House pit band for the famed Royal Theater on Pennsylvania Avenue.
McCleary came to Baltimore in the early 1930’s touring with a group from Alabama State College called the Collegians. After leaving the Collegians he joined Ike Dixon’s band and eventually became the group leader doing the arranging and writing. He later led the Royal Kentuckians that played at Carlin’s Park and the Royal Theater. The group replaced the Bubby Johnson Orchestra in the late 1940s when Johnson’s band left to tour nationally.
The Royal Men of Rhythm featured many of Baltimore’s top musicians throughout the years. Members included Rivers Chambers (piano), Albert Dailey (piano – ex-Henry Ringold’s Rhythm Kings – he went on to play for Miles Davis, Sarah Vaughan, Stan Getz…), Roy McCoy (trumpet – went on to play for Lionel Hampton and many other top stars), Joe Adams (drums), Henry Baker (sax), Andy Ennis (sax), Vance James (drums), Charles Funn (trombone), Douglass MacArthur (bass), bass guitarist Vernon Savage was a representative for the American Musicians Union…
The group backed and opened for hundreds of top name stars. The Royal Theater, a key stop on the famed ‘chittlin’ circuit’ featured incredible weekly lineups of stars which were virtually a who’s who in R&B and jazz music.
The Royal closed in 1968 and the building was finally razed in 1972.
McCleary re-formed his band in the early 1980’s with many veterans of the earlier group. Members included saxophonists Jimmy Harrell, Earl Cornell, Aaron Gross, Calvin Garrett, and Arthur Gardner, with Joe Day (trumpet), Charlie Harris (bass), Billy Mackel and Bill Forrester (guitars), and Robert Gardner (drums). They performed at the 1984 Baltimore Jazz Showcase at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall…
