Pasadena, Calif.'s should-have-beens

DON "SUGARCANE" HARRIS and DEWEY TERRY were thankless pioneers.
The pair came out of Pasadena, Calif., where they originally sang in the high school group The Squires.
When the group broke up, DON & DEWEY remained together, signing with Specialty Records in 1957 and blending R&B with the emerging rock-n-roll sound. The pair's songs included "I'm Leaving it all up to You" (a chart-topping hit for Dale & Grace in 1963), "Farmer John" (landing at No. 19 for the Premiers in 1964) and "Koko Joe" (covered by the Righteous Brothers).
Sense a pattern? Don & Dewey watched others take their songs into the charts, while they remained hitless.
The pair were certainly influential, though. I am listening to Don & Dewey this morning as I prepare for work.
They deserved so much more attention than they received.
In the photo, Harris (left) and Terry (right) flank another California musical pioneer, Vallejo's JOHNNY OTIS.