Biography
The Baltimore quartet functioned as a connective thread between girl group conventions and sweet soul sensibilities. Their vocal blends drew directly from the early-1960s girl group template, yet they gained from the pop-leaning and at times expansive studio treatments supplied by the MGM imprint, home to their biggest successes. Any resemblance to the later work of Little Anthony & the Imperials was hardly accidental, since Teddy Randazzo, who guided those sessions, also produced the Royalettes and composed much of their MGM output.
Prior to the 1964 MGM contract, the group issued little-noticed singles on Chancellor and Warner Bros. Their third release for the new label, the opulent “It’s Gonna Take a Miracle,” became their strongest performer, peaking just outside the Top 40. The song would ultimately be more closely associated with Laura Nyro, who chose it as the title track for her 1971 collection of soul covers; Deniece Williams later carried it into the Top Ten in 1982.
A second modest hit, “I Want to Meet Him,” appeared in 1965, after which the Royalettes never returned to the charts despite MGM’s willingness to fund lavish arrangements for subsequent singles. One last MGM effort, overseen by Bill Medley of the Righteous Brothers, likewise made no commercial headway. The quartet disbanded by the close of the 1960s following a final single on Roulette.
Prior to the 1964 MGM contract, the group issued little-noticed singles on Chancellor and Warner Bros. Their third release for the new label, the opulent “It’s Gonna Take a Miracle,” became their strongest performer, peaking just outside the Top 40. The song would ultimately be more closely associated with Laura Nyro, who chose it as the title track for her 1971 collection of soul covers; Deniece Williams later carried it into the Top Ten in 1982.
A second modest hit, “I Want to Meet Him,” appeared in 1965, after which the Royalettes never returned to the charts despite MGM’s willingness to fund lavish arrangements for subsequent singles. One last MGM effort, overseen by Bill Medley of the Righteous Brothers, likewise made no commercial headway. The quartet disbanded by the close of the 1960s following a final single on Roulette.