Redbone became established as a Native American rock group in the 1970s. They reached the Top 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in 1974 with the hit song, "Come and Get Your Love."

Originally formed in 1969 in Los Angeles, California by brothers Patrick Vasquez (bass and vocals) and Lolly Vasquez (guitar and vocals), the name Redbone started as a joking reference to a Cajun term for a mixed-race person. The band's members were of mixed blood ancestry. According to Patrick Vasquez (aka Pat Vegas), it was Jimi Hendrix who talked the musicians into forming an all-Native American rock group and so they signed as the band Redbone to Epic Records in 1969. The band consisted of Patrick Vasquez, Lolly Vasquez, (aka Lolly Vegas) drummer Pete DePoe and Anthony "Tony" Bellamy. Their debut album Redbone was released in 1970.

Lolly Vasquez was one of the first guitarists to make extensive use of the distinctive Leslie rotating speaker effect in his electric guitar amplification set-up. Vegas played improvised, jazz-influenced guitar. Drummer Peter DePoe (born 1943, Neah Bay, Washington) is credited with pioneering the "King Kong" style of drumming, which features sharply accented polyrhythms involving the bass and snare drums and is similar to funk styles of drumming. The band referred to DePoe's "King Kong Beat" in their lyrics to the song "Prehistoric Rhythm" on their debut album. Original drummer Peter DePoe left to be replaced by Butch Rillera.

Redbone played primarily rock music with R&B, Cajun, Jazz, tribal and Latin roots. Their first commercial success was with the single, "Maggie" from their second album, Potlatch, in 1970. Two other hit singles would follow; "The Witch Queen of New Orleans" in 1971, which went to #21 on the Billboard Hot 100, and their greatest hit song to date, "Come and Get Your Love" in 1974, which went to #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Come and Get Your Love", stayed in the Billboard charts for 24 weeks, and was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. on April 22, 1974.

Tony Bellamy grew up in a family of dancers and musicians and learned to play the flamenco guitar as part of his musical education. Before joining the band Redbone, Tony Bellamy had performed with Dobie Gray, and a was a member of the San Francisco band, Peter and the Wolves, that evolved into the psychedelic band Moby Grape. In 1998, Tony Bellamy and Patrick Vegas attended and performed as Redbone at the First Native American Music Awards held at the Foxwoods Casino & Resort. On October 3, 2008, Tony Bellamy and Patrick Vegas attended the 10th Annual Native American Music Awards at the Seneca Niagara Hotel & Casino in Niagara Falls, NY as special guests to accept Redbone's induction into the N.A.M.A. Hall of Fame. Born as Anthony Avila, Tony Bellamy died at age 69.

N.A.M.A. and its Advisory Board contingency would like extend their condolences to the Bellamy family. N.A.M.A. will forever honor this legendary performer who has been both a leading force in the mainstream music industry and an inspiration to the Native American community. Visit for more information.

The band's current remaining membership is led by Pat Vegas alone (Lolly left in 1995), Raven Hernandez (guitar, vocals and songwriter) joined Redbone in 1996 to replace Lolly Vegas after he suffered a stroke that left him unable to tour with the band.

Evidence suggests the existence of an "imposter band" illegally touring the United States and posing as Redbone under the name (or alias) "Denny Freeman". Freeman, who Pat Vegas confirmed to be unaffiliated with Redbone in an interview with the Montana Standard, most recently defrauded the county-fair board of the Butte Silver-Bow County Fair in Butte, Montana under pretenses of being a co-founding member of Redbone, yet he was never a band member.

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