Ronnie Hammon and Luther Rabb originally formed Ballin’jack in their hometown of Seattle, Washington in 1969. Getting encouragement and inspiration from the sudden success of their childhood friend Jimi Hendrix, they added horns to their band and moved to Los Angeles. During 1970-1973 Ballin’jack headlined up and down the West Coast and went on national tours warming up for many legends at famous venues like the Fillmore East and West. Their live shows had so much to offer fans, that some artists had actually refused to have them again as an opening act. This didn’t seem to both Jimi Hendrix much when he decided to take his friends along on his Cry of Love tour in the summer of 1970. In 1971, Ballin’jack’s song “Super Highway” and debut LP were climbing the Billboard charts. Three more albums on Columbia Records followed soon after. BallBallin’jack’s studio recordings hold trues as archives of very cool and spiritually diverse music. Their songs have broad appeal, containing purely original beats, rich soulful melodies and plenty of wah-wah guitar. In the years to come, many of their funky sounds were re-discovered by DJ’s with new versions of Ballin’jack songs, and new songs sampling Ballin’jack music put out by the Beastie Boys, Young MC, Gang Star, and others. In 1989, Young MC won a Grammy award for his updated version of “Found A Child” which he re-titled as “Bust A Move”. Key elements of another Ballin’jack song can also be found in the Beastie Boys song “Shadrach.”