The Don Harrison Band were a 1970s American

roots rock Roots rock is a genre of rock music that looks back to rock's origins in folk, blues and country music. It is particularly associated with the creation of hybrid subgenres from the later 1960s, including blues rock, country rock, Southern rock, ...

band that featured Don Harrison on vocals, guitar and keyboards,

Stu Cook Stuart Alden Cook (born April 25, 1945) is an American bass guitarist, best known for his work in the rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR), for which he is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Career Cook, along with Doug Cliff ...

on bass and piano and

Doug Clifford Douglas Raymond Clifford (born April 24, 1945) is an American drummer, best known as a founding member of Creedence Clearwater Revival for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993. After the group disbanded in late 1972 ...

on drums and percussion. Stu Cook and Doug "Cosmo" Clifford were both former members of

Creedence Clearwater Revival Creedence Clearwater Revival, also referred to as Creedence and CCR, was an American rock band formed in El Cerrito, California. The band initially consisted of lead vocalist, lead guitarist, and primary songwriter John Fogerty; his brother, ...

.Heibutzki, Ralph
''The Don Harrison Band'' Review
,

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

. Retrieved June 29, 2013 The line-up also included

Russell DaShiell Russell DaShiell (born July 23, 1947) is an American guitarist who has recorded as a solo artist as well as playing in bands such as Crowfoot and the Don Harrison Band, and with Harvey Mandel, Phil Everly and Norman Greenbaum. Russell was also on ...

formerly of

Crowfoot Crowfoot (1830 – 25 April 1890) or Isapo-Muxika ( bla, Issapóómahksika, italics=yes; syllabics: ) was a chief of the Siksika First Nation. His parents, (Packs a Knife) and (Attacked Towards Home), were Kainai. He was five years old when ...

on lead and rhythm guitar, piano and vocals. The band merged elements of

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

rhythm & blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

and

rock & roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...

in a sound reminiscent of CCR.Chartrand, David (1976)
Revival's Sound Revived by New Don Harrison Band
, ''

Lawrence Journal-World The ''Lawrence Journal-World'' is a daily newspaper published in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, by Ogden Newspapers. History Though the ''Journal-World'' title came into existence in 1911, the paper dates itself to 1858, according to the ...

'', May 1, 1976, p. 5. Retrieved June 29, 2013

History

Don Harrison was born c.1944 and grew up in an integrated Louisville, Kentucky, neighborhood. He first performed as a singer in an otherwise all-black

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

group. He relocated to Los Angeles in 1962 where he performed in bars and as a studio musician. After Creedence split up, Cook and Clifford had set up a studio in a converted warehouse known as The Factory. Originally DaShiell, Cook and Clifford intended to produce Harrison, but they then decided to launch the band together with him instead. They were signed by

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

, and debuted with a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

Tennessee Ernie Ford Ernest Jennings Ford (February 13, 1919 – October 17, 1991), known professionally as Tennessee Ernie Ford, was an American singer and television host who enjoyed success in the country and western, pop, and gospel musical genres. Noted for ...

's 1955 hit "

Sixteen Tons "Sixteen Tons" is a song written by Merle Travis about a coal miner, based on life in the mines of Muhlenberg County, Kentucky. Travis first recorded the song at the Radio Recorders Studio B in Hollywood, California, on August 8, 1946. Cliff ...

", which featured Hugh Cregg (later better known as

Huey Lewis Hugh Anthony Cregg III (born July 5, 1950), known professionally as Huey Lewis, is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. Lewis sings lead and plays harmonica for his band, Huey Lewis and the News, in addition to writing or co-writing many o ...

