Bread (band)

Bread
Bread in 1971 (L-R: David Gates, Robb Royer, Jimmy Griffin, Mike Botts)
Background information
Origin	Los Angeles, California, United States
Genres	Soft rock[1]
Years active	1968–1973 1976–1978
Labels	Elektra
Associated acts	The Remingtons The Pleasure Fair Toast/Radio Dixie
Past members	David Gates Jimmy Griffin Robb Royer Mike Botts Larry Knechtel

Bread was an American soft rock band from Los Angeles, California. They placed 13 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 chart between 1970 and 1977 and were an example of what later was labeled as soft rock.

The band consisted of David Gates (vocals, bass guitar, guitar, keyboards, violin, viola, percussion), Jimmy Griffin (vocals, guitar, keyboards, percussion) and Robb Royer (bass guitar, guitar, flute, keyboards, percussion, recorder, backing vocals). Mike Botts (drums, percussion) joined in the summer of 1969 and Larry Knechtel (keyboards, bass guitar, guitar, harmonica) replaced Royer in 1971.

Beginnings and fame

The band in 1970.

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 in January 1969, after choosing the name "Bread" in late 1968, supposedly after getting stuck in traffic behind a Wonder Bread truck. The group's first single, "Dismal Day", was released in June 1969 but did not chart. Their debut album, Bread, was released in September 1969 and peaked at No. 127 on the Billboard 200. Songwriting on the album was split evenly between Gates and the team of Griffin-Royer. Jim Gordon, a session musician, accompanied the band on drums for the album.

In the summer of 1969, Bread did some concerts with Gordon on drums. But when Gordon's schedule conflicted and he proved unavailable for future outings, they quickly brought in Mike Botts as their permanent drummer. Botts appeared on their second album, On the Waters (peaking at No. 12 on the Billboard 200). This time their efforts quickly established Bread as a major act with the Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit "Make It with You" in 1970. "Make It with You" would be Bread's only No. 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 No. 10. Bread began touring and recording the 1971 album titled Manna (#21), which included the Top 5 hit single, "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" single in 1970. In January 1972 Bread released Baby I'm-a Want You, their most successful album, peaking at No. 3 on the Billboard 200. The title song was established as a hit in late 1971 before the album was released, also hitting No. 3. Follow-up singles "Everything I Own" and "Diary" also went Top 20. The next album, Guitar Man, was released ten months later and went to No. 18. The album produced three Top 20 singles, "The Guitar Man" (#11), "Sweet Surrender" (#15), and "Aubrey" (#15), with the first two going to No. 1 on Billboard's adult contemporary chart.

Split and reunion

By 1973, fatigue from constant recording and touring had set in despite the band's success, and personal relationships began to show strain, especially 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-sides of the singles, while Griffin felt that the singles should have been split between the two of them. There was also some dissatisfaction with the songs planned for a sixth album and as a result, Bread decided to disband after a final concert at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City.

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 No. 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 No. 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 No. 9 on the singles chart. This comeback record reached No. 26 on the Billboard 200 and was Bread's seventh consecutive album (including the two best ofs) to be RIAA-certified gold. In March 1977, Elektra released a second single, "Hooked On You". It was less successful on the pop chart (peaking at No. 60) but it reached No. 2 on the Billboard 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 once again included Dean Parks for their June tour of the UK and Europe. But for their fall dates back in the US, Parks had left but the stage lineup had expanded to include Warren Ham (ex-Bloodrock; woodwinds, keyboards, backing vocals), Bill Ham (guitars) and 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.

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 heart attack at the age of 69, leaving Gates and Royer as the only surviving original members of Bread. Royer continues to be involved in music, initially working out of his Nashfilms studio in Tennessee before relocating to the Virgin Islands during 2013, while Gates contents himself with retirement at his home in California. In 2010, Royer released a Jimmy Griffin tribute album consisting of songs written by both himself and Griffin.

During March 2014, Helter Skelter Publishing (UK) issued the first biography of the band, a limited edition hardback titled Bread: A Sweet Surrender (originally called Manna from Heaven: The Musical Rise & Fall of Bread).^[2][3] It was written with the assistance of many surviving family members and musical colleagues of the band, along with exclusive interviews with founding member Robb Royer. A paperback/soft-cover edition is scheduled to appear at a later date. The following year saw Royer publish his own memoirs, "The View From Contessa", featuring tales from his own varied career, available as an eBook via Amazon.

