Little Royal's Funky Tales

Little Royal: Little Royal Freeze

Little Royal: Keep On Loving

These tracks by the mysterious Little Royal were previously unissued until they were found in the Excello Records vaults and released on 1996's Funky Tales. They were most likely recorded sometime in the mid sixties during the "Freeze" dance craze. Born in Durham North Carolina and raised in Washington DC, Royal Torrence started his career with his uncle's gospel group where he was discovered by James Brown and earned himself a spot on The James Brown Revue. James Brown's influence is apparent on these sides. Little Royal & The Swingmasters cut numerous sides for Tri-Us and Black Pride labels and had a moderate hit with the 1972 single Jealous. Subsequent recordings failed to reach the same heights but Little Royal continued to be a crowd pleaser for several more years.