Founding Members To Deacon Jones: "Thanks for Making Us Famous!"

Deacon Jones wasn’t just a QB killa … he’s also responsible for bringing *** to the world … this according to two of the legendary band’s founding members.  

Back before *** took over the music scene, some of the guys performed in a band called Nightshift … which played backup for Deacon during his singing gigs. (Deacon was a hell of an R&B singer). 

In fact, Nightshift was reportedly “discovered” by a major record producer while backing up Deacon during a gig in 1969 … and they soon became ***. 

Also, Deacon famously sang on the studio recording of “Why Can’t We Be Friends?”

Now, two of the original members of *** — Harold Brown and Howard Scott — tell TMZ they’re eternally grateful for everything Deacon did for their careers.