Category Archives: Ace Recording Studios (Boston)

The Royal Coachmen “Lollipop” / “Bama-Lama”

Royal Coachmen Coachmen 45 LollipopThe Royal Coachmen cut two fine, fratty rockers for their own Coachmen label in June of 1966. “Lollipop” sounds like it could be an original, while “Bama-Lama” is a rewrite of Little Richard’s “Bama Lama Bama Loo”.

A friend of the band commented on social media that Joe Labontee sang and played rhythm guitar, Alan Parker played bass, and John “Pudgy” Alosa played drums. They were students at Bishop Brady High School, class of 1967, in Concord, New Hampshire. He added that “the lead guitar player on those recordings was a hired gun named Dick Clark, I believe”.

A. Parker is credited for both songs. ASCAP has both songs listed in their database, but mixed in with the compositions of British soundtrack composer Alan Frederick Parker.

The numbers 200,914 and 200,915 on the labels refer to the Decca custom pressing code, often used for New England records, but there were pressings for groups from Pennsylvania and beyond. The Sea Music Pub. (ASCAP) was located at 1 Boylston Place in Boston, MA.

1 Boylston Place was also address of Ace Recording Studios, owned by Milton and Herbert Yakus, with William F. Ferruzzi chief engineer.

Thank you to Jim M. for forwarding info on the group to me.

Royal Coachmen Coachmen 45 Bama-Lama