The "5" Royales had their name taken advantage of when a Motown vocal group of a similar ilk toured the South. The band was The Royals and they would promote themselves as the North Carolina Royales even going so far as to try and get away with it in Winston-Salem. The "5" Royales's manager took the copycats to court and the verdict concluded the Motown band could no longer record or tour under the moniker The Royals. So, they became The Midnighters.
Johnny Otis discovered The Royals in 1953 with the lineup of guitarist/songwriter/founder Alonzo Tucker, Henry Booth, Charles Sutton, "Sonny" Woods, and eventual leading man Hank Ballard (the last to join the band after the original lead singer Lawson Smith was drafted). The name change coincided with a string of 1954 hits called the "Annie" series headed by "Work With Me Annie". Each of the Annie singles were lead by Hank Ballard's baritone, sold over a million copies, and teetered near the top of the charts despite being banned from many radio stations for the sexual nature of the lyrics. The songs were also a swing away from the Rhythm and Blues of their Royals work to the guitar-driven early sounds of rock and roll. To benefit from The Midnighters's success, Federal Records packaged their rock and roll songs with a couple of ballads for the group's first album The Midnighters Sing Their Greatest Hits in 1954.
Here is the discography surrounding The Midnighters's debut album:
Every Beat of My Heart (1952 single as The Royals)
Starting from Tonight (1952 single as The Royals)
Moonrise (1952 single as The Royals)
A Love in My Heart (1952 single as The Royals)
Are You Forgetting? (1952 single as The Royals)
The Shrine of St. Cecilia (1953 single as The Royals)
Get It (1953 single as The Royals)
Hello Miss Fine (1953 single as The Royals)
That's It (1953 single as The Royals)
Work With Me Annie (1954 single as The Royals)
Work With Me Annie (1954 single)
Give It Up (1954 single)
Sexy Ways (1954 single)
The Chronological Classics: Hank Ballard & The Midnighters/The Royals 1952-1954 (compilation album)
Annie Had a Baby (1954 single)
Annie's Aunt Fanny (1954 single)
The Midnighters Sing Their Greatest Hits
"Annie Had a Baby" by The Midnighters
Pass the Headphones!!
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