1963 - That Same Old Song / Where Have You Been (Musicor 1025)
Unreleased :
1963 - Diamond Ring (Musicor)
The Fabulous Denos
1964 - Once I Had A Love / Bad Girl (King 5908)
1964 - I've Enjoyed Being Loved By You / Hard To Hold Back Tears (King 5971)
Biography :
Their
story begins at Atlanta's Booker T. Washington High School in 1959.
James Henry Walker, Bobby Dixon, Allan Pace, Hezekiah Sheffield and
Rickey Andrews were all into the sounds of Hank Ballard & the
Midnighters, The "5" Royales and James Brown & His Famous Flames.
Like many teenagers at the time, they decided to form a vocal group
themselves, which they called The Fabulous Dinos. After performing at
parties , the group moved into the local club circuit and started to
gain a local following.
The Fabulous Denos in 1965
By 1961 the members had graduated from Washington High, began taking
their craft more seriously and found their way into Bill Lowery's Master
Sound Studios to record their first single for the NRC custom label
Saber which was "Instant Love" b/w "Retreat" (Saber 105). In 1963, the
group cut one single for Musicor "That Same Old Song" b/w "Where Have
You Been". After an unsuccessful release on New York's Musicor Records
in 1962, the group was drawn to Macon, Georgia were more opportunities
for an R&B group at the time. After a number of shows around Macon,
the Fabulous Denos were noticed in 1964 by Oscar Mack, who was already
running with Otis Redding. Mack introduced the young men to Phil Walden
who recommended they try King Records, which had an office on Mulberry
Street.
Bobby Dixon
Over at King they met Bobby Smith who signed the group and quickly
got them into the recording studio. The first King 45 was "Bad Girl" b/w
"Once I Had A Love" (King 5908), and was followed by "I Enjoy Being
Loved By You" b/w "Hard To Hold Back Tears" (King 5971). "Bad Girl"
became a hit, which led to the group touring the United States and
Canada for the next four years. By 1969, the Fabulous Denos had
disbanded, but Rickey Andrews was back out in the Atlanta night clubs
performing with various bands, and in time was ready to give recording
another shot. The Denos had received no money from the sales of their
King 45s, and been living off of what they made on the road.
