David Gates

For the author, see David Gates (author).

David Gates
Born	11 December 1940(1940-12-11) Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States
Occupation	Musician
Years active	1957–present

David Gates (born 11 December 1940) is an American singer-songwriter, best known as the lead singer of the group Bread, which frequently topped the musical charts in the 1970s. The band is now in the Vocal Group Hall of Fame.

Life and early career

Originally from Tulsa, Oklahoma, Gates was surrounded by music from infancy, as the son of a band director and a piano teacher. He became proficient in piano, bass and guitar by the time he enrolled in Tulsa's Will Rogers High School. Gates joined local bands around Tulsa. During a concert in 1957, his high school band backed Chuck Berry.^[1] Later, Gates released his first local hit single, "Jo-Baby," a song he had written for his sweetheart, Jo Rita, whom he married in 1958 while enrolled at the University of Oklahoma.

In 1961, he and his family moved to Los Angeles, where Gates continued writing songs, and he worked as a music copyist, as a studio musician, and as a producer for many artists — including Pat Boone. Success soon followed. His composition "Popsicles and Icicles" hit #3 on the US Hot 100 for The Murmaids in January 1964. The Monkees recorded another of his songs, "Saturday's Child". By the end of the 1960s, he had worked with many leading artists, including Elvis Presley, Bobby Darin, Merle Haggard, Phil Spector and Brian Wilson. In 1965, Gates arranged the Glenn Yarbrough hit, "Baby, the Rain Must Fall." In 1966, he produced two singles on A&M Records for Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band which were hits in the Los Angeles area.

In the meantime, Gates had been releasing singles of his own on several labels. "Manchester 101" "There's A Heaven/She don't cry 196?". "Mala 413" "You'll Be My Baby/What's This I Hear". "Mala 418" "The Happiest Man Alive/A Road That Leads To Love". Both In 1960. "Mala 427" "Jo Baby/Teardrops In My Heart". In 1961 "Planetary 103" "Little Miss Stuck Up/The Brighter Side". "Planetary 108" "Let You Go/Once Upon A Time". under the Pseudonym of "Del Asley" in 1965 & "Del-Fi 4206" "No One Really Loves A Clown/You Had It Commin' To Ya". He also released a single under the name of "The Manchesters" in 1965 on the Vee Jay Label.

Bread and fame

In 1967, Gates produced and arranged the debut album of a band called The Pleasure Fair,^[2] of which Robb Royer was a member. A little over a year later, Gates and Royer got together with Jimmy Griffin to form Bread. The group was signed by Elektra, where it would remain for the eight years of its existence. It released its first album, Bread, in 1969, which peaked at #127 on the Billboard 200. The first single, "Dismal Day," written by Gates, was released in June 1969 but did not sell well.

Bread's second album, On the Waters (a play on Ecclesiates 11:1), with a new drummer, Mike Botts, was released in 1970, and became a breakout success. It contained the #1 single "Make It with You" and was the first of seven consecutive Bread albums to go Gold in the U.S. Bread's next three albums, Manna (1971), Baby I’m-a Want You (1972) (featuring Larry Knechtel as a new member of the band, replacing Royer) and Guitar Man (1972) were also successful, with more chart singles and gold records. From 1970 to 1973, Bread charted 11 singles on the Billboard Hot 100, all of which were written and sung by Gates. That caused some antagonism between Gates and Griffin, who was a significant contributor to Bread's albums as a singer and songwriter. Bread disbanded in 1973, much to the surprise of fans and the music industry. Their last concert was performed at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Gates recorded and produced his solo album First in 1973. The single "Clouds," an edited version of the album track "Suite Clouds and Rain," peaked at #47 on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart, and #3 on the Adult Contemporary chart. The full album version was played extensively by Radio Caroline Presenter Samantha Dubois at the end of her early morning radio programme, and became her closing theme.^[3] A second single, "Sail Around The World," reached #50 on the singles chart and #11 on the Adult Contemporary chart. The album reached #107 on Billboard's album chart. In 1975 Gates released the album Never Let Her Go. The title track was released as a single, and reached #29 on the Hot 100 chart and #3 on the Adult Contemporary chart. The album itself reached #102 on the Billboard 200.

Bread reunited in 1976 for one album, Lost Without Your Love, released late that year. The title track—again written and sung by Gates—reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 100. Bread then disbanded again, and at the end of 1977, Gates released what would be his most successful single as a solo artist, "Goodbye Girl," from the 1977 film of the same name. It peaked at #15 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1978. To capitalize on that success, Gates put an album together in 1978 that featured material from his first two solo albums mixed with some new material. It yielded another hit single, "Took the Last Train," which reached #30 on the Billboard Hot 100 but the album itself made it only to #165 on the Billboard 200. Botts and Knechtel from Bread, along with Warren Ham and his brother Bill Ham and their band, continued to record and tour with Gates. On one tour they were billed as "David Gates & Bread," which brought a lawsuit from Griffin, and an injunction against the use of the name Bread. The dispute was resolved in 1984.

