The first time I ever heard Don & Dewey was at a party (here it comes...) a long time ago. Even over the murmurs of conversation, it hit hard enough to hunt down the host of the party, and complete a thorough investigation. It was immediately added to the ongoing want list. Amazingly Tower Records, of all places, had a reissue of their stuff, and it was good, from beginning to end good. No stinkers.
Ever since getting hooked by that LP (on Specialty no less), I've tried to figure out why Don & Dewey weren't, and still aren't, better known. They're like some sorta Little Richard meets a rockin' version of Sam and Dave, with some gravel thrown in. And a little bit of rhythm and blues, with electric violin. They recorded the original versions of "Leaving It All Up To You" (a hit for Dale & Grace, in a much milder version), Farmer John (the Premiers, and The Searchers), and the Sonny Bono penned "Koko Joe" (the Olympics, and the Righteous Brothers). And every one of their original versions is superior to their respective covers. They should be huge.
Ever since getting hooked by that LP (on Specialty no less), I've tried to figure out why Don & Dewey weren't, and still aren't, better known. They're like some sorta Little Richard meets a rockin' version of Sam and Dave, with some gravel thrown in. And a little bit of rhythm and blues, with electric violin. They recorded the original versions of "Leaving It All Up To You" (a hit for Dale & Grace, in a much milder version), Farmer John (the Premiers, and The Searchers), and the Sonny Bono penned "Koko Joe" (the Olympics, and the Righteous Brothers). And every one of their original versions is superior to their respective covers. They should be huge.
Here's what I could find. The only version of "Farmer John" I could find was an awfully tinny version on YouTube, and it's so bad that I left it out intentionally. That song is one that must boom. Without the ability to blast it, it is not the same song. Buy their record. The one with "Farmer John." If you can't find it anywhere else, there's always the online retailers.
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Listen:Don & Dewey - Jungle Hop mp3 at The Adios Lounge
Don & Dewey - Justine mp3 at Beware of the Blog
Don & Dewey - A Little Love mp3 at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban
Don & Dewey - Bim Bam (streaming) at YouTube
Don & Dewey - Kill Me (streaming) at YouTube
Don & Dewey - I'm Leaving It All Up To You (streaming) at YouTube
Visit:
Don & Dewey - Excellent bio at The Hound Blog Unfortunately the mp3 links are dead.
Don & Dewey at Wikipedia
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