Ancient Grease was first formed in 1973 when its members were students at Dreher High School in Columbia, SC. The impetus for the groups formation was the vocal abilities of the Wall siblings. Tom "the Duke," Patty "Allie," Sheron "Paula," and Don "the Donz", who had been singing together since they were children, found themselves in need of accompanists. Originally calling themselves "The Four Walls" they were in need of a new name and a new direction when sister Allie dropped out.

As luck would have it they by chance teamed up with two former members of the avant-garde band Bop and the Zeroes. Gyro Jenkins and Bosco Bailey had been looking for a singer ever since Bop Flop had abandoned his musical career to pursue a career in management. Finding a common interest in the music of the 1950's the new group first appeared (as "The Four Walls") in talent shows at Dreher.

The early seventies was a time of a nostalgia craze. The movie "American Graffiti" first fueled a national interest in the music and culture of the 1950's, and the new group soon found itself in great demand, playing "sock hops" all over Columbia. Added to the ensemble to meet this demand were vocalist Eric ("Golden Boy") and saxophonist Beth ("Curly") and a series of ever-changing non-bass-playing bassists, the first of whom was Slash.

Renamed Ancient Grease, the group soon became the premiere 50's group in South Carolina, rivaling Sha-Na-Na in popularity. Of special note was a series of now-legendary appearances at the Columbia night club "The Second Level" which cemented their reputation as the essence of 50's greasiness and vocal harmony.

However, all good things must come to an end, and by 1975 the 50's craze had worn itself out. The gigs stopped and Ancient Grease soon found itself largely ignored. Refusing to reinvent themselves as a disco band the group instead disbanded. After a final attempt at a revival in 1977 the group members lost touch with one another, although the Walls continued harmonizing at family gatherings, and Gyro and Pinky (the group's final bassist) continued playing together.

A chance meeting of the Donz and Gyro led to talk of a reunion, which occurred on August 23rd, 1997, twenty years after their last performance.