Bread was one of the most popular pop groups of the early 1970s, earning a string of well-crafted, melodic soft rock singles, all of which were written by keyboardist/vocalist David Gates. They
were from from Los Angeles, California. They had 13 songs chart on the Billboard Hot 100 between 1970 and 1977. The band was fronted by David Gates (vocals, bass guitar, guitar, keyboards, violin, viola, percussion) with Jimmy Griffin (vocals, guitar, keyboards, percussion) and Robb Royer (bass guitar, guitar, flute, keyboards, percussion, recorder, backing vocals). On their first album session musicians Ron Edgar played drums and Jim Gordon played drums, percussion, and piano.
Mike Botts became their permanent drummer when he joined in the summer of 1969, and Larry Knechtel replaced Royer in 1971, playing keyboards, bass guitar, guitar, and harmonica. Naming
themselves Bread, the group released their self-titled debut album in late 1968. Although it was filled with accessible, melodic soft rock that became the band's signature sound, the record had no hit singles. With their second album, On the Waters, Bread established themselves as hitmakers. "Make It with You," the first single released from the album, became a number one hit, which led to "It Don't Matter to Me," a song taken from Bread, becoming a Top Ten hit.
With On the Waters becoming a gold record, the group embarked on a tour, adding a full-time drummer,
Mike Botts, to the lineup. Manna, released in the spring of 1971, wasn't as big a hit as the previous record, yet it launched another Top Ten single with "If." Royer left the group after the album and was replaced by Larry Knechtel, a Los Angeles session musician who played on records by the Byrds, the Beach Boys, and the Monkees, among others.
At the beginning of 1973, Bread disbanded after a dispute between Gates and Griffin. Griffin claimed that, when the group was conceived, the pair agreed that the singles would be divided equally between
the two songwriters; Gates wrote most of Bread's hits and wanted to continue to compose the singles. 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 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 No. 9 on the singles chart.
In 1996, having settled their differences, the original members Gates, Griffin, Botts and Knechtel
reunited Bread for a final and successful "25th Anniversary" tour of the United States, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, the UK, Ireland, and Asia. This tour was extended into 1997, which would be the last year the 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.
Bread – The Best Of Bread
Label: Elektra Entertainment Group – 8122-74311-4, Rhino
Format: CD, Compilation
Country:
Released: 2001
Genre: Rock
Style: Soft Rock
TRACKS
01. Make It With You
02. Everything I Own
03. Diary
04. Baby I'm-A Want You
05. It Don't Matter To Me
06. If
07. Mother Freedom
08. Down On My Knees
09. Too Much Love
10. Let Your Love Go
11. Look What You've Done
12. Truckin
13. Guitar Man
14. Aubrey
15. The Last Time
16. Sweet Surrender
17. He's A Good Lad
18. Daughter
19. Friends & Lovers
20. Lost Without Your Love