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Biography
refimprove|date=December 2008Infobox musical artist|name = Bread|image =|caption =|background = group_or_band|alias =|origin = Los Angeles , California , United States |genre = Soft rock , folk rock |years_active = 1969–1973; 1976–1978; 1996–1997|label = Elektra Records|Elektra , Rhino Records|Rhino |associated_acts = The Remingtons The Pleasure Fair Toast/Radio Dixie|website =|past_members = David Gates Jimmy Griffin Robb Royer Mike Botts Larry Knechtel Bread was a Rock music|rock band from Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles , California . They placed 13 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 chart between 1970 and 1977 and were a prime example of what later was labeled soft rock .
The band consisted of David Gates ( Singing|vocals , guitar , Bass guitar|bass , keyboard instrument|keyboards , violin , viola , percussion instrument|percussion ), Jimmy Griffin (vocals, guitar, keyboards, Percussion instrument|percussion ), Robb Royer (bass, guitar, flute , keyboards, percussion, recorder , backing vocals ), Mike Botts ( Drum kit|drums ; joined in 1970), and Larry Knechtel (bass, guitar, keyboards, harmonica ; replaced Royer in 1971).
Beginnings and fame
Before forming Bread, Gates had worked with Royer's previous band, The Pleasure Fair, producing and arranging the band's 1967 album, The Pleasure Fair . Royer then introduced Gates to his songwriting partner, Griffin, and the trio joined together in 1968 and signed with Elektra Records , choosing the name, "Bread", in 1969. The group's first single, "Dismal Day", was released in June 1969 but did not chart. Their debut album, Bread (album)|Bread , was released in September 1969 and peaked at #127 on the Billboard 200 . Songwriting on the album was split evenly between Gates and the team of Griffin-Royer. Jim Gordon (musician)|Jim Gordon , a session musician , accompanied the band on drums for the album.
Bread became a quartet with their second album, On the Waters (peaking at #12 on the Billboard 200), bringing in Botts as drummer. This time their efforts quickly established Bread as a major act with the Billboard Hot 100 #1 hit " Make It With You " in 1970. "Make It With You" would be Bread's only #1 on the Hot 100.
For their next single, they released a re-recorded version of "It Don't Matter To Me", a Gates song from their first album. This single was a hit as well, reaching #10. Bread began touring and recording the 1971 album titled Manna (album)|Manna (#21), which included the Top 5 hit single, " If (Bread song)|If ". As with the first album, songwriting credits were split evenly between Gates and Griffin-Royer.
Royer left the group after three albums, although he would continue to write with Griffin, and was replaced by Larry Knechtel , a leading Los Angeles session musician who had played piano on Simon & Garfunkel 's " Bridge Over Troubled Water (song)|Bridge Over Troubled Water " single in 1970. In January 1972 Bread released '' Baby I'm-a Want You '', their most successful album, peaking at #3 on the Billboard 200. The Baby I'm-a Want You (song)|title song was established as a hit in late 1971 before the album was released, also hitting #3. Follow-up singles " Everything I Own " and "Diary" also went Top 40|Top 20 . The next album, Guitar Man (Bread album)|Guitar Man , was released ten months later and went to #18. The album produced three Top 20 singles, " The Guitar Man " (#11), " Sweet Surrender (David Gates song)|Sweet Surrender " (#15), and " Aubrey " (#15), with the first two going to #1 on Billboard magazine|Billboard s Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks|adult contemporary chart .
Split and reunion
Despite the band's success, tensions existed between Gates and Griffin. All eleven of Bread's charting singles between 1970 and 1973 had been written and sung by Gates. Elektra Records had invariably selected Gates' songs for the A-side and B-side|A-sides of the singles, while Griffin felt that the singles should have been split between the two of them.
By 1973, fatigue from constant recording and touring had set in and personal relationships began to show strain. There was also some dissatisfaction with the songs planned for a sixth album. Bread decided to disband. Gates and Griffin returned to their solo careers with mixed results. The Best of Bread compilation album from 1973 was a huge success, peaking at #2 on the Billboard 200 and staying on the chart for over two years. The follow-up, The Best Of Bread, Volume Two , was released in 1974 and went to #32.
The reunion of the group in 1976 came about after Elektra Records expressed interest in another Bread album. Gates, Griffin, Botts and Knechtel returned to the studio that year and recorded the album Lost Without Your Love , released in January 1977. The title track, again written and sung by Gates, was the band's last Top 10 hit, peaking at #9 on the singles chart. This comeback record reached #26 on Billboard's album chart and was Bread's seventh consecutive album (including the two Greatest Hits|best ofs ) to be R.I.A.A. certified Music recording sales certification|gold . In March 1977, Elektra released a second single, "Hooked On You". It was less successful on the pop chart (peaking at #60) but it reached #2 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart. The four members of Bread (along with session guitarist Dean Parks ) toured throughout 1977 to support their comeback album. After a short break, they commenced the tour's second leg that summer without Griffin, whom Gates failed to invite after further rising tensions. They ended the year with no further plans to record as a group.
