Dan Hamilton (musician)


Daniel Robert Hamilton was an American musician. He was a member of The T-Bones with his brother Judd Hamilton, and later was the lead singer of the soft-rock group Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds. He also was a composer, and wrote the hit songs "Fallin' in Love" and "Diamond Head".

Background

Hamilton was a martial artist and reached the level of 3rd degree black belt.

Early life

Dan Hamilton was born on June 1, 1946, in Spokane, Washington. He attended Eastmont High School in East Wenatchee, Washington. He was the younger brother of Judd Hamilton.

Career

1960s

Hamilton became a musician at the age of 16 and was a songwriter and session musician.
In 1963, he was a member of The Avantis. The group was made up of Mexican-Americans brothers, Pat and Lolly Vegas who were from Fresno, California, Hamilton and drummer Mike Kowalski. When the brothers came to LA, Pat said to his brother Lolly that they needed a new guitarist. Lolly said to his brother that they didn't and Pat replied "Maybe we do". Then Hamilton joined. The group became a support act for the Beach Boys. Later in 1963 the group changed their name and were going by the name of Pat & Lolly Vegas, and Pat & Lolly worked as the house band of LA's Haunted House Nightclub.
Hamilton composed several songs for The Ventures. The most notable of these is "Diamond Head", which the band recorded for their Walk, Don't Run, Vol. 2 album. Diamond Head became an international hit single for Hamilton and the Ventures. For the week ending March 13, 1965, "Diamond Head had moved up two notches from #4 to #2 in the Hong Kong Top Ten. The following week it had reached #1 there. The song became Japan's first million-seller and sold more than 1,850,000 copies there. It was a hit in Iran and got to #70 in the US. The song was later covered by the Aqua Velvets and Susan & The Surftones. Hamilton wrote several other songs for the Ventures throughout the 1960s, such as "War of the Satellites", "Escape", "Wild And Wooly", "Kandy Koncoction", and "The Gallop".
Two of his compositions - "Bullseye" and "No Exit" - were recorded by Mel Taylor and the Magics and appear on the In Action! album which was released in 1966.
Around 1966, he was a member of The T-Bones. After leaving The T-Bones, Dan Hamilton along with Joe Frank Carollo and Tommy Reynolds, also members of The T-Bones, played the clubs around Los Angeles. They were called The Brothers.

1970s

In 1970, Hamilton and Tommy Reynolds co-founded Hamilton Joe Frank & Reynolds with Joe Frank Carollo. They had a million dollar smash hit with "Don't Pull Your Love". Hamilton was the guitarist and main songwriter for the group. Along with Ann Hamilton, he co-composed the hit "Fallin' in Love" which was a hit for HJF&R, reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1975. It was later a hit for La Bouche in 1996 with their version reaching #35 in the Hot 100.
Between those two hit records, Hamilton had a 1972 solo release entitled, "Don't Wait Up for Me Tonight" bw "On the Other Hand", which was credited to Danny Hamilton & Spoondrift. It was released on Dunhill 4320 It even saw a release in New Zealand on Probe PROBE.44.
In Hamilton's final years, he and his brother were recording a country music album as The Hamilton Brothers.

Death

Hamilton died on December 23, 1994 at the age of 48 of complications from Cushing's syndrome.

Later years

In 2012, Hamilton's widow Fredricka Hamilton successfully sued Henry Marx and his Music Force publishing co., and was awarded $562,317 in revenue from the song "Fallin' in Love".

Discography

ActTitleRelease infoYearNotes
Danny Hamilton & Spoondrift"Don't Wait Up for Me Tonight" / "On the Other Hand",Dunhill 43201972