Dan bonow is a singer-songwriter and hammond organist
Dan Bonow is a Hammond organist, songwriter, and soulful musical storyteller whose sound blends the core of Jazz, the humor of the Blues, the excitement of Rock & Roll, the spirit of HiLife, and the passion of R&B. His music carries uplifting lyrics, jazz-rooted chords, deep soul grooves, and a compelling dance beat — expressive, exploratory, healing, and always alive.
As a Hammond organ player, Dan is quirky, bold, original, and a raging rhythm machine. The left hand keyboard bass is the clock that makes the music go, and Dan’s clock is synced up with the center of the universe. One measure from this guy, and you’ll be dancing!
In the mid-1960s, Seattle’s rock scene began bursting with all kinds of new sounds, fueled by the Northwest’s strong dancehall and R&B history, including Ray Charles, Jimi Hendrix, and The Sonics. After spending his high school years in Nigeria, where he wowed international audiences in schools, clubs, and on TV, Dan returned to the Northwest with a bold new sound. After winning a regional battle of the bands with his group Jack Horner and the Plums, also known as “The Famous Plums,” he unleashed The Juggernaut in 1968, his shocking and original psychedelic funk band. Jazz musicians, hippies, and soul music fans flocked to his shows at Eagles Auditorium, the Sky River Rock Festival, and performances opening for Sly and the Family Stone.
Dan is an organist, singer, and prolific songwriter whose electrifying performances blend irresistible rhythms, witty original songs, soulful depth, and spiritually uplifting energy — all with a groove that keeps the dance floor alive.
At his roots, Dan is a Seattle classic — born of the original Seattle sound, yet deeply shaped by the years he spent in Africa as a teenager. His career began in the 1960s in Nigeria, where he performed in schools, clubs, and on TV. Returning to the Northwest, he joined the region’s vibrant dancehall and R&R scene, a musical landscape fueled by the influence of artists like Ray Charles, Jimi Hendrix, and The Sonics.
His first U.S. group, Jack Horner and the Plums, also known as “The Famous Plums,” defied classification and went on to win a regional battle of the bands, earning the grand prize of a record contract with Jerden Records. Dan then worked with Northwest dancehall circuit bands The Bandits and Emergency Exit, playing guitar, organ, and singing.
In 1967, he masterminded the notorious and now legendary The Juggernaut, a seminal soul, rock, and psychedelic funk band of startling originality. By 1968, The Juggernaut was shaking up Seattle’s music scene, drawing jazz musicians, hippies, and soul music fans to shows at Eagles Auditorium, the Sky River Rock Festival, psychedelic dance halls along the West Coast, and performances opening for Sly and the Family Stone.
Band members Pernell Alexander and Butch Snipes grew up in Seattle’s Central Area with Jimi Hendrix and are said to have given Hendrix his first guitar. Hendrix later visited The Juggernaut and was so moved by the band’s style that he dedicated a tune to them at his 1968 Seattle Coliseum show. Around that same era, Hendrix also brought organ more prominently into his sound on Electric Ladyland.
During the 1970s, Dan formed several funk and rock bands, including The Stars and RotoR International, always working with top players from Seattle’s soul music community. He toured the Northwest and Canada with Texas blues great Albert Collins, played gospel organ with Big Frank Thompson, and sang with the Johansen Brothers Band alongside legendary R&B guitarist Joe Johansen.
During the 1980s and 1990s, Dan’s band Vizzion appeared throughout the Northwest, New York, Europe, and Africa. On a 1997 trip to Nigeria, he was given a “Welcome Home Tour,” performing at concerts, clubs, on radio and TV, and in a movie — while also meeting one of his heroes, Fela Kuti. Dan closed out the decade by gigging with Apple Gabriel, founder of the Jamaican reggae legends Israel Vibration.
Over the next three decades, Dan continued raising children while performing, recording, and touring with The Stars, RotoR International, Vizzion, UNKO FUNKi, and the Dan Bonow Band.
The 21st century brought Dan to Kauaʻi, Hawaiʻi — one of the most remote island chains on Earth — where he and his Kauaʻi band, UNKO FUNKi, served fresh organic grooves to the island. Dan, along with his sweetheart from his teenage rocker days, Judy Motulsky, currently live in Los Angeles, where Dan continues to perform with his band DB3 at legendary venues including The Mint, State Social House, and The Viper Room.
Bio by Scott Hawthorn “Organ Freak”
DB3 Edit