Following the break-up
In 1978 Gates enjoyed success as a solo artist with the hit singles "Goodbye Girl" (#15; from the movie The Goodbye Girl ) and "Took the Last Train" (#30). He then toured with Botts and Knechtel as "David Gates & Bread". The group's 1978 touring line-up also included Warren Ham (woodwinds, keyboards, backing vocals), Bill Ham (guitars) and David Miner (musician)|David Miner (bass). This led to a legal dispute with Griffin over use of the band's name, of which Griffin was co-owner. In the dispute, Griffin again complained that Gates' songs were given preference as singles over his. The resulting litigation was not settled until 1984.
After leaving Bread in 1971, Royer stuck mostly to songwriting (still teaming up with Griffin on occasion). As with Griffin, his success was mostly in writing for artists in the country music field in the 1980s and 1990s. In 1994 Royer, Griffin and Knechtel re-united under the name "Toast". Knechtel had continued to be an in-demand session player, backing up such artists as Elvis Costello . In 1994, after being out of the spotlight for thirteen years, Gates released a new solo album, Love is Always Seventeen .
In 2010, Robb Royer released a Jimmy Griffin album, consisting of songs written by both Royer and Griffin.
Final reunion
In 1996, having settled their differences, Gates, Griffin, Botts and Knechtel reunited Bread for a successful "25th Anniversary" tour of the United States, South Africa, Europe and Asia. This time out the group was accompanied by Randy Flowers (guitars), Scott Chambers (bass) and a string section to help them capture the sound of the records. This tour was extended into 1997, which would be the last year the original members of Bread would ever perform together. Gates and the others then resumed their individual careers. Bread was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2006.
In 2005 both Griffin and Botts died from cancer at the age of 61. In August 2009, Knechtel died of a myocardial infarction|heart attack at the age of 69, leaving Gates and Royer as the only surviving original members of Bread.
Discography
Original albums
Year
Title
Label
RIAA Sales Certification
Billboard 200 Peak
1969
Bread
Elektra
n/ a
#127
1970
On the Waters
Elektra
Gold
#12
1971
Manna
Elektra
Gold
#21
1972
'' Baby I'm-a Want You
Elektra
Gold
#3
1972
Guitar Man
Elektra
Gold
#18
1977
Lost Without Your Love
Elektra
Gold
#26
Compilation albums
Year
Title
Label
RIAA Sales Certification
1973
The Best of Bread
Elektra
5x Platinum
1974
The Best of Bread, Volume 2
Elektra
Gold
1977
The Sound of Bread
Elektra
n/ a
1985
Anthology of Bread
Elektra
Platinum
1989
The Very Best Of Bread
Pickwick
n/ a
1996
David Gates & Bread Essentials
Elektra
n/ a
1996
Retrospective
Elektra
n/ a
2002
Make It With You And Other Hits
Flashback dn
n/ a
2006
The Definitive Collection
Elektra / Rhino Entertainment
n/ a
2007
The Works
Warner Music Group UK
n/ a
Gold and Platinum certifications from Recording Industry Association of America
Singles
Date
Title
Billboard Hot 100 Peak
UK Singles Chart Peakcite book
Miscellaneous
June 13, 1970
" Make It with You " (Gold single)
#1
#5
September 26, 1970
" It Don't Matter to Me "
#10
January 2, 1971
"Let Your Love Go"
#28
March 27, 1971
If "
#4
Hit #1 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart in its original form and in the UK in 1975 when covered by Telly Savalas .
July 17, 1971
"Mother Freedom"
#37
October 23, 1971
Baby I'm-a Want You " (Gold single)
#3
#14
Hit #1 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart.
January 29, 1972
" Everything I Own "
#5
#32
#1 in the UK when recorded by Ken Boothe in 1974, when recorded by Crystal Gayle , and #1 when recorded by Boy George .
April 22, 1972
"Diary"
#15
July 29, 1972
" The Guitar Man "
#11
#16
Hit #1 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart in its original form
November 11, 1972
Sweet Surrender "
#15
Hit #1 in the Easy Listening chart.
February 3, 1973
Aubrey "
#15
November 27, 1976
" Lost Without Your Love "
#9
#27
April 16, 1977
"Hooked On You"
#60
Date indicates the week the song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100
All songs above reached their peak position on the Billboard Hot 100 the same year they entered the chart except for " Lost Without Your Love " which peaked at #9 in 1977.
Notes
References
Reflist
External links
http://dir.yahoo.com/Entertainment/Music/Artists/By_Genre/Rock_and_Pop/Bread/ Bread in the Yahoo& #33; Directory
http://web.archive.org/web/20010206044306/ http://www.ktb.net/~insync/BREADtitle.html The Official Site
Bread (band) DEFAULTSORT:Bread Category:American rock music groups Category:American soft rock music groups Category:Rock music groups from California Category:Musical groups established in 1968 Category:Elektra Records artists
