Bread Biography

Bread was a 1970s rock and roll band from Los Angeles, California. They are a primary example of what later was labeled as "soft rock".

David Gates (1940—) (guitar, keyboards, bass and vocals) and Jimmy Griffin (1943–2005) (guitar and vocals) formed the group in 1968, adding Robb Royer (guitar, bass and vocals of Pleasure Faire) before signing to Elektra Records. Their first single, "Dismal Day", was released in June 1969 but did not chart. Their debut album Bread was released in September 1969. It peaked at #127 on Billboard's album chart.

The band became a quartet beginning with their second album, On The Waters, bringing in Mike Botts (1944–2005) as permanent drummer. This time their efforts quickly established Bread as a major act, hitting the mainstream with the #1 hit "Make It With You" in 1970. For their next single, they released a re-recorded version of "It Don't Matter to Me", a song from their first album. This single was a hit as well, reaching #10. Bread began touring and recording the 1971 album titled Manna, which included possibly their most enduring hit, "If".

Royer left the group after three albums to pursue other interests. He was replaced by Larry Knechtel (1940—) (keyboards, bass, guitar, harmonica), a top session player from the Los Angeles scene. Knechtel's credits included records by Elvis Presley, The Beach Boys, The Mamas and the Papas, The Monkees, Jan and Dean, Johnny Rivers and Simon and Garfunkel. In 1972 Bread released the highly successful albums Baby I'm-a Want You and Guitar Man. They enjoyed continued success on the singles chart as well; by the end of the year they had scored their 11th Top 40 hit. However, tensions existed between Gates and Griffin: Elektra Records had been invariably choosing Gates' songs for the A-sides of the singles, while Griffin felt that the singles should have been split between the two of them.

By 1973 the band members, Gates especially, sensed that they had taken Bread as far as they could. 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. In view of this, Bread decided to disband instead of continuing on. Gates and Griffin then began solo careers, with mixed results. After reuniting in 1976, Bread released the album Lost Without Your Love in January 1977. The title track was the band's last top-ten hit, peaking at #9 on the singles chart. This comeback album was also RIAA-certified Gold®.

Bread toured throughout 1977. By 1978 renewed tensions between Gates and Griffin led the latter to leave the band. During this time Gates also enjoyed success as a solo artist with the hit singles "Goodbye Girl" and "Took The Last Train". He toured with Botts and Knechtel as "David Gates & Bread". This led to a legal dispute with Griffin over use of the band's name, of which Griffin was co-owner. The resulting litigation was not settled until 1984.

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.

In 2005, Griffin and Botts died aged 61; both deaths were due to cancer.