I was going through my vinyls and came across the strangest album I own. It is a 1967 pressing of ‘Snoopy and his friends the Royal Guardsmen’. The album tells the story of Snoopy and the Red Baron in both verse and in song. Why this album is in my possession I have no idea. I don’t know which of my brothers or sisters had this album originally or if it was one of my parents albums.
First, who are the Royal Guardsman? Are they a real band? They actually are a real band. They were based out of Ocala, Florida and came up with their name during the British Invasion of the 60’s when bands like the Beatles were blowing up the charts. I guess they felt it sounded British. There is an extensive interview and article on the band at Popretrorama.com called The True Story of the Royal Guardsmen. Click on the link if you want to learn more.
We will start off with one of the biggest reasons 1983 might be the greatest year in music. That reason is Michael Jackson. His album, ‘Thriller’, actually came out on November 30, 1982. However, the impact of that album was truly felt in 1983. Believe it or not, ‘Thriller’, did not reach #1 until almost 3 months after its release. On February, 26, 1983, ‘Thriller’ was the #1 album in the country. It was the first of 37 weeks at #1. The album is the top selling album of all time at over 65 million copies. A number that is unheard of and might never be topped.
2 Loud 2 Old Music 