A bread truck, a Beatles hunch and thirteen chart hits

The band's name came from the street. David Gates later explained that the group was tossing around absurd ideas such as “bush” and “telephone pole” when a bread truck went by. It began with a B, like the Beatles and the Bee Gees, and it had a kind of universal appeal. For the first year, people still called them the Breads.

Gates, from Tulsa, Oklahoma, had played bar bands with Leon Russell before heading to California. There he linked up with Robb Royer, whose old band he had produced, and with Royer's songwriting partner Jimmy Griffin. The trio signed to Elektra in January 1969. Their first single, “Dismal Day”, did not chart, and the debut album stalled at number 127.

Mike Botts joined as permanent drummer in the summer of 1969, and the second album, On the Waters, changed everything. It reached number 12, and “Make It with You” went to number one on the Hot 100 in 1970. It remained their only chart-topper. A re-recorded “It Don't Matter to Me”, from the first album, reached number 10, and the next album, Manna, brought the Top 5 hit “If”. Songwriting credits were split evenly between Gates and the Griffin-Royer team.

Royer left in 1971 after conflicts and was replaced by the session veteran Larry Knechtel. By the end of the run, thirteen Bread songs had charted on the Hot 100 between 1970 and 1977. The sound was gentle, but the band was a busy one: Gates alone is credited with vocals, bass, guitar, keyboards, violin, viola and percussion. It is a quietly impressive record for a band named after a delivery truck.