sad ending for a group wich had been at the top for longer than almost any other TRUE R&B group of the 1950s, and one that should have been able to weather the transition from R&B to Soul like The Dells and The Four Tops did. Their legacy remains in their recordings, among the best of which are featured here.