Manic Monday - Pull

When Morgen decreed that this Monday's Manic word was "pull" I really had to pull something out of my past to get 'er done! Nothing for nothing, Mo, but could you pull out a better word next week? Of course, after seeing the picture of a pulled pork sandwich that Mo has posted on his blog, I can understand why Mo decided to use "pull" this week and dedicate it to Nancy @ The Goat Rodeo; I mean, heck, if the pulled pork she makes looks anything like that I'd have used her for inspiration, too!

Anyhow, pulled pork sandwiches aside, here's some music to listen to while you're reading my post on "pull" -


As a teenager in the 1970's (anyone else remember the 70's??), as well as listening to The Who, The Moody Blues, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Carol King, Three Dog Night and the like, I oftentimes listened to other groups like Blue Suede, Stealers Wheel, The Grass Roots, and Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds - singers of the above song. It was a band with a very confusing name - were they four people? Hamilton, Joe, Frank, & Reynolds? Were they five people? Hamilton, Joe, Frank, Ann, Reynolds? Nope, the band was actually a soft rock trio from Los Angeles with the original members of the band being Dan Hamilton (guitar/lead vocal), Joe Frank Carollo (bass/vocal), and Tommy Reynolds (multi-instrumentalist/vocal).

Prior to becoming Hamilton, Joe Frank, & Reynolds and signing up with Dunhill Records in 1970, all three were part of the T-Bones, a 1960's studio group whose hit "No Matter What Shape Your Stomach's In" was based on a popular Alka Seltzer jingle. Personally, I have no knowledge of that particular song or group as the first time I ever heard these guys was when they released their 1971 Top Five hit "Don't Pull Your Love (Out)."

After none of their follow-up singles had any success, Tommy Reynolds left the group in late 1972 and was replaced by keyboardist Alan Dennison. The band continued to work the Las Vegas, college & one-night-only concert circuit until late 1974 when they signed with Playboy Records under the condition that they retain the band's name of Hamilton, Joe Frank, & Reynolds. The condition was imposed as their new record company was afraid that what little name recognition and momentum the band had would be lost should they change the name at that point in time.

Within another few months the band recorded and released their first USA Top 10 hit in 4 years; a soulful soft-rock ballad called "Fallin' In Love" which was written by Dan Hamilton and his then-wife Ann. "Fallin' In Love" proved to be the group's biggest hit as it took Billboard's coveted #1 USA singles spot in the summer of 1975, became their second RIAA-certified (Recording Industry Association of America) million-selling gold record, and was their first and only song to chart in the UK. In 1976 they reached #21 on the US charts with their last successful single, "Winners and Losers".

The band convinced Playboy Records to change the group's name to "Hamilton, Joe Frank, & Dennison" for their second album but no more hits were forthcoming and they permanently disbanded in 1980. Dan Hamilton continued to write songs until his death at the age of 48 from a rare disease known as Cushing's Syndrome, a hormonal disorder caused by prolonged exposure of the body's tissues to high levels of the hormone cortisol. Sometimes called "hypercortisolism," it is relatively rare and most commonly affects adults aged 20 to 50 with an estimated 10 to 15 of every one million people affected each year.

So there you have it! A blast from my past to pull off another Manic Monday post! I hope that you enjoyed it at least a little bit even if you have no clue about anything from the 70's, especially the sappy AM music that we all listened to! If you want to see what others pulled out of their hat for this assignment, don't forget to check out Manic Monday at It's A Blog Eat Blog World!