The Fabulous Dino's in 1963

 

The Fabulous Denos (Atlanta, Georgia)
aka The Fabulous Dinos




Personnel :

Bobby Dixon (aka Bobby Lee Fears & Bobby Brown)

Rickey Andrews

Alan Pace

James Henry Walker

Hezekiah Sheffield

Discography :

The Fabulous Dino’s
1962 - Instant Love / Retreat (Saber 105/109)

The Fabulous Dinos
Singles:
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.

Songs :
(updated by Hans-Joachim) 

The Fabulous Dino’s

  
Retreat                                      Instant Love

The Fabulous Dinos

  
Where Have You Been           Where Have You Been



The Fabulous Denos

  
Once I Had A Love                            Bad Girl

  
I've Enjoyed Being Loved By You                    Hard To Hold Back Tears

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