Members

• David Gates – vocals, bass guitar, guitar, keyboards, violin, viola, percussion (1968–1973, 1976–1978, 1996–1997)
• Jimmy Griffin – vocals, guitar, keyboards, percussion (1968–1973, 1976–1978, 1996–1997; died 2005)
• Robb Royer – bass guitar, guitar, flute, keyboards, percussion, recorder, backing vocals (1968–1971)
• Mike Botts – drums, percussion (1969–1973, 1976–1978, 1996–1997; died 2005)
• Larry Knechtel – keyboards, bass guitar, guitar, harmonica (1971–1973, 1976–1978, 1996–1997; died 2009)

Discography

Studio albums

Year	Title	Label	RIAA sales certification	Billboard 200 peak	AUS peak[4]
1969	Bread	Elektra	n/a	127	unk
1970	On the Waters		Gold	12	35
1971	Manna		Gold	21	35
1972	Baby I'm-a Want You		Gold	3	23
	Guitar Man		Gold	18	22
1977	Lost Without Your Love		Gold	26	22

Compilation albums

Year	Title	Label	RIAA sales certification	AUS peak[4]
1973	The Best of Bread	Elektra	5× Platinum	26
1974	The Best of Bread, Volume 2		Gold	73
1977	The Sound of Bread		n/a	28
1985	Anthology of Bread		Platinum	-
1989	The Very Best of Bread	Pickwick	n/a	-
1996	David Gates & Bread Essentials	Elektra	n/a	unk
	Retrospective		n/a	unk
2002	Make It with You and Other Hits	Flashback	n/a	unk
2006	The Definitive Collection	Elektra/Rhino	n/a	unk
2007	The Works	Warner Music Group UK	n/a	unk

Notes

• Gold and Platinum certifications from Recording Industry Association of America

Singles

Date	Title	US Billboard Hot 100 peak	UK Singles Chart peak[5]	AUS peak[4]	CAN peak[6]	Miscellaneous
July, 1969	Dismal Day	-	-	-	-	Debut single. Did not chart.
October, 1969	Could I	-	-	-	-	A Griffin/Royer composition; only Bread A-side not written by David Gates. Did not chart.
June 13, 1970	"Make It with You"	1[7]	5[8]	7	2	Certified Gold
September 26, 1970	"It Don't Matter to Me"	10[7]	-	29	6	New 1970 version, different from 1969 album cut.
January 2, 1971	"Let Your Love Go"	28[7]	-	34
March 27, 1971	"If"	4[7]	-	41	6	Hit No. 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[7]	-	-
October 23, 1971	"Baby I'm-a Want You"	3[7]	14[9]	8	5	Hit No. 1 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart. It was also Certified Gold.
January 29, 1972	"Everything I Own"	5[7]	32[10]	12	5	#1 in the UK when recorded by Ken Boothe in 1974, #93 when recorded by Crystal Gayle in 1983, and No. 1 when recorded by Boy George.
April 22, 1972	"Diary"	15[7]	-	26	12
July 29, 1972	"The Guitar Man"	11[7]	16[11]	22	6	Hit No. 1 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart in its original form
November 11, 1972	"Sweet Surrender"	15[7]	-	67	4	Hit No. 1 in the Easy Listening (Adult Contemporary) chart of January 6, 1973.
February 3, 1973	"Aubrey"	15[7]	-	-	41
November 27, 1976	"Lost Without Your Love"	9[7]	27[12]	19	8
April 16, 1977	"Hooked On You"	60[7]	-	-

Notes

• 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 No. 9 in 1977.

References

1. Nick Talevski (7 April 2010). Rock Obituaries - Knocking On Heaven's Door. Omnibus Press. p. 48. ISBN 978-0-85712-117-2.
2. "Bread – A Sweet Surrender". Helter Skelter. Retrieved 2013-09-07.
3. "Manna from heaven: the musical rise & fall of bread". WorldCat. Retrieved 2013-09-07.
4. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1976.
5. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 77. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
6. RPM
7. "Bread - Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved 2014-04-25.
8. "1970-09-12 Top 40 Official UK Singles Archive". Official Charts. 1970-09-12. Retrieved 2012-05-04.
9. "1972-02-05 Top 40 Official UK Singles Archive". Official Charts. 1972-02-05. Retrieved 2012-05-04.
10. "1972-05-20 Top 40 Official UK Singles Archive". Official Charts. 1972-05-20. Retrieved 2012-05-04.
11. "1972-10-28 Top 40 Official UK Singles Archive". Official Charts. 1972-10-28. Retrieved 2012-05-04.
12. "1977-01-29 Top 40 Official UK Singles Archive". Official Charts. 1977-01-29. Retrieved 2012-05-04.

External links

• Bread in the Yahoo! Directory
• allmusic (Bread Overview)
• The Official Site
• Unofficial Bread Website