Dave Hamilton (musician) facts for kids

David Lewis Hamilton (born January 15, 1920 – died August 9, 1994) was an American musician and record producer. He was known for his work in R&B and jazz music. Dave Hamilton spent most of his career in Detroit, Michigan, where he helped create many popular songs. He played several instruments and later owned his own recording studio and record labels.

Dave Hamilton's Musical Journey

Early Life and First Bands

Dave Hamilton was born in Savannah, Georgia. When he was a child, his family moved to Detroit. He learned to play the guitar and the vibraphone, which is an instrument with metal bars that are hit with mallets. In the late 1930s, he started touring with a group called the Helen Pennilton Quartet.

In the 1940s, Dave Hamilton formed his own band, the Noc-Tunes. They recorded music for the Sensation record label. He was also a busy session musician. This means he was hired to play instruments on recordings for other artists. He recorded several songs with a singing group called the Peppers in the 1950s. These songs were released on the Checker label.

Working with Music Legends

Dave Hamilton became friends with Berry Gordy, who later started Motown Records. Hamilton played guitar on some of Jackie Wilson's big hits. These included "Reet Petite" (1957) and "Lonely Teardrops" (1958). Berry Gordy helped write and produce these songs.

In the early 1960s, Dave Hamilton played on many important recordings. He played on John Lee Hooker's famous song "Boom Boom" in 1961. He also played on many songs for Berry Gordy's Motown label. Motown became one of the most successful record labels ever.

Dave Hamilton was one of the first musicians to join a group of studio players at Motown. This group later became known as "The Funk Brothers". They played on almost all of Motown's hit songs. Hamilton played guitar on Marvin Gaye's "Stubborn Kind of Fellow" (1962). He also played the vibraphone on Mary Wells' huge hit, "My Guy" (1964). Dave Hamilton also helped write songs. He co-wrote "Once Upon a Time", which was a duet sung by Marvin Gaye and Mary Wells.

In 1963, Dave Hamilton released his own jazz album called Blue Vibrations. It was released on Workshop Jazz, which was a special jazz label started by Motown.

Starting His Own Music Business

After leaving Motown, Dave Hamilton continued to make music. He released songs with his group, Dave Hamilton and the Peppers, including "Beatle Walk" in 1964. He decided to start his own record labels, called Tempo and Topper.

In 1965, he opened his own recording studio called Da Da. He worked with a singer and songwriter named Darrell Goolsby there. His Topper label released songs by artists like Tobi Lark and Little Ann. As a label owner, producer, and studio musician, Dave Hamilton recorded many different types of music. This included gospel and funk songs. Many of these recordings were not released to the public at the time. He also started other record labels, such as TCB and Demoristic.

Rediscovering His Music

In the 1980s, music fans in the United Kingdom started to discover Dave Hamilton's recordings. These fans were interested in a style of music called "Northern soul". This led to his music being re-released on CDs by labels like Kent and Ace Records.

After Dave Hamilton passed away in 1994, a researcher named Ady Croasdell looked through his old music files. This led to the release of several new CDs of Hamilton's recordings. These included three albums called Dave Hamilton's Detroit Dancers and Dave Hamilton's Detroit Funk. The Detroit Funk album included songs that were originally planned for an instrumental album called Soul Suite.