THE ROYAL FAMILY
The Royal Family evolved from an earlier Edmonton band, the Ortegas, and featured Larry Hall on drums, Ron Arthurs on bass, Michael Richards as lead vocal, and Bob Edwards on lead guitar. The breaks came early in the life of this group. Unlike most groups who go through many months of performances before becoming recognized, the Royal Family were signed to a recording contract while they were relatively unknown.
The band was known for their unique writing talents. They once packed the Banff School of Fine Arts and performed no less than 50 original compositions. Their recorded hits included Dont You Even Want To Know b/w I Told A Lie in 1965 and Sometimes in 1966. The range of their songs went from pop, to rock, mercybeat, and punk.
The Royal Family became Troyka in 1967 with Rob Edwards, Michael Richards, and Ron Lukawitski. Since all three musicians shared the same ethnic heritage, they decided to create a hard driving rock sound mixed with a flavor of music from their ancestral past. Troyka landed a recording contract with Atlantic Records as one of three bands chosen for their new Cotillion label. They released two albums, Troyka in 1969, and Natural in 1970. They also enjoyed being the opening act for the Byrds, Canned Heat, Rare Earth, Savoy Brown, and Mountain.
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Concert photos by Drew BorgwardtI
