Biography
In the mid- to late 1960s the male-female duo Jon & Robin issued multiple singles along with a pair of albums whose sound blended bubblegum pop and rock with touches of psychedelia and Southern soul. Their biggest success arrived via the 1967 single “Do It Again a Little Bit Slower,” which showcased engaging male-female vocal exchanges, a soul-piano riff reminiscent of “Cool Jerk,” and a languid fadeout that elongated the suggestive title line. Additional singles and both LPs also contained worthwhile tracks, all shaped with assistance from leading Dallas-based producers and session players.
Jon Abdnor, the duo’s male member, had already cut solo singles for Abnak, the label owned by his millionaire father, before joining forces with Dallas singer Javonne Braga, who appeared on their joint releases under the name Robin. Three 1966 singles credited to backing band the In Crowd preceded the breakthrough 1967 hit “Do It Again a Little Bit Slower,” penned by Wayne Carson Thompson, the composer best known for the Box Tops’ “The Letter.” Bobby Patterson, the soul singer Abdnor had met in college, oversaw their debut album The Soul of a Boy and a Girl, which contained a single original alongside covers and further Thompson compositions. Mike Rabon of the Five Americans soon produced a second LP, Elastic Event, enlisting several bandmates and injecting greater psychedelic elements while again drawing heavily on Thompson’s songwriting. After a scattering of singles over the following two years—one being the Thompson-penned soul number “Dr. Jon (The Medicine Man)”—the pair disbanded. Abdnor issued the 1969 solo album Intro to Change under the billing John Howard Abdnor & the Involvement before exiting the music business entirely, while Braga never entered a studio again. Both albums appeared together on a 2004 compilation from Italy’s Liberty Bell label; in 2006 Sundazed issued Do It Again: The Best of Jon & Robin, and the same company returned to the catalog in 2023 with the anthology The Singles.
Jon Abdnor, the duo’s male member, had already cut solo singles for Abnak, the label owned by his millionaire father, before joining forces with Dallas singer Javonne Braga, who appeared on their joint releases under the name Robin. Three 1966 singles credited to backing band the In Crowd preceded the breakthrough 1967 hit “Do It Again a Little Bit Slower,” penned by Wayne Carson Thompson, the composer best known for the Box Tops’ “The Letter.” Bobby Patterson, the soul singer Abdnor had met in college, oversaw their debut album The Soul of a Boy and a Girl, which contained a single original alongside covers and further Thompson compositions. Mike Rabon of the Five Americans soon produced a second LP, Elastic Event, enlisting several bandmates and injecting greater psychedelic elements while again drawing heavily on Thompson’s songwriting. After a scattering of singles over the following two years—one being the Thompson-penned soul number “Dr. Jon (The Medicine Man)”—the pair disbanded. Abdnor issued the 1969 solo album Intro to Change under the billing John Howard Abdnor & the Involvement before exiting the music business entirely, while Braga never entered a studio again. Both albums appeared together on a 2004 compilation from Italy’s Liberty Bell label; in 2006 Sundazed issued Do It Again: The Best of Jon & Robin, and the same company returned to the catalog in 2023 with the anthology The Singles.
Albums
