The "5" Royales, led by the songwriting and distinctive guitar of Lowman Pauling, merged doo wop and jump blues with the fire and energy of gospel in the early to mid-'50s, and while they went mostly unheralded at the time, managing only a few minor hits, in retrospect they were a remarkably important and innovative group poised right at the first coming breath of modern soul and funk.
This new two-disc, 55-track set The Definitive “5” Royales: Home of the Blues & Beyond
collects sides the
group recorded, backed by Willie Mitchell's crackerjack Memphis band, for Ruben Cherry's
Home of the Blues label between 1960 and 1963, including tapes of four
test tracks. Fifty years on, these vintage sides still crackle with
energy and fun. MORE HERE & HERE
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