This song only made it up to #99 on the Billboard Top 100. It did slightly better on Cashbox, reaching a peak of #70. It was issued on Philips 40381 and hit the national charts in September 1966. I’m from Cleveland, which is one of the regions where this song got a lot of airplay. In fact, it made it up to the top of the charts in both Cleveland and Salt Lake City. It also got a lot of airplay in Seattle, Detroit, and Vancouver.

The group is from Newark, New Jersey. They were originally called The Emeralds, then the Original Kounts, and finally became Richard And The Young Lions after they were “discovered” by Larry Brown and Bob Crewe Productions.

The band features Richard Tepp on vocals and tambourine, Bob Freedman on rhythm guitar and backing vocals, Marc Lees on lead guitar and backing vocals, Norm Cohen on drums, Ricky Rackin on guitar and bass, and Jarry Raff on piano. Sadly, lead singer Richard Tepp passed away in 2004 from leukemia. This wasn’t their only record, but it was the only one that got on the charts, making them a “One-Hit Wonder” group.

One interesting aspect of this track is that the drummer, Norm Cohen, is using an African hair drum. That’s the instrument you hear making the really loud “thumps” in this song! It was also the first song to ever use a “fuzz box” on Ricky Rackin’s bass guitar!

I’m sure a lot of you have heard this song before. But for those of you who haven’t, you’re in for a real treat! It’s state-of-the-art rock from the 1960’s. So open your doors and windows, crank the volume up to eleven, then sit back and enjoy Open Up Your Door by Richard And The Young Lions.

You can hear this song and thousands more great oldies on MusicMaster Oldies. If you have any requests, either for a particular song, artist, or style, please let me know!