) on

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

.Bordowitz, Hank (2007) ''Bad Moon Rising: The Unauthorized History of Creedence Clearwater Revival'', Chicago Review Press, , p. 172 They released two albums on Atlantic: ''The Don Harrison Band'' (Atlantic SD-18171) in April 1976, which featured the

Memphis Horns The Memphis Horns were an American horn section, made famous by their many appearances on Stax Records. The duo consisted of Wayne Jackson (November 24, 1941 – June 21, 2016) on trumpet and Andrew Love (November 21, 1941 - April 12, 2012) on ...

, and ''Red Hot'' (Wounded Bird Records - WOBR 1820) in January 1977. The band's debut album peaked at number 159 on the ''Billboard'' 200, and received a positive critical response.''The Don Harrison Band'' Awards
,

. Retrieved June 29, 2013Selection of New Albums
, '' The Hour'', July 7, 1976, p. 32. Retrieved June 29, 2013Zurawik, Dave (1976)
Sounds of Today a Poor Second
, ''

Milwaukee Sentinel The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper. It is also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely distributed. It is currently ...

'', April 30, 1976, p. 8. Retrieved June 29, 2013 They also made the charts with "Sixteen Tons", which peaked at number 47 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. ''Red Hot'', which saw the addition of keyboard player John Tanner, also received positive reviews but was less commercially successful.Good Rock Records are Plentiful Now
, '' The Hour'', April 5, 1977, p. 8. Retrieved June 29, 2013Marsh, Dave (1977)
''Red Hot''
, ''

The Morning Record and Journal The ''Record-Journal'' is an American daily newspaper based in Meriden, Connecticut, that dates back to the years immediately following the American Civil War. It is owned by the Record-Journal Publishing Company, a family-owned business entit ...

'', February 17, 1977, p. 32. Retrieved June 29, 2013 During the band's heyday, Don Harrison resided in

Bell Gardens Bell Gardens is a city in the U.S. state of California in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Located in Los Angeles County, the city's population was 42,072 at the 2010 census, down from 44,054 at the 2000 census. Bell Gardens is part of the G ...

, California leading a modest lifestyle in a lower-middle-class neighborhood, where he converted a multiplex into a modest looking single family home. A highlight for the band was performing as opening act at the 1976

Knebworth Festival The Knebworth Festival is a recurring open-air rock and pop concert held on the grounds of the Knebworth House in Knebworth, England. The festival first occurred in July 1974 when The Allman Brothers Band, The Doobie Brothers and other artists ...

headlined by the

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

. After the breakup, Harrison recorded a solo album (''Not Far From Free'') and then seemingly disappeared from the music scene. DaShiell recorded a solo album ''Elevator'' (with Cook and Clifford on bass and drums) and signed with Epic Records. As of 2012, Harrison continued to work and record in the Los Angeles area. Cook later played in

Southern Pacific The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...

.Piorkowski, Jeff (2012)
Creedeence Clearwater Revisited bassist Stu Cook never wanted to be a celebrity, just wanted to be in a rock band
, cleveland.com, March 29, 2012. Retrieved June 29, 2013 Also as of 2012, the ex- CCR members, Cook and Clifford, were back on tour performing with their band,

Creedence Clearwater Revisited Creedence Clearwater Revisited is an American rock band formed in 1995 by bassist Stu Cook and drummer Doug "Cosmo" Clifford, former members of Creedence Clearwater Revival, to play live versions of that band's music. Overview Much of Creeden ...

. Don Harrison now lives in Utah with his wife and family.

Discography

Albums

*''The Don Harrison Band'' (1976),

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

*''Red Hot'' (1977), Atlantic ;Don Harrison solo: *''Not Far From Free'' (1977),

Mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...

Singles

" (1976), Atlantic. Peaked at #47 on the Billboard Hot 100 in June 1976. #53 in Australia. *"Rock 'N' Roll Records" (1976), Atlantic ;Don Harrison solo: *" Helter Skelter"/"Funky Monkey" (1977), Mercury - promotional only 12-inch single

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Don Harrison Band American rock music groups Musical groups established in 1976 Musical groups disestablished in 1977 Musical quartets