The original members were Dan Hamilton (guitar/lead vocal), Joe Frank Carollo (bass/vocal), and Tommy Reynolds (multi-instrumentalist/vocal), all of whom had previously played in The T-Bones, a 1960s band noted for the instrumental hit "No Matter What Shape (Your Stomach's In)".

After tens of thousands of miles of touring, Dee and Torres decided to leave the band and were replaced by Tommy Reynolds (who would, in 1969, be the lead singer for Shango) and Joe Frank Carollo.

The following year, "Don't Pull Your Love", produced by Steve Barri and arranged by Jimmie Haskell, hit #1 on the Cash Box Top 100, peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, sold over one million US copies, and was awarded a gold record by the RIAA in August 1971.

Hamilton and Carollo continued touring with various session musicians, such as Larry Knechtel on keyboards and Joe Correro on drums.

With the addition of Alan Dennison and Rick Shull, Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds continued to perform locally.

It also became their second gold disc and their only song to appear on the UK Singles Chart, where it was licensed to Pye Records and reached #33 in the autumn of 1975.

For Love & Conversation, their second Playboy Records album in 1976, the band officially changed their name to Hamilton, Joe Frank & Dennison.