Daniel Robert Hamilton (June 1, 1946 – December 23, 1994) was an American musician and singer. He was a member of

The T-Bones The T-Bones were an American, Liberty Records recording group, existing from 1963 to 1966. The studio recordings of all of their albums but the last were done by American session musicians, The Wrecking Crew. They should not be confused wit ...

with his brother

Judd Hamilton Judd Hamilton is an American singer, musician, former band leader, writer, film producer, actor, inventor, company director. As a musician he has recorded for the Dolton, Liberty, American International, United Artists and RCA Victor labels. He ...

and later formed the soft-rock group

Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds were a 1970s soft rock trio from Los Angeles. The original members were Dan Hamilton (guitar/lead vocal), Joe Frank Carollo (bass/vocal), and Tommy Reynolds (multi-instrumentalist/vocal), all of whom had previou ...

, performing lead vocals on the band's two biggest hits, "

Don't Pull Your Love "Don't Pull Your Love" is a song written by Brian Potter and Dennis Lambert which became a top ten hit single in 1971 for Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds. Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds recording Background Rumored to have been written with Elv ...

" and " Fallin' in Love". He was also a composer who, in addition to co-writing "Fallin' in Love", was the sole songwriter for the Ventures hit song " 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 Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Canada ...

. He attended Eastmont High School in

East Wenatchee, Washington East Wenatchee is a city in Douglas County, Washington, United States. The population at the 2010 census was 13,190, a 129.1% increase on the 2000 census, having annexed much of the East Wenatchee Bench CDP. As of 2019, the Office of Financia ...

. He was the younger brother of

, who had been a road manager for The Ventures.

Career

1960s

As a singer, songwriter, session musician, Hamilton began his music career at the age of 16 composing instrumentals for The Ventures. In 1963 he joined

The Avantis The Avantis were a surf group from Los Angeles, California that was active from around 1963 to 1964. They recorded some singles on a couple of labels. They are known for their 1963 surf rock instrumental, "Wax 'Em Down". Background The group was ...

, a recording group produced by Judd Hamilton. The Avantis included Hamilton, Mexican-American brothers Pat and

Lolly Vegas Lolly Vegas (born Candido Albelando Vasquez-Vegas; October 2, 1939 – March 4, 2010) was a Mexican American musician of Indigenous descent. He played in numerous ensembles with his brother, Pat, including Pat & Lolly Vegas, The Avantis and Re ...

from Fresno, California, and drummer

Mike Kowalski Mike Kowalski (born July 28, 1944) is an American drummer, percussionist and musicologist. He is best known as a longtime touring and session drummer for the rock band the Beach Boys. Early career Mike Kowalski was born in Hollywood, Los Angele ...

. The group became a support act for the

Beach Boys A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shell ...

. Later in 1963 the Vegas brothers changed their name back to Pat & Lolly Vegas and worked as the house band of LA's Haunted House Nightclub. Hamilton composed several songs for

The Ventures The Ventures are an American instrumental rock band formed in Tacoma, Washington, in 1958, by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle. The band, which was a quartet for most of its existence, helped to popularize the electric guitar across the world during the ...

. 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 Aqua Velvets are an American surf rock revival band from San Francisco, California, formed in the 1980s by guitarist Miles Corbin. Rather than simply recreate the vintage 1963 surf sound, Corbin set out to add depth and dimension with original song ...

and Susan & The Surftones. Hamilton wrote several other songs for the Ventures throughout the 1960s, such as "War of the Satellites", "Escape" (which was originally called "Target"), "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. In November 1965, he once again joined his brother Judd Hamilton to form the touring band The T-Bones. When The T-Bones disbanded in 1968, he along with

Joe Frank Carollo Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds were a 1970s soft rock trio from Los Angeles. The original members were Dan Hamilton (guitar/lead vocal), Joe Frank Carollo (bass/vocal), and Tommy Reynolds (multi-instrumentalist/vocal), all of whom had previousl ...

and Tommy Reynolds, who had also become members of The T-Bones, rejoined to play clubs around Los Angeles as The Brothers.

1970s

In 1970, Hamilton and Tommy Reynolds co-founded Hamilton Joe Frank & Reynolds when Joe Frank Carollo agreed to come back onboard. Soon after, they recorded their first million-selling gold record for the ABC Dunhill label with "Don't Pull Your Love", featuring Hamilton on lead vocals. In addition to serving as the group's guitarist and co-lead singer, Hamilton later became the main songwriter for the group. Along with Ann Hamilton, he co-composed the hit " Fallin' in Love" which reached #1 on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

in 1975. It was later a hit for

La Bouche La Bouche (French for "The Mouth", ) is a Germany, German-America, American Eurodance, Euro-Dance duo best known for the hits "Be My Lover (La Bouche song), Be My Lover", "Sweet Dreams (La Bouche song), Sweet Dreams", "You Won't Forget Me (song), ...

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 also saw a release in New Zealand on Probe PROBE.44. In Hamilton's final years, he and his brother were recording a

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

album as The Hamilton Brothers.

Death

Hamilton died on December 23, 1994 at the age of 48 of complications from

Cushing's syndrome Cushing's syndrome is a collection of signs and symptoms due to prolonged exposure to glucocorticoids such as cortisol. Signs and symptoms may include high blood pressure, abdominal obesity but with thin arms and legs, reddish stretch marks, ...

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".''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'', September 20, 2012
Music Publisher Hit With $500,000 Jury Verdict Over '70s Hit 'Fallin' in Love' by Matthew Belloni
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Discography

External links

Life of a Roadie: The Gypsy in Me
(written by Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds roadie, Ronnie Rush)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Dan 1946 births 1994 deaths American male composers 20th-century American composers American male singer-songwriters American rock singers Surf musicians People from Spokane, Washington 20th-century American singers 20th-century American male singers The Avantis members The Marketts members The T-Bones members Singer-songwriters from Washington (state)