Hamilton, Joe Frank and Reynolds

Hamilton, Joe Frank And Reynolds

This Soft Rock trio from Los Angeles, California consisted of guitarist Dan Hamilton (originally from Wetnatchee, Washington), bassist Joe Frank Carollo (from Leland, Mississippi) and drummer Tommy Reynolds (from New York City). The three first came together in a studio instrumental group known as The T-Bones. During the early sixties it was not uncommon for a record company to release material recorded by studio session men and pass it off to the unsuspecting public as being recordings by a real, live Rock 'n' Roll ensemble. The first LPs by the T-Bones, "Boss Drag" and "Boss Drag At The Beach", were released in 1964 to exploit the craze for instrumentals evoking surf and hot-rod themes. "Doin' The Jerk" followed the next year to capitalize on the huge West Coast dance craze, The Jerk. The T-Bones became a notable one-hit-wonder in late 1965 with a #3, U.S. hit called "No Matter What Shape Your Stomach's In", a composition by Sascha Burland based on an Alka-Seltzer commercial. An album of the same name became the group's only Billboard Hot 200 entry at #75. A follow-up single, "Sippin' And Chippin'", which was based on a Nabisco jingle, stalled at #62 and the album of the same name did not chart at all. The last T-Bones LP was "Everyone's Gone To The Moon", late in 1966.

Hamilton, Carollo and Reynolds finally tired of the studio grind and formed a trio under their own names, signing with Dunhill Records. They burst onto the charts with "Don't Pull Your Love", which became a smash hit, topping the Cashbox Best Sellers chart and climbing to #4 on the Hot 100 in the Summer of 1971. Despite the Stateside success, it failed to chart at all in the UK. A long line of follow-up singles were issued, but none could match the band's earlier success. "Annabella" could only manage to reach #48 that October and "Daisy Mae" quit at #41 in February, 1972. By early 1973, Tommy Reynolds left, joining another group called Shango. The remaining duo continued to tour with various musicians, but their contract with Dunhill was eventually canceled.

In the latter part of 1974 they signed on with Playboy Records on the condition that they retain the name Hamilton, Joe Frank, and Reynolds. The new trio soldiered on, but continued to struggle artistically until 1975 when they released "Fallin' In Love", an easy listening ballad that was perfect for the adult oriented, FM market. The record shot up the US charts, eventually hitting #1 in mid-August, while climbing to #33 in the UK. A song called "Winners And Losers" came next, peaking at #21 in January, 1976, followed by "Everyday Without You" which died out at #88 in April. At this point the band decided to include their newest member's name in their moniker and released "Light Up The World With Sunshine" as Hamilton, Joe Frank And Dennison. Unfortunately the change made no difference in their fortunes and the record quit at #89 in July. "Don't Fight The Hands (That Need You)", came next, but it suffered a similar fate and stopped climbing at #91 in October.

By 1980, the band broke up again, this time permanently. While Joe Frank Carollo and Alan Dennison faded from view, Dan Hamilton and his wife Ann continued to write songs together throughout the eighties and released an album called "Love Songs by Dan Hamilton and Ann Hamilton". In the Winter of 1993 Dan Hamilton became seriously ill and was diagnosed as suffering from Cushing's syndrome. He died in Los Angeles on December 23, 1994, at the age of 48.

Since then, two compilation albums have been released; "Greatest Hits" in 1995 and "The Playboy Years" in 2005.

In May, 2013 Ronnie Rush, the Roadie for Hamilton, Joe Frank and Reynolds, published his memoir; Life of a Roadie, the Gypsy in me.