jim henson

Dewey Terry (1938 - 2003) grew up in Pasadena, California.

As a teenager, he sang falsetto vocals in a local doo-wop group, The Squires.

Reasoning (perhaps incorrectly) that there was more money to be made in a smaller group, Terry and his friend
Don "Sugarcane" Harris left the group in 1957 to perform as the duo Don and Dewey.

They recorded several classic, blistering Rock & Roll numbers on the Specialty label and others, but never had any significantly charting hits.

The pair continued performing through the sixties, notably touring as a supporting act during one of Little Richard's Rock & Roll comebacks around 1964 or so.
During that decade and beyond, many of the old songs from the Don & Dewey catalog became hits as covered by other performers, though neither of them saw much of a windfall.

Heading into the 1970's, 'Sugarcane' Harris became a notable rock and blues violinist, performing with
Frank Zappa's Mothers and on a string of his own LPs.

It appears that this 1972 album was Dewey Terry's only 'solo' record.
It was recorded for the short-lived Tumbleweed record label, based out of Denver, Colorado.

Dewey Terry - lead vocal, lead guitar, keyboards
Danny Holien - rhythm guitar
Robb Kunkel - guitar
Steve Swenson - bass
GaGa - drums
Allan Blazek - assistant engineer & space rattles

In addition to the pictured backing band, the album also features appearances by guitarists
Harvey Mandel and Mel Brown, bassist Eric Gale, Jim Horn on sax, and Jimmie Haskell on vibes.

Producer Bill Szymczyk wrangled musical acts for Tumbleweed and worked on this record sometime during the interim period between his time at ABC/Dunhill records (where he recorded B.B. King, The James Gang and others) and his landmark stint at Asylum Records where he helped transform
The Eagles into a Rock act.

The 'Chief' LP is a fun and funky mixed-genre batch of rock, soul, blues and funk.
It received a Grammy nomination for Aaron Schumaker's 'writing tablet' artwork and album packaging.

From Dewey Terry's 'Chief ' LP,
(Tumbleweed Records, 1972)

Listen to:

She's Leavin' Me
Big Boy Pete
Funky Old Town
Suit For The Cat
Do On My Feet (What I Did On The Street)
Reef Ade
Well Known Man
Sweet As Spring
De Blooze
Let Them Ole Stars & Stripes Shine

(click for audio)

- - OR download all 10 tracks in one 37.9 Mb zipfile.

See also:
- A 1999 Dewey Terry article/interview from the LA Weekly, archived at Rockabilly Central.

- 'Rocky Mountain High: The enchanting saga of Tumbleweed Records'.

- Some background history and a discography of The Squires/Don & Dewey at Marv Goldberg's R&B Notebooks.

- A Don & Dewey entry at allmusic.com.