MICTLAN
PUBLISHING
El Monte, California
David
Luna (lead vocals), Joe Luna (drums), Gilbert “Yukie” Zabala
(lead guitar, vocals), John Albert Zabala (rhythm guitar,
vocals), Raul Dovalina (Bass)
Unlike many of the Eastside’s
garage bands that recorded in the mid-sixties the Royal Chessmen
were never able to get the recognition they deserved. The
territory that the band performed in was limited to the La
Puente, El Monte and Rosemead area of the San Gabriel Valley.
The Royal Chessman were homeboys from the barrio whose 15
minutes of fame came too late for any of them to enjoy.
The story of the Royal Chessmen and
that of their sole recording is tragic story which crosses
several of Los Angeles’ nineteen-sixties cultural divides.
Tragedy and death surround “What I consider” the greatest ballad
to come out of the barrios of the Los Angeles area.

The story begins in the Santa Fe Springs barrio of Canta Ranas where “Beatle-mania” had overcome David and Joe Luna, their cousins Gilbert and John Albert Zabala and drummer Raul Dovalina. David had been playing the guitar for about a year and was teaching his brother (Joe) and cousins (Gilbert and Albert) some licks. According to David “Gilbert mastered the guitar at a young age, man he could make it (the guitar) sing.” David was thirteen when they decided it was time to form their band. Since one of their other pass times was playing chess they decided to call themselves the Royal Chessmen
By 1966 the family had moved to El Monte where David Luna attended nearby Rosemead High School. For the next two years the Royal Chessmen played house parties, entering the occasional battle of the bands in and around the San Gabriel Valley. As the youngest group in the circuit they were going up against several of the better-known Eastside groups. They did managed to put on a good show but were still too young to compete against the more polished groups that were performing on the circuit.
It was in El Monte that David met Steven Parent. Parent was
attending Arroyo High School in El Monte and his father Wilfred
Parent owned a small recording studio in El Monte where they
arranged for a late night recording session with the Royal
Chessmen.
With the money from his after school job David paid for the session time. The group had a couple of cover songs and an original that David and Yukie had written. The session produced one single for David Barkus’ Custom Fidelity Records. The A-side was a cover of Curtis Mayfield’s "You Must Believe Me" sung by Gilbert Zabala The B-side was the hauntingly beautiful “Beggin’ You” a masterpiece which, has all of the elements that make a true Eastside tearjerker. No horns, simple ice cream changes, beautiful lyrics and great vocals provided by David Luna everything you need for a perfect grinder.

Gilbert "Yukie" and John Albert Zabala
With what Luna had saved from his
part time job all he could afford was a pressing of 250 records.
After being turned down by Art Laboe, David’s mother took the
record to Johnny Otis who liked it but turned it down as well.
Without the right connections the Chessmen's record was destined
for vinyl obscurity. Steve Parent and his father were the only
links to the record industry and the group was too young to go
it alone.
Nearly two years
later, on the afternoon of Friday August 8th, 1969
Steve Parent went to visit William Garretson a friend who worked
as the caretaker at Roman Polanski’s estate in the Benedict
Canyon area of Beverly Hills. On his way out of the estate
Parent, was met by Tex Watson, a follower of Charles Manson. The
Manson family was about to commit one of the most gruesome and
bizarre murders in Hollywood history. Their first victim was the
eighteen year-old Steve Parent who was shot four times point
blank by Tex Watson. In the trunk of Parent’s 1966 Nash
Ambassador were the master tapes of the Royal Chessmen’s single.
Without their tapes and without any
connections to the recording industry the group members started
to go their own way and by 1970 the Royal Chessmen were history.
David Luna sang lead for Danny Rios’ group Sangria for a short
while, Albert Zabala who had put together a new group called The
Committee passed away in 1973 and Joe and Gilbert both landed in
the State prison system.
During the mid-seventies a bootleg
copy of "Beggin’ You" popped-up, it was released by a local
record hustler known to local record store owners as “Bootin’
Bernie” because of the many singles he release on several
bootleg labels. The single was first released on the bootleg
Angie label and then as Riot 001. The song started to get
interest and popularity among record collectors, eventually
making its way back to the barrios of Los Angeles where it came
from.
In the summer 1998 Robert Ramos of
Lost Soul Records contacted David Luna, the only living and free
member of the group. Ramos was going to play “Beggin’ You” on
Mega100’s Sunday night oldie show. Thirty-two years after it was
recorded three generations of the Royal Chessmen’s family sat
together in the Luna’s living room to listen “Beggin’ You” on
the radio for the first time.

L-R: John Albert, Joe Luna, David Luna and "Yukie"
As a long time collector I had always heard stories about the Custom Fidelity single however, I had never seen it and those that claimed to own a copy never produced it. Finally, I purchased a copy from San Jose record collector Tommy Siquiero for a pricey sum. For someone who is trying to piece together the history of the Chicano group sound of the sixties the record was well worth the price. First of all only 250 were ever pressed. How many have survived the 43 years since its pressing—probably not too many.
As you can see on the
scan someone at Johhny Otis’ ELDO Record Company had taken a
serious look at the single. Written in marker is the pertinent
recording information like time, publishing company and ELDO on
top. On the A side Curtis Mayfield’s Curtom publishing company
and writers credits are also written in marker.
Click the song title below for a
sample of “Beggin You.” I’m also including samples of my five
favorite Eastside tearjerkers. Feel free to let me know what you
consider your favorite ballad to come out of East Los Angeles
during the sixties.
1. Beggin’ You- Royal Chessmen
3. It’ll Never Be Over For Me- Thee Midniters
4. Girl Of My Dreams- David and Ruben


Los Fabulocos at Greune Hall in New Braunfels, TX

Los Fabulocos on stage at Opal Divines in Austin, TX


David Hidalgo ready for war with Jack Knife and the Sharps. Clearlake, IA

Cesar Rosas, Chris Montes, David Hidalgo & Conrad Lozano after their performance at the 50 Winters Later Dance Party

Chris Montez performing at 50 Winters Later in Clear Lake, IA

Chicano Soul: Recordings and History of an American Culture
Mictlan Publishing announces the
publication of “Chicano Soul: Recordings and History of an American
Culture” by Ruben Molina. The book traces the history of Mexican
American popular music in the 1950s and 1960s -- from Sunny and the
Sunliners and the Royal Jesters of San Antonio, Texas to groups such
as Tierra and Thee Midniters in Los Angeles, California.
The book, which is chocked full of vintage photos and colorful graphics is a companion to "The Old Barrio Guide To Low Rider Music 1950-1975" previously published by Mictlan Publishing. Both books are available through this web site or participating book stores.





