Don & Dewey

Born in 1938 in Pasadena, California, Don Harris and Dewey Terry both grew up locally, performed initially with the Squires, and cut material for Vita before striking out independently. Between 1957 and 1959 the pair delivered a run of high-energy rockers to Specialty that never charted, yet several other artists later scored notable successes with versions of those same songs. The Specialty sessions yielded the hard-charging numbers "Jungle Hop," "Koko Joe" (written by Sonny Bono), and "Justine," the last two of which the Righteous Brothers subsequently covered. Additional titles from the duo’s Specialty catalog comprise the original "I'm Leavin' It Up to You," later a hit for Dale & Grace; "Big Boy Pete," likewise revived by the Olympics; and "Farmer John," the Premiers’ lone smash. During the ’60s Harris set aside his guitar in favor of violin, appearing as "Sugarcane" Harris and supplying his high-voltage fiddle work with both John Mayall and Frank Zappa.