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 sessionmen 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 number three, 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 pop chart entry at number 75. A follow-up single, "Sippin' And Chippin'", which was based on a Nabisco jingle, stalled at number 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. Their first two singles were released in 1971, but "Annabella" and "Daisy Mae" failed to reach the U.S. charts or get much radio play. Their third effort however, "Don't Pull Your Love" became a smash hit, climbing to number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, although 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 and by early 1973, Tommy Reynolds left, joining another group called Shango.
In one of the boldest moves in rock & roll history, either Hamilton and Carollo or Dunhill Records hired singer Alan Dennison to take Reynolds' place, yet didn't change the name of the band! The assumption must have been that it was foolish to risk what little name recognition the floundering group already had.
The band continued to struggle artistically until 1975 when they released "Fallin' In Love", an easy listening ballad that was perfect for the adult oriented, FM soft rock market. The record shot up the U.S. charts, eventually hitting number one, while climbing to number 33 in the UK.
Feeling more like hit makers again, the band changed its name in 1976 to more accurately reflect the new line-up, and became "Hamilton, Joe Frank and Dennison". Under that name, they released one more minor U.S. hit called "Don't Fight The Hands (That Need You"). After that, the hits dried up completely and the trio went their separate ways.
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