User:Judd hamilton

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Judd Hamilton

JUDD HAMILTON is a singer, songwriter, actor, scriptwriter, producer, and inventor.

Judd Hamilton was born on February 28, 1942 and raised in the Pacific Northwest. He began his music career in Los Angeles in 1961, working as a roadie for the influential and now legendary instrumental group, The Ventures. Over the next four years Hamilton went on to establish himself as a nightclub entertainer, studio musician, and record producer within the early 60’s LA music scene. In November 1965 Liberty Record’s producer Joe Sareceno asked him to form a ‘concert version’ of what had previously been a studio musician/instrumental project called 'The T-Bones’.

Judd invited his younger brother Dan to join him on lead guitar and their first instrumental release, ‘No Matter What Shape’, became a million-selling single, reaching No. 3 on the Billboard singles chart in March of 1966. Over the next year the band went through several personnel changes before finally settling into a line-up that included the Hamilton brothers, Joe Frank Carollo, and Tommy Reynolds. This combination toured the US and Japan (where the band had a few more Top ten singles) for another year, and also recorded the group’s third and final album before disbanding in the fall of 1967.

In the summer of 1968 director Richard Quine cast Judd in his first co-starring acting role alongside Richard Widmark, Cesar Romero, Topol, and Caroline Munro in the Paramount Pictures comedy/western film, 'A Talent For Loving', (later re-titled ‘Gun Crazy"). This offer dramatically changed the course of Judd’s music career and life as it not only introduced him to acting, it also introduced him to Caroline. They were married in Las Vegas in March of 1970 and settled down in London, England, where Caroline continued her modelling and acting career, while Judd pursued a solo recording career and made a living performing in nightclubs and music festivals throughout Europe.

In the fall of 1970 ABC Dunhill Records offered the now former T-Bones a new record deal. Judd elected to support his friends and former band-mates from behind the scenes while brother Dan's memorable lead vocal’s went on to score several more top forty hits as ‘Hamilton, Joe Frank and Reynolds’. Their classic hits include ‘Don’t Pull Your Love Out’, reaching No. 4 on the Billboard single’s chart in 1971, and ‘Fallin’ in Love’, which raced all the way up to Billboard’s coveted No. 1 single’s spot in 1975.

In 1977 Hamilton co-starred with Caroline Munro, David Hasslehoff, Joe Spinell, and Christopher Plummer in New World Pictures’ low-budget, sci-fi classic 'Starcrash'. In 1979 he moved into film production as the executive producer of the successful indie film 'Maniac'. In 1980 Hamilton created and executive produced a 90-minute television special 'The Seventh Annual Sci-Fi Awards', which was co-hosted by Caroline, Mark Hammil, and Peter Fonda. In 1981 he executive produced and co-wrote the 'The Last Horror Film', once again co-starring alongside Caroline Munro and Joe Spinell.

Judd and Caroline were divorced in 1982. With this unexpected turn of events he re-dedicated himself to his love of singing, songwriting, and spent the next ten years producing records and playing small venues in London and Paris. In the spring of 1993 he and his brother Dan decided to record their first album together as ‘The Hamilton Brothers’. While they were writing and rehearsing material for this album Dan became ill and was eventually diagnosed as having a rare adrenal gland condition known as Cushing’s Disease. After a yearlong and courageous struggle Judd’s beloved younger brother and lifelong music partner passed away in the early morning hours of December 23, 1994, at the age of 48.

For the past twelve years Judd has made his home in Seattle, where he shares the love and companionship of his son Judd Jr. [Chip], daughter Tami, and his grandchildren Benjamin, Neve, and Keira. Over the past eight years he has been the Pres. and CEO of a small, privately owned R&D company, Co-Operations, Inc., that is developing a superior, eco-friendly, cost-effective alternative cement/concrete. This has led to his first invention of, and patent application for, a radiation-shielding material called ‘CeramXshield’. In his spare time he has also written and is currently editing two books, '55’ Dream Machine', and 'The Legend of Heaven'.