We speak of The Royal Guardsmen, of course, and nobody reading this blog needs to be reminded of their connection to Peanuts. Indeed, the very first 45 single purchased by blog co-author Derrick Bang was “Snoopy vs. the Red Baron.” (And yes, he still has it.)
No doubt most of you also are aware of the two subsequent efforts, “Return of the Red Baron” and “Snoopy’s Christmas.”
But did you know that they were followed by two more?
The wildly unlikely, head-shaking saga of how all that came about is the stuff of pop music legend.
We start by rolling the clock back to 1964, when Lake Weir High School students Bill Balogh and Jay Mayer saw The Beatles’ film debut in director Richard Lester’s A Hard Day’s Night. Balogh and Mayer were so inspired that — on the spot — they formed a band with mutual friend John Burdett. Mayer played guitar, Balogh played bass, and Burdett played drums ... despite never before having picked up a drum stick. Balogh’s father was a postman, so they dropped a letter and called themselves The Posmen. (It probably sounded clever at the time.) They began with the intention of becoming an accomplished local cover band, and their first performance was in May 1965.
Two months after adopting this new name, Barry Winslow — then 17 — auditioned and joined the band as lead vocalist/guitarist. He soon brought in Chris Nunley — then 19 — as supplemental vocalist; by this time, keyboardist Larry Rich also had joined. Mayer’s guitar chops weren’t progressing as rapidly as the other guys, so in March 1966 he stepped down and became the band’s manager; he was replaced by Tom Richards. Then Rich got his draft notice, opted to serve in the Navy, and was replaced by Billy Taylor. As of June 1966, the final lineup was complete: Bill Balogh, John Burdett, Chris Nunley, Tom Richards, Billy Taylor and Barry Winslow.
Meanwhile...
In 1959, while a student at the University of South Carolina, 19-year-old Phil Gernhard co-founded a record label (Cole) and production company (Briarwood). He began recording local groups and producing demos the following year, and worked with several artists; one was songwriter Dick Holler. Gernhard produced a recording session with Holler in 1962, at New Orleans’ J&M Studios. One of the songs was called “The Red Baron,” in the style of earlier historical, military-style “story song” hits such as “Battle of New Orleans” and “Sink the Bismarck.”
(Holler’s lyrics, at that time, had only two verses but were identical to what we’d recognize today, without any reference to Snoopy.)
Nothing came of this session, as had been the case with other Briarwood efforts. Gernhard abandoned his label and production company, moved to St. Petersburg with his new bride, and resumed law school studies at the University of Tampa.
A few years passed.
Gernhard hated his law school studies; he ached to return to the music biz. He began repping local bands in 1966, one of which was The Royal Guardsmen. In late spring, he brought them to Tampa’s Fuller Studios, where they recorded an emotion-laden cover of “Baby Let’s Wait,” a recent hit for The Young Rascals, along with a Winslow original titled “Leaving Me.” The resulting single, which hit stores that spring, was The Royal Guardsmen’s first release on Laurie Records, a New York-based label founded in 1958 by brothers Robert and Gene Schwartz.
“Baby Let’s Wait” became a No. 1 hit in the band’s home town of Ocala, made a little noise in Tampa Bay, then went no further.
At home, Gernhard avidly read Peanuts in the newspaper every day, and got a particular kick out of Snoopy’s expanding fantasy adventures involving ... the Red Baron.
That tweaked a memory.
