Big Twist and the Mellow Fellows

Big Twist and the Mellow Fellows was an American blues and rhythm and blues group.[1]

The frontman was the singer and harmonica player Larry "Big Twist" Nolan (né Lawrence Millard Nolan; 23 September 1937, Terre Haute, Indiana – 14 March 1990, Broadview, Illinois).[2] He began singing in church at the age of six. During the 1950s he sang and played drums in a bar band, the Mellow Fellows, performing everything from R & B, blues and country music.[1] At the beginning of the 1970s he joined with guitarist Pete Special and tenor saxophonist Terry Ogolini, and the band put out albums on Flying Fish Records and Alligator Records.[1] Over the decade, the group earned a loyal following and moved from private parties to the big stages. The band's repertoire was a mixture of soul, rhythm and blues, and rock, a mixture that was equally popular among young and old.

Larry Nolan died in March 1990 of a heart attack. The group played on, with new singer Martin Allbritton, from Carbondale, Illinois.[1] The saxophonist and producer Gene "Daddy G" Barge often appeared as a guest vocalist.[1] After the founding member Peter Special left the band, they called themselves the Chicago Rhythm And Blues Kings, and remain a popular band in Illinois.