Dennis Clifton

Who was Dennis Clifton?

Dennis Clifton was an American musician and studio engineer.

Clifton was born and raised in Decatur, AL. He began playing guitar as a child, encouraged by his parents. He helped form his first rock/pop band at age 12. In his teen years he played rhythm guitar and sang lead vocals for The Surprise Package and Shawnee in Decatur. One of his formative influences was The Allman Brothers Band, whose engineer Johnny Sandlin was also from the Decatur area. The Allmans were known locally for their spirited performances in earlier groups that performed in the area, The Allman Joys and The Hourglass. It was from hearing Duane play slide guitar that Dennis became enthralled with the possibilities and took up the art. In 1970, Dennis made his first recording when Shawnee recorded a 45rpm with two original songs. After graduating from Austin High School, he joined the Buddy Causey Band, traveling the Southeast band circuit. Through studio work, he was introduced to Larry Byrom, former guitarist in Steppenwolf, and the two formed the band FCC