"Ron and the Royals" was formed in the late 50's as a trio of friends from Hallstead, PA. Ron Sherwood was lead singer and lead guitar along with Bob Raymond playing rhythm guitar and backup vocals. Gordy Williams completed the group on drums. I joined the group in the spring of 1960 but since I was under age, could only play the non-alcohol jobs. A significant exception that I recall was a fraternity party at Cornell college where most of the attendees were under age anyway. Chuck "Buff" Buffington replaced Gordy on drums sometime that year and we played a few other jobs in the Binghamton, NY area including a record hop at the EJ Rec Center in Johnson City. We finally drifted apart as Ron and Buff went into the Army, Bob went into the plumbing business with his father and I joined the Navy.
About 1968 the band re-formed as the "Time Tunnel", a name taken from a popular TV show which was meant to indicate that our music could take you back in time. Specifically to the fifties. This time Bob played bass and I took over as lead guitar. We started at Red's Bar and Grill in Great Bend, Pa. (later called The Country Lounge) and for the next 10 years found ourselves gainfully employed nearly every weekend. Although no one remembers the exact dates, the following table shows the establishments where we were invited back to play more than once.
| 1968 - 1970 | The Eustican (Red's) | Great Bend, PA |
| 1971 - 1974 | The Wagon Wheel | Binghamton, NY |
| 1973 - 1974 | The Brackney Inn | Brackney, PA |
| 1974 - 1975 | The County Seat | Montrose, PA |
| 1975 - 1977 | The Stockade | Binghamton, NY |
| 1975 - 1976 | The Friendsville Inn | Friendsville, PA |
| 1976 - 1977 | The Country Lounge (Red's) | Great Bend, PA |
| 1976 - 1977 | The Park View Hotel | New Milford, PA |
Many people recorded the band over the years, we even occasionally recorded our own rehearsal sessions to check out sound, balance, etc. These recordings ranged from sophisticated reel to reel machines down to shoe box recorders that picked up more drinking than music. We got the idea of doing something serious after Bob retired from the band in the summer of 1977. So we hired a professional studio to come into the Stockade on a hot, August Sunday morning and Bob returned to complete the recordings. The band played live for the last time in the fall of 1977.
Those of you who know the band will wonder about the drummer discrepancy. Although Ron, Bob and I stayed with the group from beginning to end, several drummers joined us throughout the years. Gordy Williams was the first drummer, then Buff took over until the early seventies. Eddie Travis joined the band in 1974 and was present for the only formal pictures ever taken of the group. There was a short term drummer after Eddie, then Gary Evans finished the last two years which was when the recording session was completed. So the discrepancy is that Eddie is in the cover photo of the album but Gary actually performed and co-produced the recording.
