Snoopy Rocks

Novelty records may be a thing of the past but I have fond memories of The Royal Guardsmen's pop classic, "Snoopy Vs. the Red Baron". The Ocala, FL band, influenced by the popular Charles Shultz Peanuts comic stip, loved its light-hearted and philosophical edge. The band created tunes featuring on Snoopy's World War I aerial dog fighting ace, Baron Von Richthofen, on top of his Sopwith Camel (doghouse) biplane. The title track sold over 3 million copies worldwide, and reached the number two spot on the Bill board charts.

The band revisited the flying ace with additional titles including: "The Return of the Red Baron", "Snoopy and His Friends", and "Snoopy's Christmas". The album's charted on the Billboard's Top 40 charts and the band celebrated their brief pop fame that spanned from 1966 to 1968.

Original band members, Chris Nunley (vocals), Barry Winslow (vocals, guitar), Tom Richards (guitar), Bill Balough (bass), and John Burdette (drums), tried to continue to cash in on Snoopy, with their final 1968 release, "Snoopy for President", whose original pressings included a spoken introduction by "The Red Baron", mentioning the 1968 presidential candidates. Days after the record's release, Bobby Kennedy assassination prompted an edited version with the spoken introduction removed. The band's novelty wore off, and they disbanded in 1969.