The Music of Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds: Musicians of Note

By Robert F. Reynolds

In 1966, a groupl of studio musicians hit it big with a novelty song based on an Alka-Seltzer ad.  Unwilling to go on the road to promote it, the label recruited other musicians to become The T-Bones and claim the song as theirs.  Among these musicians were Dan Hamilton, Joe Frank Carollo, and Tom Reynolds.  After the song's popularity waned, the boys formed a new group which they aptly called Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds.  Their record, Don't Pull Your Love became a #4 hit.  Other records followed, but with far less success, and Tom Reynolds left the group, being replaced by Alan Dennison.  The band found themselves withhout a label.  Shortly, they presented a song to Playboy Records and were signed to a contract, while keeping their original group name.  Their first Playboy offering, Fallin' In Love, soared up the charts, becoming a #1 hit and earned them another gold record.  Other hits followed.  This is the intriguing story of how one of the great soft rock bands of the 70's, Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds came to be.  If you like great music, you won't want to miss this book.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Robert Reynolds
• Release date: Feb 7, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393372738

Robert F. Reynolds

Robert F. Reynolds has penned several books, including: A Perilous Place; Thunder Bay; El Paso Run; The Rabbit's Tale; Along the Quay; Gray Wolf Pass; Mackinac Drift; Orchids and Sand; Molasses Men; Ernesto Juarez; Stiller's Creek; A Dark and Curious Place; A Fine Gray Rain; and others.  He's also written several music related books in his The Music of.... series. 

Book preview

Introduction

During the sixties , Daniel Hamilton, Joe Frank Carollo, and Tommy Reynolds (no relation to the author) joined forces as members of an instrumental group called the T-Bones.  Oddly, none of the trio played on the one big T-Bones hit, which they were recruited to perform.  The group soon disbanded, only to reform a few years later under the name Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds.  Amazingly, they tasted gold record success with their first single, Don’t Pull Your Love.  As their popularity from their big hit waned, Reynolds unexpectedly left the group and was replaced by Alan Dennison.  In 1975, the new lineup signed on with fledgling Playboy Records, but was required to keep their original name.  Their first release for the new label became the #1 hit, Fallin’ In Love.  This is the story of this great 70’s group and its superb music. 

Part 1

Chapter 1  1963—The Year of the Rabbit

THE HOTTEST TICKET in town was New York’s Upper West Side—the movie, the Broadway play, the soundtrack recording. West Side Story had been around for a while and the soundtrack was on its way to topping the LP charts for the second straight year.  Musically, much of the nation was focused on the two coasts; New York’s Brill Building sound and Philly’s American Bandstand, while out west the Los Angeles scene had bands crooning love songs to  deuce coupes and surfboards. 

A young Catholic man from the greater Boston area, John F. Kennedy, was President of our nation for much of the year. Hawaii had gained statehood only four years before, becoming the country’s 50th state. The U.S. population was roughly 190,000,000. Los Angeles claimed 2.5 million of that number and was growing rapidly. Commercial businesses, sports franchises and music enterprises were moving west to take advantage of the sun, sand and surf. 

Across the nation, the cost of a new car averaged $3,233 and Ford Falcons, Dodge Darts, Chevrolet Corvairs and Novas, Buick Electras and Mercury Meteors decorated dealer showrooms.

Gasoline was $.29 a gallon and uniformed Sinclair, Gulf and Standard sattendants pumped your gas, checked your tires, topped off your radiator, cleaned your windshield—and thanked you!

A loaf of Holsum Bread was $.22.  Ovaltine, Bosco and Fizzies drink tablets quenched our thirst. As did Royal Crown Cola, Faygo Rock & Rye, Nehi Grape and Vernor’s Ginger Ale. Ronald McDonald made his first appearance and the McDonald franchise’s Filet-Of-Fish was introduced.  The company opened its 500th restaurant and sold its one-billionth hamburger.  Thirty-five cents bought you a hamburger, fries and Coke. 

Life was good. 

In the field of science, quasars were discovered, the first liver transpant and first artificial heart implant were performed, and the sedative Valium, was developed.  The federal penitentiary Alcatraz ceased operation and the American nuclear submarine USS Thresher sank in the Atlantic Ocean with a loss of 129 personnel. 15,000 military advisors had already shipped off to Vietnam.

During the year, famed American poet Robert Frost died, as did Major League baseball legend Rogers Hornsby, country western singers Patsy Cline, Cowboy Copas, Hawkshaw Hawkins, western film character actor Al Fuzzy St. John, and bluesman Elmore James.

One of the top books for the year was Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz’s Happiness Is a Warm Puppy.

Lawrence of Arabia won the Oscar for Best Picture while Steve McQueen was planning The Great Escape.  Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello starred in Beach Party, Bobby Rydell and Ann-Margret starred in Bye-Bye Birdie, and Elvis was having Fun In Acapulco.  Peter Sellars made his first Inspector Clouseau appearance in The Pink Panther, comedian Jackie Gleason starred in a dramatic role in Soldier In the Rain, Audie Murphy starred in The Ugly American and the B-movie, Slime People, made it to the big screen. It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, showcasing practically every motion picture comedian in Hollywood, was the highest-grossing film for the year.

Ironically, in the world of popular music, the Album of the Year would not go to a singer or musician, instead being awarded to comedian Vaughn Meader for his LP The First Family, a spoof of President Kennedy.  Before long, in November, Kennedy would be assassinated, bringing tears and heavy hearts to millions.

Immediately after that fateful morning, female singer Connie Francis and several others released a Kennedy tribute single entitled, The Summer of His Years.  Many radio stations refused to play the song, deeming it inappropriate to capitalize on the President’s death, while other stations simply felt there was little listener interest. Francis donated the proceeds from her #46 song to the family of J.D. Tippit, a Dallas police officer who was shot and killed by suspected Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald while patrolling in the city’s South Oak Cliff area.  An album recorded the day after Kennedy’s assassination called John Fitzgerald Kennedy: A Memorial Album, at $.99 sold more than 4-million copies in six-days, becoming the fastest selling phonograph disc of all-time, surpassing previous record holder Meader’s The First Family comedy album.

Across the Atlantic an up and coming new band named the Beatles was capturing the attention of music lovers in Great Britain, Germany and across Europe.  The Kingdom’s harder edged band The Rolling Stones would soon emerge as the anti-Beatles. 

Stateside, Skeeter Davis’ The End of the World, Bobby Vinton’s Blue Velvet and the Cascades’ Rhythm of the Rain finished the year 1-2-3 in the Top 40.  The Four Seasons’ placed two singles on the list, as did the folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary. Soundtracks, folk and easy-listening LPs made up most of the Top Ten albums.  Of course an Elvis Presley disc was on the list.

John Stewart breathed new life into the folk group The Kingston Trio, with songs like "Greenback