Gates released the albums Falling In Love Again (featuring "Where Does the Loving Go"), which peaked at #46 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1979, and Take Me Now, which peaked at #62, in 1981. He recorded a duet with Melissa Manchester, "Wish We Were Heroes," included in her 1982 album Hey Ricky. Gates was less active in music during the remainder of the 1980s. He concentrated on operating a cattle ranch in Northern California, located on land he purchased in the 1970s. He returned to music in 1994, when he released Love Is Always Seventeen, his first new album in thirteen years.

Gates and Griffin put aside their differences, and reunited for a final Bread tour in 1996-1997 with Botts and Knechtel. With the passing of three of the other principal members of Bread, Gates is the sole surviving band member from their heyday, although Royer still successfully works in Nashville.

The David Gates Songbook, containing earlier hit singles and new material, was released in 2002. Gates's songs have been recorded by many artists, including Telly Savalas, who had a UK #1 hit with "If" in 1975; Vesta Williams, who made a rendition of "Make It With You" in 1988; the band CAKE, which covered "The Guitar Man" in 2004; Ray Parker Jr, who also recorded "The Guitar Man" in 2006; and Boy George, who took "Everything I Own" to #1 on the UK chart, when he covered the Ken Boothe reggae version of Gates's song, which itself had been a UK #1 in 1974. Jack Jones recorded a Bread tribute album, "Bread Winners (1972) including the Gates' standard, "If", which has long been a staple of Jones' live performances. The songs "Lost Without Your Love" and "Everything I Own" are said to have been written by David about feelings when his father died.

Gates lives in California.

Discography

Albums

• 1973: First (#102)
• 1975: Never Let Her Go
• 1978: Goodbye Girl (#165)
• 1980: Falling in Love Again
• 1981: Take Me Now
• 1985: Anthology^[2]
• 1994: Love is Always Seventeen
• 2002: The David Gates Songbook

Singles

• 1957: Jo Baby/Lovin' At Night

• 1958: Pretty Baby/Cryin' For You

• 1959: Swingin' Baby Doll/Walkin' And Talkin'

• 1960: What's This I Hear/You'll Be My Baby

• 1960: The Happiest Man Alive/The Road That Leads To Love

• 1961: Jo Baby (version 2)/Teardrops In My Heart

• 1962: Sad September/Tryin' To Be Someone

• 1963: No One Really Loves A Clown/You Had It Comin' To You

• 1964: The Oakie Surfer/Blue Surf

• 1964: My Baby's Gone Away/Kiss And Tell

• 1964: She Don't Cry/There's A Heaven

• 1965: Little Miss Stuck-Up/The Brighter Side

• 1965: Just A Lot Of Talk/Love Or Money

• 1965: Sad September/Star Of The Show

• 1965: Let You Go/Once Upon A Time

• 1965: I Don't Come From England/Dragon Fly

• 1973: Clouds/I Use The Soap (#47)

• 1973: Sail Around The World/Help Is On The Way (#50)

• 1974: Sad September/Tryin' To Be Someone

• 1975: Never Let Her Go/Watch Out (#29)

• 1975: Part-Time Love/Chain Me

• ?: Clouds/Sail Around The World

• 1977: Goodbye Girl/Sunday Rider (#15)

• 1978: Took The Last Train/Ann (#30)

• ?: Goodbye Girl/Took The Last Train

• 1979: Where Does The Lovin' Go/Starship Ride (#46)

• 1980: Can I Call You/Chingo

• 1980: Falling In Love Again/Sweet Desire

• 1981: Take Me Now/It's What You Say (#62)

• 1981: Come Home For Christmas/Lady Valentine^[4]

See also

• Songs written by David Gates

References

1. ^ "David Gates" by Kim Summers, AllMusic, accessed January 26, 2007
2. ^ ^{a b} 1985 Album Anthology - Elektra Records LP (E1-60414)
3. ^ RADIO TUNES VAN VROEGER EN NU
4. ^ Bread: Solo and Duo Releases

External links

• An interview with David Gates
• David Gates Interview Background Story
• David Gates at the Internet Movie Database
• Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Gates, David

Persondata
Name	Gates, David
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	11 December 1940
Place of birth	Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States
Date of death
Place of death