2 languages
Bread
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
Bread was an American soft rock band from Los Angeles, California. Its frontman was David Gates from Tulsa, Oklahoma, who sang and played bass, guitar, keyboards and violin. Beside him were Jimmy Griffin on vocals and guitar and Robb Royer on bass, guitar and flute. Gates had produced Royer's earlier band, the Pleasure Fair. Royer introduced him to his writing partner Griffin, and in 1968 the trio formed a group that signed to Elektra in January 1969. The name came from a bread van that drove past while they were looking for a name. It began with a B, like The Beatles and The Bee Gees.
Music and breakthrough
The debut album Bread was released in September 1969, with the songs divided equally between Gates and the duo of Griffin and Royer. Drummer Mike Botts became a permanent member in the summer of 1969. With On the Waters in 1970 Bread became a major group, thanks to Make It with You, their only number one on the Billboard Hot 100, in 1970. It Don't Matter to Me followed, then the third album Manna in 1971 with If and Let Your Love Go, and Baby I'm-A Want You and Guitar Man in 1972. In 1971 Royer left the band, after which Larry Knechtel took his place on keyboards, bass, guitar and harmonica. Between 1970 and 1977 thirteen songs reached the Hot 100, and in 1977 Lost Without Your Love was released.
Influence
Bread made soft, melodic pop songs with acoustic guitars and warm vocals. They show that in the 1970s, alongside hard rock and glam rock, a quiet, loving pop style could be big.
Listening
Discography
Studio albums
- 1969Bread
- 1970On the Waters
- 1971Manna
- 1972Baby I’m‐A Want You
- 1972Guitar Man
- 1977Lost Without Your Love
Mentioned in other articles
- Soft rock and AOR Genre
Soft rock, with its polished production and strong vocal melodies, lay close to pop and was heard from the early 1970s with the Carpenters, Bread and James Taylor; Rumours (1977) by Fleetwood Mac became one of the best-selling albums ever.