Richard and the Young Lions were an American garage rock band from Newark, New Jersey. They produced a moderately successful single with their song "Open Up Your Door".
The Young Lions originally performed under the name The Emeralds. The band members were Newark's first rock band to grow their hair long. After being discovered by Larry Brown, (a.k.a. L. Russell Brown), and Ray Bloodworth during a chance encounter in a Newark pizzeria and joining Bob Crewe Productions, the name was changed to Richard and the Young Lions.
The Young Lions managed to produce one minor hit with their song "Open Up Your Door", released on Philips in 1966. The song was written by Ray Bloodworth and Larry Brown, not by the Young Lions, and studio musicians were used for the recording, with Tepp's vocals the only contribution from the band itself. The band dissolved in 1967.
Despite being from New Jersey, Richard and the Young Lions were more popular in other locations like Detroit or Cleveland, with Michigan's WRKR radio station including them on a 2023 list of 1960s Michigan bands, stating that "['Open Up Your Door'] got SO much Michigan airplay ... that the band was thought to be from Michigan. Almost EVERY local garage & bar band had this song in their playlist."
Original lead singer Richard Tepp died of leukemia on June 17, 2004.
An independent documentary on the band was produced in 2004, entitled Out of Our Dens: The Richard and the Young Lions Story by James Hannon and Leon Leybs, and narrated by radio personality Pat St. John. It featured the group's history from their early days to their reunion shows in the early 2000s.